Assessment: Trevor Sargent leads a party that quietly hungers for office, writes Mark Hennessy, Political Reporter
Trevor Sargent has travelled a long road from his school days when he watched seagulls feeding on the pitch of the High School in Rathgar, Dublin.
Today, he leads a party which quietly hungers for office, accepting that it must have its hands on power if it is to force through the changes it believes necessary to save Irish society.
The ambitions are not small. Command of the Department of the Environment is non-negotiable, so too is a "super junior" ministry in Finance, or whatever department will oversee Ireland's transport system.
However, the Greens offer tough, if honesty-meant, cures - less spending on roads, traffic restrictions, increased taxes on petrol and other carbon fuels - that will only be acceptable to voters prepared to take the long view.
The last year has been a good one. It helped to deliver a bloody nose to the Government in the Nice Treaty, even if Sinn Féin and the Mother and Child Campaign got most of the credit. Internal changes have helped to bring a tighter focus. Last autumn, the organisation swallowed its long-held aversion to a leader and selected Mr Sargent after a well-mannered debate.
The hopeful belief that then existed that the move would sharply improve the party focus in the crucial media battleground has, perhaps, not been entirely vindicated.
During the abortion referendum's final days, Mr Sargent appeared as the equal of Michael Noonan and Ruairí Quinn to call for a No vote, but journalists still gravitated towards them, rather than him.
Despite the polls' predictions that Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats can return, Mr Sargent sticks to his opinion that the Greens are on the cusp of power.
The confidence may be misplaced. His future depends on Mr Noonan leading Fine Gael back with marginally-increased numbers, a doubtful prospect if the polls are to be accepted.
Both Mr Sargent and John Gormley have worked well with Fine Gael and Labour over the last couple of years, removing many of their fears about the Greens' ability to hack day-to-day politics.
Mr Sargent must return flanked not just by Mr Gormley, but also by Mary White from Carlow/Kilkenny, Dan Boyle from Cork South Central, and one more.
Mr Gormley has a battle in Dublin South East, faced with the Progressive Democrats' Michael McDowell and a seemingly rampant second Fianna Fáil candidate, Cllr Chris Andrews.
In Carlow/Kilkenny, Cllr White, the Greens deputy leader, has the challenge of Fianna Fáil's Senator MJ Nolan.
Boosted by the row over a proposed incineration plant for Cork Harbour, Cllr Boyle has been making ground in recent months, but he has all too often faded in the final furlong.
Mr Sargent must rally his troops during a campaign which will inevitably swing towards the bigger players. The job will be enthusiastically tackled. The planet, in his view, deserves no less.