Green chairman says snap election possible

[Ringo]

The Green Party chairman has said a snap election may have to be held in the next six months due to the difficulties of cleaning up the banking system and public finances.

Asked on Morning Ireland what the probability of an election in the next six months was, Dan Boyle said he thought it was '40:60'.


http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0903/poll.html

[dahamsta]

I don't think Dan Boyle is really qualified to comment on elections.

[Lionel Ritchie]

He's quite an underwhelming character at times is Dan.

Heard him taken to the cleaners by Bill Cullen one morning when talking about the irish motor trade. Seriously -Bill Cullen. That has to be the equivalent of losing an @rse-kicking competition to a one-legged man.

[OneRedArmy]

Given the Greens hold the balance of power, he's basically saying that his party don't really have a view yet on whats going on.

I know they are having a party congress on NAMA but surely the party leadership has to take a position?!

Fence-sitting par excellence (and I voted Green!).

Anyway, I'm off to collect my new Bike For Work thanks to Dan and Co :D

[Ringo]

I don't think Dan Boyle is really qualified to comment on elections.

He seems to go on solo runs. hard to know who is the voice of the Greens:rolleyes:

[bennocelt]

What is with him, he seems to come out with rubbish now on a weekly basis

[dahamsta]

He's never come out with anything else.

[BohsPartisan]

And the winner of the snap election is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BRv9wGf5pk

[NeilMcD]

Given the Greens hold the balance of power, he's basically saying that his party don't really have a view yet on whats going on.

I know they are having a party congress on NAMA but surely the party leadership has to take a position?!

Fence-sitting par excellence (and I voted Green!).

Anyway, I'm off to collect my new Bike For Work thanks to Dan and Co :D

Bit late in the tax year for that, would you not have been better waiting until the end of the year and spreading it out over the year. Cash flow etc.

[Macy]

Bit late in the tax year for that, would you not have been better waiting until the end of the year and spreading it out over the year. Cash flow etc.
As far as I understand it, it's not tied to the tax year, but paid over a calendar year. Although if the levy's are regularised into income tax, the more paid next year the better.

[NeilMcD]

Sorry should not have said tax year meant the year. Basically there are only a few payslips left in the year whereas if you buy it in Jan you have 52 or 26 or 12 payslips depending on how you are paid.

[Lionel Ritchie]

Greens will require two-thirds majority of members to support NAMA and their continuation in government or they walk.

FROM RTE (http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0926/gormleyj.html)

Whatever about an election -to my mind this means the Greens have a matter of days left in office before they cross the floor. They'll not get super majorities on both those votes -perhaps on neither.

[Mr A]

Wasn't it 2/3s to approve the programme for government and 2/3s to reject NAMA?

I have to say I'm not sure about the Greens way of doing business. On a party level obviously it's pretty democratic, but if you elect a Green to represent you it seems that they're constantly going to consult their grassroots on the big issues- so we end up with the a few hundred people, mostly unelected, making major decisions affecting the state, which is totally anti-democratic.

In the past I would have given them a high enough preference, but I'm not so sure after this.

[dahamsta]

The greens disappeared off my ballot card at the last election, and won't feature again for quite some time to come; not even strategically, not even for the person rather than the party. The party will have to change itself radically if it isn't going to go the same way as the PDs. (And it will, imho. Ryan and Gormley must be first to walk the plank though.)

[OneRedArmy]

The greens disappeared off my ballot card at the last election, and won't feature again for quite some time to come; not even strategically, not even for the person rather than the party. The party will have to change itself radically if it isn't going to go the same way as the PDs. (And it will, imho. Ryan and Gormley must be first to walk the plank though.)But surely such is the nature of a makeweight junior partner in a coalition?

As a Green voter, from my perspective they don't need to change. They need to focus MORE on what got them elected, namely green issues. I don't know why anyone else voted for them, but if it wasn't for advancing "green" issues, I'd say you're probably wasting a vote.

[dahamsta]

The Greens are the glue that is holding the Country together at the moment. Without them, the house of cards would have came tumbling down a long time ago.Indeed, they're responsible for keeping incompetent idiots - themselves and Fianna Fail - in power. Yay them.


People in this Country need to wake up and stop jumping to ridiculous conclusions.Which people, which conclusions?


But surely such is the nature of a makeweight junior partner in a coalition?What, because the PDs screwed up, that's the way it is now?


As a Green voter, from my perspective they don't need to change. They need to focus MORE on what got them elected, namely green issues.I have no argument with the Greens focussing more on Green issues. However if a political party is to be taken seriously, and wants to get into government and stay there, they need economic and other policies that they'll stand by. The Greens didn't. They didn't even make an attempt to look like they were, they just u-turned on everything and hoped people wouldn't notice.


I don't know why anyone else voted for them, but if it wasn't for advancing "green" issues, I'd say you're probably wasting a vote.I voted for the Greens for precisely that reason; unfortunately I assumed they'd have a backbone and stand up for their other policies too.

Gormley, Ryan and that embarassment to Cork Boyle are at the heart of it, lose them and I might change my mind.

adam

[Mr A]

Sweet Jesus- FF the unlucky victim of circumstance? They've been in government for over a decade FFS! Cowen is just reaping much of what him and Bertie sowed.

And not every country has suffered equally- the likes of Canada didn't because they actually had proper regulation and standards.

[OneRedArmy]

People should not forget the great work the greens have done for this Country in their short period in power. Wind farms, plastic bags, eco light bulbs, reducing carbom emissions etc etc..A valid discussion to have in this thread.


I think its vital that the Greens aren't scapegoated for the current crises in Govt. .I agree, to a point, but they really, really haven't helped themselves in a number of areas.


