4 thorny questions facing new Green Party leader

Now that the hard part of getting elected leader is done, all that is left is the small matter of actually leading.

Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman’s election as the new Green Party leader marks a clear changing of the guard in a party which until today has had just three leaders in its four decade history.

Mr O’Gorman narrowly defeated Minister of State and Senator Pippa Hackett to the position in an online vote of party members, and has now replaced the long-serving Eamon Ryan in the role.

The result was revealed at a packed press conference at Bewley’s Cafe on Grafton Street in central Dublin, full of pleasantries and commitments for everyone to work together for the betterment of the party.

But while the on-stage pageantry suggests all is now rosy in the Greens’ garden, any decent gardener will realise that some thorny questions will always be growing somewhere – including four which will need to be pruned soon if Mr O’Gorman is to ensure people do not wonder if the grass was really greener on the other side.

Divided party?

Among the first challenges Mr O’Gorman will have to overcome is any suggestion he is now leading a divided party.

There was an audible gasp at the Bewley’s event when the result was revealed, as party members took in the closeness of the final result.

Out of 1,896 votes cast in the race, Mr O’Gorman won 984 while Ms Hackett won 912 – a 51.8% to 48.2% split that was far tighter many had initially expected.

And given just more than half of the 3,425 members of the Greens voted at all did little to reduce this concern.

Asked by RTÉ News at the event if he is now leading a divided party, Mr O’Gorman was adamant this is not the case, saying: “No, I don’t believe the party is divided”, and pointing out the Greens have had “tight” leadership contests in the past, including in 2020 when Mr Ryan beat Catherine Martin by just 50 votes.

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In an interview a short time later on RTÉ’s News At One programme, Mr O’Gorman repeated the view when asked by presenter Gavin Jennings, saying the party “is not” divided and that the closeness of the race is a sign of “Pippa [Hackett]’s quality as a candidate”.

The public comments hit the right notes, but how true that message still sounds if the party comes under further poll pressure will show the real accuracy of the point, rather than on-stage platitudes in the full glare of the media spotlight.

It is of course true that Ms Hackett publicly backed her party’s new leader at the results launch, telling Mr O’Gorman from the podium: “I will be here for you.”

One internal opponent won over so, and just another 911 to go.

Climate or social issues?

What Mr O’Gorman chooses to prioritise now he is leader will inevitably play a role in firming up existing support, and in potentially winning over people who felt Ms Hackett was the better option.

And already, there are relatively clear signs of what those priorities may involve.

During the News At One interview, Mr O’Gorman repeatedly stressed how he wants Green policies to make a “meaningful difference to people’s lives”.

He also told party members in a prepared speech at the leadership results event that while traditional Green policies are important to ensure the party’s “core vote” remains, “if we depend only on our core vote then we’re going to lose Dáil seats”.

Mr O’Gorman also said the party cannot “retreat into a comfort zone and hope the votes come to us”, with many present taking the comments to mean the Greens cannot focus only on environmental policies and must also prioritise wider social issues.

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Among the policies earmarked by Mr O’Gorman are those relating to childcare, equal rights and legislating for hate crime – all issues he mentioned in the same breath as noting the need for an “innovative manifesto” at the next general election.

Given his position as minister for children, equality, disability, integration and youth, and his pre-Dáil links to both the marriage equality and repeal the eighth referendum campaigns, none of this will come as a surprise.

But how Mr O’Gorman promotes that approach without overshadowing core Green policies or adding to what Ms Hackett said during the leadership campaign is the party’s “image problem” of sometimes being “out of touch, preachy, judgemental” will have to be approached with care.

New boss, same as the old boss?

That is not to say Mr O’Gorman will be overly burdened with criticism he is revolutionising the Green Party at the start of his tenure, however.

Asked the leadership launch what exactly will be different between his term as leader and that of Mr Ryan, Mr O’Gorman paused, then joked “obviously a younger approach”, before saying it is “the next step forward”, without explaining the exact differences involved.

Mr Ryan echoed the view, saying the leadership change is about “passing on the torch” to the next generation.

Given the need for pleasantries at leadership handover events, that is entirely understandable.

But it does risk the suggestion that, apart from the leadership itself, very little has changed – or will be seen to have changed – at the Greens’ top table.

Asked at today’s leadership results media event if he will make any Cabinet changes now he is leader of his party, Mr O’Gorman said: “I won’t be proposing a Cabinet reshuffle of ministers or ministers of state.”

No change, in other words.

And while Mr O’Gorman’s logic for the decision is that switching people into a new portfolio months out from a general election is a risk, making relatively few if any senior changes does make it more difficult – although not impossible – to sell the image of deep party renewal to a wider audience.

Can he win?

The bottom line for any leader, whether old or new, is that regardless of what tactical approach you take, eventually you have to win.

Ultimately, this is how Mr O’Gorman’s tenure will be measured, and for now the jury is out on what way it may fall.

On one hand, Mr O’Gorman was the director of elections for the party’s recent local and European election campaign which saw it lose half of its councillors and both of its MEPs.

And while it was always going to be a difficult prospect to repeat the May 2019 result as the party was riding the crest of a green wave in opposition in 2019 and is in the far more pragmatic position of Government member today, a defeat is still a defeat.

But on the other hand, supporters of Mr O’Gorman note of the two leadership candidates – Mr O’Gorman and Ms Hackett – the former is more likely to win a Dáil seat at the next general election.

This is a crucial point for any leader, with Mr O’Gorman acknowledging this himself when he told RTÉ’s News At One that the party is “looking to hold every one of our Dáil seats”, and that he intends to grow this 12-seat number at the next general election.

As one party member told RTÉ at today’s results event, winning Dáil seats must be the priority for the Greens in the coming months.

And given the Green Party’s own rules mean it must have a leadership election after every general election, that final point may ultimately decide whether Mr O’Gorman’s leadership victory today is the start of a new era, or merely a prelude for someone else’s time in charge.