Labour and the Social Democrats should enter government formation talks “at a minimum”, Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman has said, warning that a government supported by right-leaning Independents could lead to a move away from “progressive” policies pursued by the last coalition.
Asked if he would encourage Labour and the Social Democrats to enter government, Mr O’Gorman said: “The only way progressive policies – be they on the environment, be they on wider social issues – the only way they get implemented is by parties in government taking that risk.”
Mr O’Gorman, the only Green Party candidate elected to the 34th Dáil following the recent general election, was speaking to reporters on Friday morning at the European Greens Congress at the Convention Centre in central Dublin.
“We have a real fork in the road moment,” Mr O’Gorman said. “If it is a progressive party [in the next government], I think the type of policies that we saw pursued over the last 4½ years could be continued.
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“If we see it supported by right-leaning Independents, I think we’ll see a very different approach, not just on environment or climate, on a whole range of issues.”
He said that while he had met Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik on Thursday regarding “opportunities for co-operation in the upcoming term”, Mr O’Gorman said it was “very unlikely” his party would be part of the next government.
“We haven’t received a mandate from the people to go back into government. I think when you look at the positions taken by other parties, I think it’s difficult to see how we could be part of the next government,” he said.
He also ruled out a confidence-and-supply arrangement with the next government in the likely event he returns to the opposition benches. The reason the Green Party “delivered” in the last government, he said, was because the party’s imprint “was seen across government”, at the Cabinet table and elsewhere.
“I believe it was our membership of Cabinet that enabled us to deliver and that won’t be a possibility in the next government,” he said.
He said he was worried that funding for public transport projects – the Metrolink, for example – might suffer under a government without a progressive tilt. He also cited a potential danger to “nature protection” and progress to active travel initiatives, especially in urban areas.
He said it was “absolutely” worth going into government last time around, despite the party being left with just one TD after Friday’s general election, citing the party’s influence on reducing climate emissions and expansion of public transport services, among other policies.
Rebuilding the party at local, national and European level was the focus for the party in the immediate future, he said.
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