Green Party members will choose between Patricia McKenna and Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, TD, for the role of party leader.
The two candidates emerged from the contest for leadership of the party after nominations closed today.
As the sole candidate for the position of deputy leader, Mary White, TD for Carlow-Kilkenny, was re-elected by default.
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Yikes. What a choice.
Gormley will win & Green Party will lose.Originally Posted by Insider2007
Yikes. What a choice.
Pity another TD didn't contest.
White strikes me as a sound person as deputy though.
Who will be elected as Party Cathaoirleach to replace Gormley, will be interesting too. I thought Mary White might go for that.
What an choice: an ineffectual minister or a nonsensical nonentity.
Another wonderful attempt at some form of objectivity. Bravo sir.What an choice: an ineffectual minister or a nonsensical nonentity.
I still can't figure out why Eamonn Ryan didn't contest this election. Sure, it might be Gormley's "turn" but even his supporters will concede that he's a major risk and may end up as the Green McDowell -- respected by the party membership and certainly a very clever man, but not media-savvy enough to lead successfully. Anyone care to guess why Ryan didn't stand?
Why do people assume he wants to be leader? Just because he showed an interest in running for President? Maybe he wants to be Cathaoirleach.
In fairness, comparing John to Michael McDowell is not a good comparison. John has been consistently elected to Dáil Éireann since 1997 and is not anything as bi-polar a politician as Micky McD. Éamon Ryan wasn't even a county councillor yet when John was already in the Dáil, indeed he only became a councillor as a co-option for John in 1998. He's still a yound man and I'm sure he's in no rush.
Why Cathaoirleach in particular? Or was that just an example?
I've no doubt that John Gormley is a bit more experienced than Eamonn Ryan in the Dáil but that's hardly the only equation here. Ryan is a much more conciliatory, voter-friendly character and while I have no doubt that Gormley's the intellectual driving force of the party, often that doesn't make for such a great leader (hence the McDowell comparison). I'm not making any particular criticism of Gormley, I'm just curious as to what caused Ryan to bow out. Fair enough if he lacks ambition, but as you mention, his presidential bid seems to dispel that notion.
It would be quite absurd to assume that Eamon Ryan and John Gormley didn't discuss what would happen 'if John quits' long before the situation arose, particularly given the protracted negotiations with FF. One would imagine that Ryan defered to the experience (even though he's not all that young).
This is his first time in a ministry, with a particularly difficult coalition situation - little wonder he'd want to concentrate on getting that job right first.
Particularly after McKenna entered the race, there was only going to be one candidate from the parliamentary party, so as not to split the 'realo' vote. Once Gormley declared it was all over bar the voting.
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