Green Party says ‘off ice of tánaiste price of deal’
THE Green Party has said it must secure the office of the tánaiste to ‘seal’ a coalition deal.
Senior party sources told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘This will be required to seal the deal. This is not about power and place.
‘The scale of the climate change challenge requires the weight of the tánaiste’s office.’
THE Greens have warned that they will need the party to secure the office of the tánaiste if they are to carry any vote on a deal on government.
Senior sources within the Catherine Martin wing of the party told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘This will be required to sweeten and seal the deal.’
‘This is not about power and place,’ they insisted. ‘The reality is the scale of the climate change challenge requires the weight of the tánaiste’s office.’
And they added: ‘One of the core lessons of the last FF-Green Coalition is that if promises are to be kept, we need the capacity to enforce them.’
One senior figure said the party needed to show that ‘this Coalition is not a case of business as usual with the Greens propping up the “old parties”. This is the clearest way to show this’.
Separately, embattled leader Eamon Ryan has been warned that he needs to adopt a more aggressive approach if he wants to see off the clear and present
‘Climate change requires weight of office’
danger posed to his leadership.
He has to date secured supportive statements of varying quality from TDs and senators.
However, the main body of the party and some of those ‘supporters’ continue to be equivocal.
Although she is not campaigning, it is believed that Ms Martin is ahead within key sectors.
One senior supporter predicted: ‘Catherine, should she run, will have the rural Green vote, the young Greens, there are a huge number of those, they are not after-thoughts like the old parties.’
Ms Martin’s original political hinterland of Monaghan means supporters also believe ‘Catherine will be well positioned amidst the North of Ireland Greens.’
She is also expected ‘to poll well among the Saoirse McHugh wing and the “Me Too” Greens.’ One source said: ‘Catherine has not been canvassing but she has been much more available to all these people and to councillors too than Eamon.’
‘This is a very Green coup d’état. We are more evolved than FF and FG. Our choices are informed by the greater good. Greenies are not careerists.’
One senior Green admitted: ‘There is a problem and it is not entirely Eamon’s fault. The party has evolved but he did not.’
They added: ‘Far from being grateful, there is a sense among the new TDs that he held back the party. The wolves and all that meant Sinn Féin stole the Green surge.’
Commenting on the declarations of support Mr Ryan has received from six TDs and two senators a glimpse of the steel hiding beneath the velvet emerged with one apparatchik saying: ‘Those swearing eternal allegiance to Eamon would want to be careful. They would need to check with their members.’
Another said: ‘A couple of the declarations were understandable. People were panicked into a premature response.
‘They pinned their colours too early and are trying to back-track.’
Remember, they said: ‘Catherine has not even declared, and she is over the top in nominations. Eamon is struggling to get there. He hasn’t secured the support Catherine did when she criss-crossed the country building the Greens.’
But Mr Ryan’s supporters have not given up with one saying: ‘There seems to be a misunderstanding afoot that Eamon will go gently into that dark night.
‘He had to toughen up. He has let the party be stolen out from under him.’
‘It is still retrievable but Eamon needs to channel his internal Phil Hogan or find a Phil Hogan. He needs to drag his parliamentary party on to the plinth and say, “They are backing me”. Let that lot sit and simmer behind him.
‘We need a bit more of the Teddy Roosevelt theory of grab them by the b***s and their hearts and minds will follow.’
The Green leadership troubles have increased the growing sense of chill within Fine Gael over the proposed triple entente.
One minister said: ‘It is not helping FG sell the deal. We are already very chilly, and the Greens’ version of The Godfather is not making the journey any easier.’
Another source said: ‘It is a little difficult – a bit like the old Peace Process days. Which wing of the Greens are we negotiating with? Is the current leader a dead man walking? It is all not very encouraging.
‘It is nothing personal. It is just a bit like the film ‘He’s just not that into you’ …FG are just not that into Catherine and the crew.’
‘He has let the party be stolen from him’