A gamble worth taking for two good reasons

THE Green party decision to become junior partners government is a massive gamble, but one that had to be taken.

While the Greens’ imprint on the programme for government may not be evident immediately, anyone with a cursory understanding of Ireland’s record on climate change and the impending energy crisis will understand why they had to take the risk.

Despite their protestations to the contrary, the previous government’s record in these two key areas was awful.

Within environmental politics as a whole there is no consensus about the best way to practice Green politics within more conventional party systems, never mind the political framework in Ireland with its predominance of centrist parties. What is understood within the discourses of Green politics, however, is that real success is measured not only in electoral success. If the programme for government is achieved over the next five years, a true indictor of the Greens’ success may be the cannibalisation of their policies by the centre parties.

If an all-party consensus on ambitious energy and climate change targets were to be reached, the Greens might be happy to see their policies implemented while they themselves become politically sidelined.

Meanwhile, I hope the controversial issues of the M3 and the US military stopover at Shannon will be redirected to the party that adopted these policies while the two Green ministers avail of the opportunity to implement long-term environmental and economicallysustainable policies.

And while the Greens may have engaged in an act of political suicide in joining with Fianna Fáil in government, it may come to be seen in the long term as a sacrifice worth making by all those with environmental concerns.

Shaun Gavigan

Lurganboy

Ardara

Co Donegal