The Green Party has identified a problem, but a solution appears elusive.
When announcing he was stepping down, Eamon Ryan put his finger on something: the negative perception of the Green Party in large parts of rural Ireland.
He said this was one of his “biggest regrets” because it’s simply not true that the Greens are unconcerned about the population living outside of our cities.
He noted: “Convincing people of that has not been easy because we have also been the subject of a relentless attack, particularly on social media.”
If that’s the challenge facing the party, how will his successor overcome the problem?
Some, like Limerick TD Brian Leddin and Wicklow TD Stephen Matthews, believe the immediate solution is to elect Pippa Hackett.
After all, she is originally from Co Mayo but has been living in Co Offaly for decades and is a beef and sheep farmer.
Minister of State Ossian Smyth agrees.
He told RTE’s Morning Ireland that Pippa Hackett’s elevation would ensure that the Green Party is relevant outside of Dublin.
He declared it is time for a Green reset and the party needs a big change.
When she declared her candidacy this afternoon, Pippa Hackett said she would be a “fresh start”.
She noted that all previous Green leaders – Trevor Sargent, John Gormley and Eamon Ryan – were men from Dublin constituencies.
But will changing the leader eliminate the Green’s rural problem this side of a General Election?
And then there is the question as to whether Senator Pippa Hackett will be elected a TD.
In 2020, she was in 8th place after the first count in the Laois-Offaly constituency, with 3,494 votes – and that was with an incoming Green tide.
The chair of the Green Party, Senator Pauline O’Reilly, is convinced Pippa Hackett is the person to turn things around.
She said: “She is a bundle of energy and intellect and understands what it is like to listen to all voices and to stand up for a sustainable future.”
When making his declaration that he would contest the leadership election, Roderic O’Gorman also spoke about the same problem.
He acknowledged on RTE’s News At One that the Green Party’s message is not resonating in rural Ireland and declared: “That’s absolutely something we have to address.”
Maybe unsurprisingly, given he lives in west Dublin, he also contended that where a leader lives is not going to be the determining factor in how people vote.
Some Green TDs outside of Dublin believe that he is the best person to tackle the problem.
They include Minister of State Malcolm Noonan, in Carlow/Kilkenny, and Marc Ó Cathasaigh who is the party’s TD in Waterford.
Minister Noonan contended: “His experience, dedication, strategic vision and work ethic is what we need to lead our party through this next phase.”
But can a Dubliner truly change a view, which appears to be entrenched, that the Greens are out-of-step with rural Ireland?
And, like Minister of State Hackett, there is also a question mark over whether Minister O’Gorman will be successful in the next General Election.
His constituency of Dublin West will have an additional seat, whenever the contest is held.
However, the Green Party lost its councillors there in the Local Election, as opposed to places like Dublin Bay South and Dún Laoghaire.
Catherine Martin might have been able to solve the problem given that she’s a Dublin TD but from Monaghan.
However, she’s ruled herself out of the contest.
It seems difficult to see how the Green Party can turn around the negative perception about itself within a matter of months.
While Eamon Ryan pointed to an online campaign against the party, and misrepresentation of their policies in the Dáil, the Green Party will also have to look in the mirror and ask itself some tough questions.
Why has the party failed to sell or explain its policies to the wider electorate?
What is the reason why accusations of arrogance have, at times, a ring of truth about them to the voters outside of the capital?
In his speech, Eamon Ryan said: “Our approach is to start by listening to people, asking for help, rather than telling everyone what to do, admitting uncertainty in how the change will work best and speaking to the heart and not just the head because our motivation comes from a love of creation and our place within it. We seek benefits for every place and community in the transition we need to make.”
The new Green Party leader needs to convince rural Ireland that that’s the truth – and that’s an onerous task.
