Rotating Gormley would be step too far even for quixotic Greens

A secret deal between Greens and Bertie Ahern came back to haunt the party this week

SOMETIMES ONE can only despair for the Green Party and their ability to create difficulties for themselves. It has been through the wringer of late with Déirdre de Búrca’s petulant Seanad resignation followed by the trauma of Trevor Sargent having to resign his ministerial position because of an ethical breach.

Any hope party Ministers and managers had for a few quiet weeks of political convalescence were then shattered by Tuesday night’s TV3 news.

In the bulletin political editor Ursula Halligan reported that when entering government with Fianna Fáil in 2007, the Green parliamentary party made a secret pact that, at or about half-time in the scheduled life of the Government, John Gormley would resign as Minister to be replaced by Dún Laoghaire backbencher Ciarán Cuffe.

TV3 also reported that under this pact it was agreed that Trevor Sargent would step down as Minister of State to be replaced by the party’s deputy leader Mary White and that an additional junior ministry, which it was understood the Green Party would get for the second half of the Government term, would be given to the remaining backbencher, Paul Gogarty. According to the reported agreement the rotation of Green Party ministries was not to affect Eamon Ryan who was to be left to serve the full term as a Cabinet Minister

Scepticism about the story in political and media circles did not arise because the story was not well sourced – but rather because it was so bizarre.

The peculiar and at times surreal Green Party response since the story broke suggests there is considerable substance to Halligan’s report. It is noteworthy that the Green spokesman has not been in a position to comprehensively deny that such a rotation pact existed. Their silence speaks volumes about the story’s accuracy and also raises questions about the real state of relations within the parliamentary party.

Initially after the news broke the Green Party’s newly christened “tweeter in chief” Dan Boyle was dismissive but later his tweets changed tack. The usually chatty Ciarán Cuffe also clammed up on both Twitter and his blog.

In interviews on RTÉ’s Late Debate and Morning Ireland Boyle, rather than denying the existence of a pact, sought to justify the divvy-up of ministerial offices on the basis of an international Green principle that ministerial assignments should be rotated because power can be corrupting or at least can cause the appointee to go native.

While the view that spending too long in ministerial office can be bad for any individual politician has some merit, using it to justify a changeover after only two and a half years is ridiculous. The fact that under the pact Eamon Ryan was scheduled to remain in Cabinet for a full five years doesn’t sit well with this supposed principle. If implemented the pact would have meant that at some point over the life of the Government all six of the party’s TDs would have held office. This and the fact that the pact was kept secret suggest baser motives. It seems Boyle elevated the rotation proposal to the level of principle so as to cloak the party’s embarrassment now that the pact has become public.

TV3 also reported that some or all of these rotation arrangements were the subject of a written agreement in 2007 between the then Government party leaders Bertie Ahern and Trevor Sargent. Fianna Fáil sources suggest, however, that, whereas giving the Greens an additional junior minister was agreed by Ahern in writing, he was not aware of Green proposals to rotate their own positions.

Even allowing for the peculiarities of their political worldview, it is bizarre that the Greens even countenanced a rotation of their Ministers on this scale. It suggests that in 2007, the Green TDs had no concept of departmental, cabinet and constitutional realities.

It is not easy to be effective in ministerial office. It is even more difficult for someone coming newly to Cabinet and to a department where they want to implement a relatively radical policy agenda. The challenge is even greater for somebody who simultaneously takes over the leadership of a small party and has to work to maximise that party’s impact in government.

It is clear John Gormley has been on a steep learning curve in government but at this stage he has established himself in the public mind as a relatively competent departmental Minister. Although he initially tended to focus on superficially attractive initiatives (like switching off house alarms) Gormley has begun to master large-scale initiatives. As Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government he has just published or is about to publish substantial proposals and/or legislation in almost all of the key areas in which he promised reform. A new Planning and Development Bill is working its way through the Oireachtas; the proposal for a directly elected Dublin mayor is published; and wider local government reform is in the pipeline. This week he confirmed that a White Paper on electoral reform will be published within months.

It would be nonsense to replace Gormley just when he is getting into his stride with another TD with no ministerial experience. Thinking that this somehow enhances the party’s effectiveness in government simply defies logic.

The realpolitik of Cabinet deliberations and the constraints of confidentiality would also make it impossible for Gormley to continue as Green Party leader and engage meaningfully with Taoiseach Brian Cowen on Government matters.

Some Green sources in recent days have even advanced the notion that a rotation of Green Ministers could be facilitated by getting a new super junior seat at Cabinet for Gormley. If they actually think this possible then the Greens are truly lost in a world of political fantasy.