Politics and a greener future

The Greens should also avoid the temptation of trying to become mainstream too fast. As the Democrats found out, to shift from the principled margins to the inevitably compromised centre is risky. The Greens should leave the soft centre to the ALP (and remnant Democrats) for the time being, and instead maintain principled positions on the core issues. As such, they can generate and promote alternative ideas, maintain the loyalty of committed activists, and provide trained and motivated personnel to take alternative ideas forward.

There is no doubt that history is on the side of the Greens. In the medium term the imminent environmental crisis will push the electorate towards the Greens, as long as they stay true to an alternative vision. But whether it is the Greens, the ALP or the conservatives that actually implement policy originating with the Greens, the point is to achieve material change, not just political power. This has always been the bugbear of the ALP - the idea that only political power enables the ability to achieve change.

One day, perhaps sooner than anyone thinks, the Greens may form government in Australia, in coalition or even in their own right. This is most likely to occur if they can create and maintain the image of a party focussed on the material realities of twenty-first century life, and not just the political process. Sooner or later the voters will realise how profoundly the major parties - focusing as they have on economic mythology and political opportunism - have failed them in ignoring the environment, and they will turn elsewhere for leadership.

If they can keep their nerve, the future looks bright for the Greens because, without question, the environment is the big political issue of the 21st century. But for those who want to create a politics genuinely responsive to the real issues of the new century, the hard work has only just begun.