The worst nightmare for the Progressive Democrats - returning to the Dail after the next election in a taxi - is the top priority for the Green Party.
Its Dublin South East TD, Mr John Gormley, told the 120 delegates at the party's convention in Carlow on Saturday that the aim was to double its Oireachtas representation from two to four.
Mr Gormley, who with Dublin North TD Trevor Sargent has to secure a voice for the small party in Leinster House, said he was somewhat encouraged by the Greens' new realistic approach. "We have finally realised that embracing electoralism does not mean abandoning principles. If we remain focused, the modest target of four seats is achievable. I say this as someone who is not known for his raving optimism.
"Campaigns that combine the personal with the professional could mean that the Greens could arrive in Dail Eireann in a taxi, and, unlike the PDs, we would not regard that as an insult."
Boosted by a recent Sunday newspaper poll, which showed the party at 6 per cent, the highest yet, it hopes for gains in Dun Laoghaire, Cork South Central, Dublin South, and has not ruled out a breakthrough in Carlow-Kilkenny and the new Dublin Mid-West constituency, where it did well in a recent private poll.
But swapping the taxi for a ministerial Merc could prove difficult, if there is a hung Dail. A debate on entering coalition revealed deep divisions. Whatever happens - a special delegate conference will decide the issue - Mr Gormley demanded "a comprehensive quality of life index" for entering coalition.
Elected representatives and delegates were scathing about the other political parties. Mr Gormley, who narrowly defeated the PDs' Michael McDowell, now Attorney General, after a marathon count in 1997, reserved his anger for the junior government partners. The PDs were "badly compromised" because of recent Government and Dail decisions, he said.
He added that Denis Foley, an Ansbacher account holder, had received "a mere 14 days" suspension, while "Trevor and I, between us, have been suspended for 14 days for giving the Ceann Comhairle funny looks".
Meanwhile, in his welcome to delegates, Mr Sargent combined the party's environmental policy with its demand for an end to sleaze. "Welcome to the convention of the party which wants a ban on all plastic carrier bags," he said, "not just those stuffed with cash and given by developers to their agents to give to former colleagues of mine from other parties on Dublin County Council."
