Since
the 1980s when Petra Kelly and her dungaree and
sandals clad colleagues of the German Greens carved
out a place in the public consciousness for environmentalist
politics, the phenomenon has become a permanent
feature of the European political landscape. Green
streams have flowed throughout the European body
politic. Despite success in some countries they
have never yet converged into a tidal wave that
would wash away the dominant political blocs. Yet
the Green surge has not been dissipated nor its
voice silenced.
Given
Ireland's long association with the colour, it would
be ironic if the Greens were to have no presence
here. At the last general election in the Republic
the Green Party led by Trevor Sargent took 6 seats.
At the time it was also in possession of two seats
in the European parliament, both of which now have
incumbents from alternative parties. Much of the
Green upsurge was due to the party broadening its
appeal beyond politics of the environment and addressing
a range of social concerns, which has helped it
acquire a radical image. When George Bush visited
Ireland last year and other radical leaders ducked
and dived for fear of offending the great white
war lord, the leader of the Greens drew up a symbolic
arrest warrant for him.
Most
of the media focus on the upcoming election, not
surprisingly, is on those who are contesting them;
on those seeking to stay in or get into elected
office; the men and women that make the news today.
Those from yesteryear attract the spotlight because
of something controversial like the support given
to the current South Belfast DUP candidate by former
UUP leader, Jim Molyneaux. But one face that would
have sprinkled fresh water on our barren political
desert is regrettably absent from the electoral
scene this year. Lindsay Whitcroft was the Green
Party candidate in last year's European election.
Shortly after that contest I joined her for coffee
and we surveyed the potential for green politics.
I had intended to write about my exchange with her
but after a few false writing starts other things
kicked in and the moment had passed. It happens
sometimes and invariably leaves the writer feeling
a bit guilty at having taken up someone's time only
to produce zilch in terms of ink on paper. Given
that this time out there are more interesting people
not contesting elections than are, a venture into
that other world can see my non-writing mishap redeemed
somewhat.
Browsing
through some of the media coverage on this year's
election I was taken aback to read that the female
co-leader of the Green Party was Kelly Andrews.
I wrongly assumed it was still Lindsay who held
down the brief last time we met. By all accounts
Kelly Andrews is from the same stable as Lindsay,
and is driven by the same concerns. My observation
of the Greens was just not close enough to spot
the changeover. When I met Lindsay I assumed she
was a personality that would be on the electoral
circuit for some time to come. But other things
intervened. When I joined her for coffee she had
just secured her degree. No mean feat for a mother
of three young children, two girls and a boy. The
education bug obviously had its bite and this time
round Lindsay Whitcroft has opted to forego the
electoral fray in favour of a return to full time
study.
People
are free to make their choices and while it maybe
none of our business, it does not prevent us feeling
a twinge of regret that the choice made does not
dovetail with our own preferences. It was so refreshing
to talk to Lindsay Whitcroft. There seemed such
an absence of political ambition, ambiguity or opportunism;
worthy traits in the modern world of cutthroat politics.
Her passion for activism - seeing in it a means
to change the quality of people's lives rather than
the naked pursuit of power - and the energy she
exuded led me to feel that I was interacting with
something called hope. Not that hope has an easy
time in the dreary North. Every tentative step it
seeks to make is met by growlers and gougers quite
determined to hobble any initiative that might marginalise
them and allow fresh faces to appear.
The
hope that Lindsay Whitcroft offered took a severe
battering at the polls last year. She came away
with less than 5000 votes. Not good in a European
election. Her honesty in describing the result as
a disappointment was disarming. It is so commonplace
to hear politicians describe all their failures
as great leaps forward that when someone tells you
it as it is, the shock waves take a little time
to subside. In spite of her dismay she is still
a member of the Greens and is supporting the party's
attempts this time round to increase its electoral
mandate. She is also responsible for publishing
and promoting the party website.
