The Green Party took an important decision at its weekend conference to go into government after the next election if it can negotiate the right terms with either of the two big parties in the Dáil. Party members backed their leader Eamon Ryan, who said in his keynote speech that the Greens must be prepared to take office in order to pursue the most effective ways of addressing climate change. That experience should prove invaluable when it comes to facing up to the challenge of climate change, which will involve tough and potentially deeply unpopular decisions in the years ahead. Voters should be under no illusions about the changes in lifestyle that will be felt at every level of society if serious policies to tackle climate change are implemented. In the European and local elections the party surfed a wave of emotion about the importance of climate change.

Source: The Irish Times July 15, 2019 15:36 UTC