Just had this comment from Joseph, the FF hit squads are out to get me!
'I was reading a major Irish political blog yesterday and it is apparent that Derek's blog is being followed closely by both supporters and opponents of the Irish Greens. There were some very caustic attacks on Derek by government supporters there.
The Irish Greens at the moment are feeling very defensive and are not taking kindly to criticisms from the Left. They have even objected to Irish people in the Green Party of England and Wales making statements or even commenting on the situation there. The point is that we have every right to do so, and as I have said many times, the actions of the Irish Greens will immpact on Greens here. Green Left organised a fringe meeting at our autumn conference in September with Bronwen Maher, one of the founder members of the party, who resigned in disgust last January. She went through the process of what has happened to the party. At the time we met Bronwen she was a former Independent councillor, having lost her seat in the June elections - all of the Green councillors in Dublin also lost their seats. She has very recently joined the Irish Labour Party but told me that this was a decision she came to only recently. The problem is that she did not have the energy to go about completely starting up a new Green Party in Ireland.
However, there are some in the Irish Green Party who want to do this and the Donegal development seems to be part of that. My information is that about a third of the party membership is deeply disillusioned. And it seems that after they joined government two years ago, they were joined by a fair number of opportunists who have a very different agenda to those who were members for some time. What we are witnessing is a process which happens to many political parties. And it demonstrates the need for constant vigilance and ensuring that power does not become centralised.
Bronwen told me that one of the methods of ensuring loyalty is dispensing jobs with the party machine. This tradition of 'placemen' has a long history in Irish politics and dates back to the 18th century Irish Parliament which was encouraged to vote itself our of existence and pass the Act of Union in 1801 by a combination of bribery and appointments to sinecures.
The current party will suffer terribly at the polls but has made a Faustian pact with Fianna Fail which demands its soul. What remains after the next election is open to speculation. '
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3 comments:
I'm not in the Irish Greens, but I'm sticking up for them here. Your constant attacks on them undermine the Green movement internationally, including east of the Irish Sea.
I also remember your tragically ill-judged swastika-New Labour rose cartoon, though, so I'm not surprised to see you egging on a split and doing our foes' work for them.
James Mackenzie, you have no idea what's happening in Ireland. The Irish Green Party has let down the Green movement as a whole, and the more that outsiders castigate the Irish Greens for their sins, the better for all.
The Irish GP has abandoned all its principles and policies except those related to climate change.
I am an Irishman and I have voted for the Irish Green Party all of my adult life. I will never vote for this Green Party again.
I am physically sickened by the lies and hypocrisy of the Irish "Greens in Govt". They have achieved nothing since entering power in 2007, and have done only damage. In fact, they have set the Green movement in Ireland back by many years ... perhaps even a generation as what they have done will not be easily forgotten.
Keep up the good work Derek. You represent the Green movement and Green politics more than the Irish Green Party ever will.
You can also be happy with the thought that you will surely be around for a very long time after the current crop of Irish Greens are long forgotten.
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