Most Green Party TDs are opposed to entering a pre-election pact with other parties, and the party leader and chairman believe this reflects the majority view of their membership.
Four of the six Green Party deputies yesterday said they believed they should fight the next election as an independent party in order to maximise their number of Dáil seats and support for their policies. The other two TDs expressed reservations about a pact but did not state a fixed position.
Green opposition to a pre-election deal is a blow to the ambitions of Fine Gael and Labour to form a tripartite alliance with that party in advance of an election, expected in 2007.
Most Green TDs said yesterday that although the logic of their opposition to this Government was that they wanted the Coalition parties replaced, they did not believe in a formal opposition alliance. All said they wanted to be in government.
The party's annual conference in Cork next month will debate motions calling on the party to fight the next election independent of alliances with other parties.
Deputies Dan Boyle, Ciarán Cuffe, Paul Gogarty and John Gormley said yesterday their personal view was that they should contest the election as an independent party. Eamon Ryan TD said he too had doubts about a pre-election pact but remained "open to persuasion".
Party leader Trevor Sargent did not express a personal view but said he believed most members were currently against a pact, a view shared by Mr Gormley.
Mr Sargent said there was a danger in pre-election pacts, which was that the identity of smaller parties became blurred. Party members would first have to agree on a policy platform, an approach to government negotiations, and what minimum number of seats was necessary to ensure it had enough influence in a government.
"After that comes the decision on whether to fight as a totally independent party", he said.
They would be seeking commitments from potential coalition partners on investment in public transport, mechanisms to stop industry from burning scarce fossil fuels, care services for the elderly and childcare.
Mr Gormley said the Green Party "has a clear identity independent of other parties" and he believed it should fight an election independently.
"Look at the history of the PDs," he said. "They had a pact with Fianna Fáil in 1997 and they were almost wiped out."
Mr Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire) said his personal view was that the party should fight the next general election on issues, and should not enter any formal voting pact.
"We are issues-based. It comes down to what parties we can do business with on transport, healthcare, childcare and other issues. The crucial question is what parties would implement our policies," Mr Cuffe said.
Mr Gogarty (Dublin Mid-West) said he believed the Green Party should contest the next election independently of other parties. "I believe we will get more Green seats if we put forward a distinctive platform."
Mr Boyle (Cork South Central) also expressed a preference for fighting the election as an independent party. He said that, historically, "it has been better for the electoral strength of small parties to go into an election without a pact and then to negotiate afterwards".
Responding to Ms Harney's description of Green Party economic policies as "crazy", Mr Boyle said: "The feeling is mutual."