Greens’ freezing out of Chu over Seanad fuels fear of party exodus
CONCERN is growing across the Green party that a ‘stampede to the Social Democrats will be started’ should the party snub any attempt by chairwoman Hazel Chu to run for the Seanad.
The ‘unease’ has been sparked by the alleged ‘ghosting’ by the party hierarchy of the Dublin Lord Mayor when it comes to her desire to run for one of two Seanad vacancies.
But Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil expectations of Green support for their carve-up of the vacancies and ongoing unease about Ms Chu’s ‘colourful personality’ amid the Green hierarchy mean the prospect of a run by one of their few remaining popular figures has been met with what one source called ‘an icy chill’.
The senior source said: ‘Essentially, Hazel is being ghosted by the Green hierarchy on this issue. She hasn’t been told the answer is a “no” but she knows that’s what she will be told if she asks. We are very modern that way.’
A separate source warned: ‘A lot of people are watching this. There are a lot of Greens on the ledge waiting to leap over to the Social Democrats. They are increasingly seeing this as representing a happier home than Sinn Féin or Labour. If Hazel is told she can’t run, that view will harden.’
Intriguingly, both Ms Chu and her partner, Green TD Patrick Costello, are believed to be politically close to the Social Democrat aspirant leader Gary
‘If one leaps, a whole lot more will follow’
Gannon. A large number of other Green TDs and councillors are also believed to be contemplating a move.
It is, one source said, ‘a little like the old domino theory – if one leaps, a whole lot more will follow. There is a lot of what [Eamon] Ryan and the party elders would call thought crime going on at the moment. The current “ghosting” of Hazel means she may have no option outside of having to seek the support of Social Democrat and independent TDs.’
The high-profile mayor is politically close to Catherine Martin and was seen as a rising star after she secured 33% of the first preferences in the party leader’s Pembroke heartland in the 2019 council elections.
Since then, in what one source called an ‘accelerating pattern of slights’, Mr Ryan originally baulked at taking on Ms Chu as a running mate in election 2020.
Ms Chu was also, despite high support within the party, not chosen as one of the Green Seanad candidates. While her cosing mopolitan background has seen her become a symbol of the new Ireland, she was also passed over by Mr Ryan when it came to the Green Party share of Taoiseach’s nominations for the Seanad.
The chairwoman’s association with many who have left the party, such as Peter Kavanagh, Saoirse McHugh, Lorna Bogue, and a raft of county councillors, has seen what one source called ‘the freezout Hazel. There’s a Cold War in the party and she’s on the wrong side of the wall’.
Another source said: ‘Hazel feels very isolated. It is astonishing that she may have to seek nominations from the Social Democrats and independent senators such as Lynn Ruane and Alice Mary Higgins.’
They added: ‘Increasingly, when it comes to a party run by Ryan and a small group of hired henchmen and apparatchiks, Hazel and other independent, opinionated women like Neasa Hourigan have become increasingly isolated.
‘They may all just barely be in the same political bed, but the hierarchy have turned their backs on the difficult women.’
Another senior supporter of Ms Chu said: ‘The ignoring of Hazel is astonishing. Most people don’t even know who ministers like Ossian Smyth and Malcolm Noonan are. Hazel could be a Green icon but there is something about her the men who run things don’t like.’
One Green source said: ‘It will be interesting to see if Hazel gets a ticket to ride from the Social Democrats and the independent women. What will Ryan and the officer class of the Green Gauleiters say then?’
Though the spat has not broken out in public, it is likely to fuel concerns about the impact of growing factionalism within the Greens on Government stability. One Government source said: ‘Those Greens are worse than the Duckworths. It’s a fight a week at the moment.’