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The small but influential Greens look set to last the course in contrast to the ‘all-about-me' antics of others, says Eamon Delaney.

It is has been a period of continuing soap opera for Irish politics: the protesting departures of George Lee from Fine Gael, and Deirdre de Burca from the Green Party and the resignation of Willie O'Dea as Minister for Defence. These events, and the endless media coverage they have provoked, prove that Irish political life is less about ideas or ideology, and more about personalities and the power play between them. None of these events will have any real effect on the political fortunes of their respective parties and will be mostly forgotten about by the time of the next election which will be almost certainly decided on the issue of economics, and economics alone.

But, for the moment, what these events do prove is the absolute centrality of the Greens to the present political scene. They have proved, once again, that to be a junior partner in Government is to have an influence out of all proportion to one's numbers. This must be a strange consolation for them. The party may be taking flak but, given that all politicians are, by their nature, attention-seekers, this must be quite a satisfying thing.

Such influence, in our hung Dáil, was shown by the equally small PDs when they partnered Fianna Fáil for so long and effectively provided the template for much of that Government's economic and social policy. The fact of the matter is that it is better to be in Government than out, as the current Opposition parties know to their bitter chagrin.

Concerning Deirdre de Burca, the Greens were all over the media, defending their party, redefining its policies and generally getting lots of profile. And it has been the same with the resignation of Willie O'Dea. Ordinary Fianna Fáil TDs must have looked on in envy. Even better, the Greens reminded the public and media that it has the power to pull the plug on this Government if it wishes, just as the PDs had.

The downside for the Greens is its continuing low numbers but the party was never very big to begin with, so this is hardly a dramatic change. Indeed, it is likely that the Greens has shed those floating voters who supported it as an alternative Opposition party before Coalition and the party is now down to its core Green vote, small though this may be.

But the good news is that a core Green vote, as in the increased awareness about environmental concerns and sustainable living, is on the increase everywhere in Europe and if Ireland goes the way of other countries, the Greens can only increase.

In fairness, the Greens have done quite well in partnership with Fianna Fáil at a time of great difficulty in the economy. It has managed to get environmental issues treated seriously for the first time in Irish politics, and certainly more than Fine Gael and Labour whose support for such fundamentals has been derisory. The Greens were the first to cry foul on our planning laws, and they are the only party with a coherent vision for local government. It has focussed on our health, foodstuffs and our wasteful use of energy. Unusually for an Irish political party, they try to focus on issues, and not just on personalities.

For example, it got a bus gate introduced in Dublin to declog the city centre of congested traffic. This may seem something small but it is a measure which affects the daily lives of tens of thousands of commuters. Even the way Deirdre de Burca's claims about John Gormley's handling of a report on the Dublin docklands authority, whether true or not, shows its relevance to these key issues, and how they can make life difficult for the Government.

In general, the Greens should stay the course in Government in these difficult times. It will certainly get more out of Fianna Fáil than it would out of a rainbow coalition with Fine Gael and Labour. It is also more compatible with Fianna Fáil than the left-leaning Labour is with Fine Gael. That potential partnership has a long way to go before it can square the circle of differing policies. The Greens, after all, is not an ideological party as such, or shouldn't be. There is thus no reason why its policies shouldn't also be Fianna Fáil policies. This is not the case with Labour whose support for the trade unions and a bloated, unreformed public sector is diametrically opposed to the apparent views of Fine Gael.

Greens Leader John Gormley is a hardy politician and will weather the storm. I once sat beside him on RTE's Questions and Answers when he was facing Labour leader Eamon Gilmore. The Greens were a few months into Government and Gilmore was all set to put the boot in, on issues such as the use of Shannon airport by US troops. But Gormley threw back at him the Labour party's own muddled position on the issue. And then he sighed and said that the real problem with Gilmore was that the Greens were in Government with Fianna Fáil and the Labour Party was not. There was then an awkward moment before a chastened Gilmore managed to resume his stride.

And this indeed is the crux  of it. Few observers expected to see the Greens in Government and now that it is there, through Nama and the Budget, it may as well stay the course. This is what politics is all about, as opposed to the "all-about-me" career antics of de Burca and Lee.

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