Irish Greens hold six seats - may enter government

We've recently seen the Scottish Greens take a pivotal role in the new parliament and it looks like the Irish Green Party (Comhaontas Glas) may be about to go one better and take cabinet posts. The Greens held all six of their seats, while other smaller parties (Progressive Democrats, Sinn Fein, Socialist) and independents all lost seats. Green leader Trevor Sargeant has ruled out a formal coalition with Bertie Ahern's Fianna Fáil but may be able to find an arrangement that guarantees progress on Green priorities and may even end up with a seat at the cabinet table.

The Green's Election broadcast (a better quality version is on RTE) was much praised and is well worth three minutes of your time.

PRE-ELECTION ANALYSIS FROM RTE (Irish National Broadcaster)

Six years ago the Green Party did not even have a leader. Now, depending on the numbers game after the election, a Green leader could even be the next Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister).

Talk about climate change!

The scenario of a Green Party Tánaiste, of course, would only come into play if the party entered a coalition with Fianna Fáil.

Trevor Sargent, the party leader, has said that while he would not lead the Greens into a coalition with Fianna Fáil, he would consider serving in Cabinet.

That may be considered a strange position to adopt but these are different times for the Greens.

Since dropping the notion of collective leadership in 2001, the party has been on a curve of increasing professionalism. That evolution saw the party go from one seat in the 28th Dail to six in the now dissolved 29th Dáil.

The party has continued to adopt modern campaigning methods and techniques and these, allied to heightened global awareness of environmental issues, the impact of the Al Gore movie and local issues such as the contamination of the Galway water supply have all combined to give momentum the Greens as they hit the campaign trail.

Most political pundits now accept the party will certainly hold its six seats and that it could even double it to 12 seats, perhaps even a few more if it gets all the right breaks.

Even if the Greens do not hold the position of Tánaiste after the election the party looks a sure bet to have ministers at the Cabinet table, whatever the shape of the next government.

LibDems confused over Post Office closure

An excellent piece from today's Guardian Diary about Islington's ever-consistent LibDems.

Hats off, finally, to the ever-alert Lib Dems, who yesterday protested against post office closures outside the post office at 238 Essex Road, Islington, currently threatened with closure because it and 221 other fine properties across the borough have been put up for sale by Islington's Lib Dem-controlled council. Brilliant.

Critical Mass

The monthly "organised coincidence" of cyclists that is Critical Mass - people getting together to see what London would be like if more people cycled on a regular basis and to enjoy the delights of some temporarily car-free central London streets - has been the subject of a legal battle for the past year. Here's an update from someone who's been following the intricacies more closely that me.

Renewed Kafka-esque legal threat to cyclists

The Appeal Court, on Monday 21 May, overruled last year's High Court decision that the monthly Critical Mass bike rides in central London, as a "customary" procession, are exempt from Public Order Act requirements for advance notification to the police. A 2-1 majority in the Appeal Court decided that precisely because the rides had no fixed, pre-planned route they were not "customary", and therefore the law does require ... er ... the event's route to be notified in advance. Hmmm.

Initial press reports that this means the ride itself is illegal are wide of the mark. Participation in an un-notified procession is not of itself an offence. The Appeal judges themselves pointed out that to convict anyone, the police would need to prove that they were an organiser. Which will be difficult since there aren't any. But police could impose conditions on all participants "to prevent serious disruption" - although the court pointed out there wasn't any.

In response, the next ride - on Friday 25 May - looks like being a big 'un. Meet under the south end of Waterloo Bridge between 6pm and 6.30pm. (One might point out in a non-organisational manner.)

All Change?

Tony Blair's resignation has prompted rejoicing among those who want to see him as solely responsible for UK involvement in the mess of Iraq. Yet many of his sharpest critics still see military domination as the ultimate solution to a political crisis, rather than as part of the problem.

Conscience is working hard to remove the blinkers, showing that there are many realistic, hard-nosed alternatives to militarism with its huge social, economic and environmental costs. Conscience is campaigning for the right to have the military part of our taxes go to these alternatives, not to war.

As Gordon Brown moves next door, help to make a deeper change. Click here for a short animation.