The election of Mr Trevor Sargent as the first leader of the Green Party represents a watershed in the development of that party as a mainstream parliamentary organisation. The party operated a collective approach to decision-making before it secured representatives in the Dβil and the European Parliament, involving widespread consultation and cumbersome, drawn-out procedures in the creation of policy and party strategy. It rejected the notion of a centralised leadership. Under this new dispensation, agreed at a party conference in Kilkenny on Saturday, a restructuring of the party to allow for a more focused approach will take place and much greater power and influence will reside at parliamentary level.
In taking this step, the Green Party has followed the lead of its European counterparts which discovered the need for restructuring and tight discipline as they participated in coalition governments in six countries. Ambition to enter government here and to implement policy has been at the heart of these reforms. For not only were Mr Sargent and Ms Mary White elected as leader and deputy leader respectively, but delegates devoted considerable time to discussing the conditions on which they would enter government after the coming general election.
Although strenuous efforts are being made to create a more positive and relevant image for the party, it still suffers from a perception that it is opposed to innovation and economic development. Efforts to stress the positive were made at the weekend when Ms Ahern spoke of "a way forward for Europe".
But much of the debate was still dominated by delegates who objected to waste incineration and landfill sites, motorway development and traffic gridlock, GMS foods and cattle diseases, along with general damage to air, water and the environment. In spite of changes in terms of leadership and party structures, it would seem that negative campaigning will continue to form the basis of the Green Party's election platform.