I
am not a Green, preferring a more eclectic approach
to the political menu; more in tune with the earlier
free flow of Petra Kelly than the current control
politics of Joschka Fischer. Like Christopher Hitchens,
'I feel emancipated by the lack of any party or
ideological allegiance.' But I had hoped that voices
like Lindsay Whitcroft's would have been better
rewarded at the polls. Nor was hers a lone voice.
Her colleague Raymond Blaney stormed the bastion
of inequitable health services with his persistent
hospital campaigning in South Down. The current
party co-leader John Barry never failed to impress
me at conferences or in discussion. His perspective
of class-plus led me to conclude that within the
Greens lay a radical streak that was not only descriptive
but could be prescriptive as well, able as it was
to avoid being hamstrung by wooden formulae and
crude economic determinism. I also appreciated his
stated vision of a democratic republicanism which
would be relevant to the 21st Century. 'The Green
Party is organising on an all Ireland basis. And
we want to offer a very definite alternative to
Sinn Fein in terms of green radicalism.'
It
was so energising listening to him speak once at
a conference in Derry, when many from the Left were
visibly wincing at the thought of people suggesting
democratic centralism might not be so democratic
after all. His vision and breadth of ideas caused
consternation amongst some on the Left - always
a good sign when they are shaken out of their dialectical
stupor. But even his performance wasn't enough to
draw me back to another Lefty conference. The combined
creativity of the entire pharmaceutical industry
has yet to manufacture anything that would combat
the depression Left unity gatherings induce.
Fluent
in both Spanish and French, with some understanding
of German, the one language Lindsay Whitcroft won't
brook is that spoken by the sexist. According to
a survey conducted last year by University College
Cork, young female candidates perform better than
their rivals when ballot papers carry photographs.
Don't even think about raising that finding with
her. Years ago a male interviewer may have been
tempted to describe her as an attractive woman with
a mane of blond hair. To do so today would be to
invite scorn. One of the first comments she made
on meeting me was that Steven King had penned a
piece on the appealing physical attributes of female
candidates. This led to a 'juvenile debate on the
Slugger O'Toole site assessing the attractiveness
of female candidates.' She was bitter about the
quality, feeling that the viciousness of the comments
was something that inhibited women from participating
to a greater degree in politics. She was 'absolutely
disgusted' at the abuse Sinn Fein women were subjected
to. 'There was nothing political about it. They
were being attacked for purely personal reasons.'
Finding out that Lindsay is a strong believer in
feminism is hardly the catalyst for open mouthed
surprise.
Coming
from a working class background, Lindsay professed
little tolerance for rampaging capitalism. She believes
that the Greens are a very left party and stated
her outright hostility to any neo-liberal economic
agenda and is resolutely against privatisation.
The Socialist Environmental Alliance which was also
contesting the seat in last year's European elections,
was viewed by her as an ally rather than a rival,
although she expressed a hope that the SEA would
at some point in the future put its energy into
Green politics. That this atypical generous attitude
to other sections on the Left is not merely the
private view of one party individual is evident
from the call by John Barry for voters to turn out
for Eamonn McCann in Derry: 'a vote for Eamonn McCann
will send a powerful message across this island.'
Lindsay
Whitcroft's involvement in the Green Party led on
from previous association with the Alliance Party.
Although she is quick to point out that before any
party involvement she worked with Greenpeace and
had involvement in Green politics. Her political
instinct led her to join Alliance when she was about
21, believing it to be a party of equality. 'Alliance
Party at that time had the highest number of female
representatives.' Between 1993 and 2002 she twice
served on the party's executive, only to find herself
disillusioned, as many of the radicals she joined
the party with had since moved on. She found the
Greens to be much more family oriented party. There
are many young parents in it and it has a younger
age profile than Alliance.
One
of the things that made her so interesting is that
she was completely devoid of the self-importance
that accompanies politicians. She feels the community
and voluntary sector, where there are lots of women,
do more work than the politicians. Her experience
of that sector led her to the Greens:
