The Green Party in power
This is what happens when the Green Party gets into power. In Ireland the Greens are part of a coalition government with Fianna Fail, the Irish equivalent of the Tories.
They are voting for a budget with a horrific cuts package targeted at the unemployed, people on benefit, and public sector workers.
One of their TDs, Paul Gogarty, doesn't like held to account for this by Labour Chief Whip Emmet Stagg TD and has rather lost his temper in the Dail ... warning this clip includes expletives:
posted by Luke Akehurst at 12:16 pm
10 Comments:
That's PR for you.
2:36 pm, December 14, 2009
Many people in this country would like to say "Fuck you!" to the Labour Party. Precisely how many will become clear in a few short months...
2:37 pm, December 14, 2009
That's the Greens for you...
5:04 pm, December 14, 2009
The Irish Greens are not particularly representative of Green parties, though, Luke. They tend to be rural and right wing, romantically so, hence their willingness to go into coalition with FF
I'm still more attracted by the Green party in many ways than what Labour represents at the moment
6:21 pm, December 14, 2009
Yeah lets be honest, the Irish and Czech Greens are both pretty rogue for the European Green movement. Still we can agree those in Ireland are backing a horrendous Tory cuts package.
The big shame is Irish Labour are also allied to the Tories in Fine Gael. Let's hope Labour and Sinn Fein can work together in future to maximise each others seat take.
9:03 pm, December 14, 2009
You display a remarkable ignorance about Irish politics (if Fianna Fail, who sit with the Liberals in the EU Parliament) are the Tories, what - pray - are Fine Gael (who...er...sit with the EPP).
And as Merseymike says, the Irish Greens are not like the UK Greens, as you try to suggest.
I understand you are partisan, and as a former Labour member myself, I share your frustration with the presentation of the party in the media.
But partisanship aligned with misdirection will only dismay those (like myself) who might otherwise make common cause to fight the Tories.
2:25 pm, December 15, 2009
I'd rather that politicians were plain speaking and sincere like him than - like Mandelson, Blair and the like, be smarmy and two-faced.
6:22 am, December 16, 2009
Power corrupts if you don't watch out and it doesn't just corrupt Greens
3:28 pm, December 18, 2009
More to the point Luke you might want to comment on the news that Bea Campbell (ex-CP) is going to stand for the Green Party against Glenda Jackson in Hampstead and HIghgate and Compass are supporting hee as part of the 'plural' left.
That says a lot about Bea herself, but also the politics of the Green Party and Compass
5:41 pm, December 19, 2009
Power has certainly corrupted the Irish Greens who have been part of the coalition that have brought forward policies that will impact upon the most vulnerable people in Irish society. The policies that are being persuded would be considered extreme-right in this country, and I think even the Conservative would baulk at some of the measures they've introduced.
As a party, the Irish Greens are heading for wipeout; this was shown at the Irish Local Election where they managed to win only three council seats in Ireland(less than their six Dail seats), along with their dismal perfomance in the European's. Fianna Fail are an awful lot, who've been corrupted on power, having pretty much been in Government since the twenties, apart from a few short-lived periods. For the moment they're a busted flush, but they can never be written off as they have a powerful base, and as a party are one of the electorally most successful of any western political party, think the LDP in Japan. They have made complete gobshites of the Greens who'll find themseleves wiped out come election time. If they wanted to save themseleves, they'd get out of the coalition, sadly they won't, and as a result it's likely that the coalition will remain in power until 2012 when the Greens will find themseleves wiped out. Five out of the six Green seats are in Dublin, and their voters are generally progressive. They're very weak in rural Ireland. Labour has plenty to gain from their collapse in Dublin, which will happen come the election.
As for the Irish Labour Party, it's part of being in a PR system - they have been in coalition with Fianna Fail between 1992 and 94, if Fianna Fail were a bit more creditable it could potentially happen. They'd certainly be a great deal more effective than the Irish Greens.Fine Gael probably have more in common with the Liberals than a Conservative party, socially wise they're progressive, whilist Fianna Fail have been conservative. Economically they are similar to Fianna Fail whose economics can be all over the place. As a party, they have tended in the past to be populist, regardless of the long-term consequences.
10:32 am, December 21, 2009
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