Corruption in Fianna Fáil runs so deep that it would be difficult for us to join it in government without compromising our principles, writes Trevor Sargent
More than any other party leader in Irish politics I can say with confidence that my party's policies will have to be implemented. Given that we live on a finite planet, the future has to be Green; there can be no doubt about it.
This country will have to switch from its over-reliance on imported oil to become a producer of power from wind, waves, the sun, and geothermal heat. Irish children will, if the Green Party is in power, enjoy safe playing areas in properly planned communities. Homes will be the most fuel-efficient possible.
A zero waste strategy will replace the false choice between dumping and incineration. Our public transport system will be good enough to entice commuters from their cars. Ireland will have to stop supporting the USA's illegal and immoral oil war. Our policy is for Ireland to be a proactive internationalist neutral country.
The debate will switch from rural housing to rural development, and once again the food of choice for Irish people will be organic and Irish.
Ireland will either make these changes voluntarily with the Green Party in government after the next election, or the same changes will be forced upon Ireland at a less convenient time, by a variety of international, domestic, economic, environmental, and commonsense factors.
In the likely event that the Green Party has enough seats to enter coalition negotiations after the next election, our choice of coalition partner(s) will depend on who is the most committed to helping us to bring about the above changes, and in the shortest period of time.
The difficulty for the Green Party is deciding which party/parties this will be. It is often taken for granted that we will automatically join with Fine Gael and Labour, but there has been no such declaration on our side, and no such invitation on theirs. There is a good working relationship between us and them, but much of that is due to a shared experience in opposition rather than shared political ideals.
On the other side of the house, Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats have been managing the Irish economy in a frighteningly short-sighted way, passing up opportunities to save energy, to reduce inequality, to ensure research and development, which would create sustainable indigenous employment.
Waste and corruption are a legacy of the current Government and I fear that corruption in Fianna Fáil runs so deep that it would be difficult to join it in government without compromising on our party's principles.
Last year, after I announced that the Green Party would not enter government with Fianna Fáil under my leadership, many people asked me if I would change my mind if they cleaned up their act. My view remains that Ireland urgently needs a change of government.
We also need quality of life indicators and policies to bring about sustainability and restore Ireland's waning competitiveness.
Fianna Fáil is still beholden to powerful vested interests and until they decide to remove those particular monkeys from their backs, they cannot be considered as a possible coalition partner. It will be the national membership of the Green Party/Comhaontas Glas, however, which will make that ultimate judgment call, once the electorate has delivered the basic result at the next general election.
However, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's recent refusal to expel from his party members who received "payments", and then to suspend Fianna Fáil's internal investigation into corruption in its ranks, has left me with little optimism that the party will go clean.
I have more confidence that Sinn Féin will eventually sever its links with blue-collar crime than I have in Fianna Fáil breaking its links with white-collar crime.
Research shows that in many areas Sinn Féin and the Green Party benefit from an anti-establishment vote although we are very different parties. The Green Party is internationalist and has its roots in the peace movement. However, we are the only two all-island parties.
The Independents? More than ever before the Irish electorate welcomes the so-called "single-issue candidates".
I expect the number of Independent TDs to rise after the next election, and that their gains will hurt the Government parties more than any others. Independent deputies have traditionally been positively disposed towards the Green Party, so together we could assert considerable influence.
That leaves the Progressive Democrats. I don't expect the PDs to be a force after the next election.
Government is where the Green Party needs to be if Ireland is to successfully ride the wave of green technological change which is heading our way. Already Sweden has a plan in place to be the world's first oil-free economy by 2020, without building a new generation of nuclear power plants. Mona Sahlin, the Swedish minister of sustainable development, said: "A Sweden free of fossil fuels would give us enormous advantages, not least by reducing the impact from fluctuations in oil prices."
The price of oil has tripled since 1996. Meanwhile, in that time our Government has made Ireland into the seventh most oil-dependent country per capita in the world, even more dependent than the USA. The key difference between the two countries is that the Swedish Green Party has been involved in government consistently since 1998.
Our challenge is not just to convince the electorate that the Green way is the best way, but to convince other parties and colleagues in Dáil Éireann that action to tackle climate change, incentivise green technological innovation and job creation, provide excellent public transport, well-planned prosperous rural and urban communities, represents our best opportunity to ensure a good quality of life and future economic success.
Trevor Sargent TD is leader of the Green Party