where's me country?

Greens and Government

5.14.2005

SHould the grens head into an election as part of a three-party preagreed coallition? Well it seems unlikely that the experience of the Labour party will encourage any Green memeber of the meritsof courting FG. however there are some other practicalities to look at. should a three party coalition be elected on a shared platform? this gives voters more say in the governemnt policies and allows us all to be sure what we are getting. the last rainbow coalition didnt do a great job of getting reelected but it has obvious democratic merit to allow the voters decide on proposals for government not just party policies likely to change as part of a coalition.
what is dangerous for a group like the greens is the degree to which FG could cannibalise their vote. The greens are noted as a party that does well in affluent areas. So too are FG. if the greens are runing alongside FG rather than a standalone party it may be unlikely that they will gain much support. the big FG machine could literally peel off some green voters and the result is not good for the green party.
labour is having convuldsions at the thought of another sleepover in the FG camp and is struggling to create any unique identity under pat rabbite "except the usual we are not FF" stuff. LAbour would be best served by an independent campaing with a lot of candidates and a secure social democratic message. As such it could taking the lead in forming our own center left progressive consensus among the disparate parties and independents of the left.
such a lead could easily be followed by the Greens and may leave an incresingly conservative FG out in the cold. however for a man of great bluster Rabbite is lacking the killer instinct in making Labour electable on their own. They need a collective profile, coherent and stable message and positive campainging. it night seem premature to be saying this but such is the work needed to forge a progressive mood in the country that now is the best time to start.
The parties of the left would not be best served by flying in on coattails instead of forging a solid and strong base of voters on issues that matter. Positive on policy and collective in responsibility.
Red Rover

This entry was posted on 5.14.2005 at 5/14/2005 03:27:00 p.m.. There are . If you want, you can leave your own response by clicking here. You may also send this post to a friend of yours via email, or bookmark it for yourself by using icons below;