Greens for Greens â„¢

[From: The Post.IE]
01 July 2007  By Niamh Connolly, Political Reporter
Cracks have appeared in the Fianna Fail-Green Party voting pact for the Seanad elections, with Green councillors expressing unease at the prospect of ballots being scrutinised by their own party.

Under a deal struck during the coalition talks to ensure they vote for Fianna Fail candidates, the Greens will secure two Seanad nominations from Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.

Fianna Fail, which has 30 elected Senators, faces losses in next month’s Seanad elections as a result of the party’s poor performance in the 2004 local elections, when it lost 80 seats.

To minimise losses, Green TDs and councillors are expected to follow central direction and vote for two Fianna Fail nominees on each of the five panels.
But Dublin City councillor Bronwyn Maher expressed unhappiness with instructions she received on the voting strategy.

‘‘Fianna Fail may not be in the room but they will be very much there when the papers are being scrutinised,� said Maher.

‘‘I have an ethical problem with being told how to vote. My attitude is this ballot paper is given to me as an elected representative by Dublin City Council - and not by Fianna Fail or the Green Party.�

Maher said that although she intended to vote for Fianna Fail candidates, she believed councillors should be free to choose candidates on a policy basis.

Senior party sources confirmed that the Green Party would be checking the Seanad ballot papers, but said this was due mainly to the complexity of the Seanad’s list system and the need to validate and be seen to validate the papers.

‘‘If there is any coordination in filling in of ballot papers, Fianna Fail would have no direct input. We heard that some councillors would be concerned about it,� said a Green Party source.

Fianna Fail had stressed the need to ensure the voting arrangement was honoured by the Greens. ‘‘If, in retrospect, the Green Party fell down on its side, this would be obvious and it would have an impact on our Taoiseach’s nominees,� he said.

Maher, who supported Patricia McKenna’s nomination to contest the Green Party leadership, said a voting pact had been mentioned at the Mansion House convention when the party voted to enter government with Fianna Fail. But its full detail emerged only in the last fortnight.

‘‘Fianna Fail are effectively asking the party to scrutinise our ballot papers and report back to them,� she said.

Meanwhile, nominations for candidates to contest the Green Party leadership must be returned by Friday, and postal ballots will be sent out to all members with voting rights on Monday, July 9.

The favourite for the leader’s position is John Gormley, the Minister for the Environment. Maher said she believed McKenna’s decision to contest the party leadership was a positive development.