Madam, - It is a cliché of science fiction that when the little green men arrive their first request is: "Take me to your leader". So far so good. But what if the leader has been constantly admonished by his minders, as most of us were in childhood, to "eat up your greens or you won't get big and strong"? Remember: one of the dictionary definitions of "green" is "inexperienced, easily fooled". - Yours, etc,
TONY BURKE, Abbey Park, Baldoyle, Dublin 13.
Madam, - In order to maintain credibility, honour their pre-election platform, and betray neither their party members nor the other voters who supported them the Green Party must conclude agreement with Fianna Fáil on the following issues; climate change and carbon taxes; monitoring of property developers; US military use of Shannon airport; hospital co-location; nuclear energy policy; banning corporate donations; planning policy at local level; blood sports; one-off houses; the Corrib gas field; the M3 motorway.
Some shopping list! Good luck! - Yours, etc,
BOB WADDELL, Sandycove Road, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.
A chara, - Jim O'Sullivan (June 9th) accuses me of wilfully misrepresenting his opinions. He argues that for Fianna Fáil to bring the PDs into government would be "a dangerously anti-democratic act, plain and simple". I put forward three reasons why this is not so.
1. That smaller parties punch above their weight is the price we pay for an electoral system that ensures some measure of proportional representation.
2. Before the election Fianna Fáil made no secret of the fact that it would be amenable to forming a government with the PDs (or indeed with the Greens or Labour). The fact that it is now attempting to do so is part of its mandate.
3. Most importantly, the only viable coalitions that can be formed without the PDs are a coalition of Fianna Fáil and Labour (a prospect rejected outright by Pat Rabbitte) or one of Fianna Fáil and the Greens.
While the PDs have returned with a much diminished mandate, the fact that they, other small parties and the five independents are in a position of influence is a direct result of the democratic decision made by the people at the election.
That this is unpalatable to many is understandable. That it is dressed up as anti-democratic is not. - Is mise,
CORMAC O'DEA, Braemor Park, Churchtown, Dublin 14.
Madam, - Amid all the confusion surrounding the general election result, one message is clear: the Irish people have rejected the Progressive Democrats and all they stand for. If Bertie Ahern brings them into government he will be ignoring the clearest message he has ever received. - Yours, etc,
CIARAN McDONNELL, Castleknock, Dublin 15.
Madam, - I see letters have been trickling in to support the idea of a FF-FG coalition. Would this not be a positive step, declaring the end of the ideological baggage left over from the Civil War? It would also make sense, in that both parties are tacitly supportive of the US-instigated war in Iraq. The other parties, mostly critical of it, might then see the need to come together and develop some practicable policies for uncoupling us from the US-dominated neo-imperial scene. Such as, for example, Shannon as a global focus for air transport related to development aid. - Your, etc,
ROY JOHNSTON, Rathgar, Dublin 6.
Madam, - The political pundits tell us the Greens are unacceptable to the Fianna Fáil grassroots.Surely all grassroots are green? - Yours, etc,
FLAN CLUNE, Swords, Co Dublin.