Likewise FF are an unlucky victim of circumstances. Nobody could have predicted the knock-on effect of the collapse of Lehman Brothers and subsequent international crises.Better discussed in the financial crisis thread. And I can't wait to see your argument that FF are a victim :eek:

[dahamsta]

I know I'm being a pedant and there have been improvements in these areas, but the plastic bag tax was initiated long before the Greens went into government (2000, 2001?), and wind farms have been around for decades.

[Macy]

They've been in government for over a decade FFS!
It was obviously those 2 years in the last 20 that they were out of power that fooked everything up.

The Greens take the blame for going in with FF after the last election, and share collective cabinet responsibility for every decision since. I hope they get the kicking they deserve, and can rebuild without the sell outs they have leading them now. Peeing about with minor environmental details whilst Rome burns just doesn't cut it. Ryan, White, De Burca and particularly Boyle and Gormley have become the type of politicians they used to hate.

It'll be interesting to see how what's left of the party votes on the programme for Government and NAMA. I hope they still have a 1/3 that will put principles ahead of the power at all costs of their leadership. However bad an election might go for them if they pull it down, if it's pulled down by FF backbenchers they are really screwed.

[OneRedArmy]

I hope they still have a 1/3 that will put principles ahead of the power at all costs of their leadership.Based on the history of Government in this country they'd never go into coalition on that basis.

[OneRedArmy]

Surely you can see there is an over-lap between the current financial crises and the Green Chairman not ruling out a snap election?I can, but I think trying to state that FF are victims of circumstance and external events is simply outrageous.

[dahamsta]

All Green initiatives that are going to make ireland a brighter, healthier place.The fact that you sound like an ad for the greens aside... and what about their non-green policies? Do they not matter? It's ok with you that they've backtracked, u-turned and lied* on everthing else?

adam

* I don't say this lightly. Ryan has outright lied as minister for communications, and I'll testify to that in court if he's like to sue me for it.

[osarusan]

* I don't say this lightly. Ryan has outright lied as minister for communications, and I'll testify to that in court if he's like to sue me for it.

"Please state your name for the record."

"Dahamsta."

[Macy]

There are plenty of other projects that have been knocking around for years that have yet to get the go-ahead and indeed in some cases might never...i.e..e-voting, decentralisation, National Mental Hospital, the new prison, Bertie Bowl etc etc.....The greens came in and made sure that their particular sector was put into gear fairly lively. The wind farm sector has only recently announced the creation of 600 new energy jobs over the next 10 years. The Government plastic bag tax is going up again, and rightly so, in the next budget. The importance of the new eco-light bulb scheme cannot be overstressed. Even more recently look at the unveiling of the DublinBikes scheme. Also the Bike purchase scheme for civil servants. All Green initiatives that are going to make ireland a brighter, healthier place.

e-voting was already dead, and what did Gormley do? Commission another report on what to do with them (which still hasn't reported).
National Mental Hospital isn't going to Thornton Hall, because the site isn't big enough.
Given the state of the prisons, now they've paid the money they should get it built, unless the Greens actually favour the conditions in Mountjoy?
Decentralisation isn't officially dead, it's postponed due to lack of finance for new buildings.
You're an election to late claiming credit for Bertie Bowl going - Greens weren't in Government when that was callled off.
The phasing out of incandescent light bulbs is an EU wide thing, nothing to do with the greens (and their solo run, which the EU put them back in their box about).
Any Green Ministers happen to own a bike shop?
Doubling the bag tax is just revenue raising, which will do little for the residual use.
The wind farms would've happened anyway, but still, at least we'll have access to more nuclear power via the interconnector...

[bennocelt]

It was obviously those 2 years in the last 20 that they were out of power that fooked everything up.

The Greens take the blame for going in with FF after the last election, and share collective cabinet responsibility for every decision since. I hope they get the kicking they deserve, and can rebuild without the sell outs they have leading them now. Peeing about with minor environmental details whilst Rome burns just doesn't cut it. Ryan, White, De Burca and particularly Boyle and Gormley have become the type of politicians they used to hate.

It'll be interesting to see how what's left of the party votes on the programme for Government and NAMA. I hope they still have a 1/3 that will put principles ahead of the power at all costs of their leadership. However bad an election might go for them if they pull it down, if it's pulled down by FF backbenchers they are really screwed.

Exactly, couldnt but it better myself:)
Wonder will they ever survive the kicking they will get in the next election

[dahamsta]

That begs the question.Is that a whole post? :confused:

[mypost]

If the Greens pass their motion, they will remain there until the term ends, and face wipeout at the next election, if the economy hasn't recovered.

If they pull the plug now, they'll get a kicking, but not wipeout. They'll be seen as doing the right thing for the country, and giving the people what they want. They can then oppose whatever they like in opposition.

FF though will be slaughtered either way.

[Ringo]

ah , you should have left that up, i was enjoying his innocence!!!:)

[Mr A]

Some interesting proposals in here: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2009/1001/1224255614249.html

The thing is though that there's nothing about where expenditure can be reduced. All very well saying what we need to spend money on, but where the hell are we going to get it? Unless the tax measures are really punitive then this looks unaffordable.

[mypost]

The Greens approved both NAMA and the revised Programme for Government, so after all the fighting talk, their members collapsed like a pack of cards when they had to put their money where their mouth was.

It all means 2.5 more years of misery with FF for the rest of us, and JOD relegated to the backbenches.

[Mr A]

I think they had feck all choice to be honest. If they had gone to the people they'd have been wiped out.

Interesting times ahead though- can FF keep the back benches in line through the budget?