New Life in " Green " Politics !

It has long been felt that the far left political inclinations of Senator Lee Rhiannon have stopped many moderates from casting a Green vote.  This battle between the " left " and the " right "  within the Greens political movement has previously resulted in Senator Rhiannon heading the party's Senate ticket, but she has now been displaced.

This was probably the outcome of a dispute earlier this year which saw Senator Rhiannon ejected from the party room.  She had authorised a pamphlet from left leaning groups that opposed the stance taken by Greens party leader Senator Richard Di Natale in negotiating the Gonski 2.0 school funding package with the government.

That was a direct challenge to the party leadership and many Greens thought it was totally unacceptable.  Senator  Rhiannon has long held the derisory soubriquet of being a " Watermelon ".  Green on the outside, and very red in the centre.   Her extreme left wing views have been a positive disincentive for many moderate voters to change their vote to  the Greens.

In fact, this has been a stunning defeat.  Her challenger was New South Wales Greens MLC Mehreen Faruqi who received 1301 votes compared to Senator Rhiannon's 843, a 60.7 percent victory after the distribution of preferences.  Dr Faruqi is expected to deliver a more moderate stance to Greens policy.

This division between the left and the right have resulted in many bitter preselection contests in New South Wales that have left many potential Greens voters wondering just where the party is heading.  The media have been enthusiastic in giving Senator Rhiannon's views plenty of publicity and as a consequence many people think that her extreme left wing views are actually what the Greens are seeking to achieve.

There is a possibility that Senator Rhiannon may take her left wing fringe and start an entirely new party and that would rid the Greens of this discordant element.   They started life as a voice drawing attention to the harm being done to the environment and that was what attracted initial support.  It was this left wing element that turned the party in new directions and took up causes that do not gain mainstream support. It is possible that the Greens may now return to their roots.

What is evident is that the party faithful are fully aware that the Greens will remain a fringe political party as long as they allow a chaotic element to distract from official party policy.  They have taken steps to shut down that raucous left wing element and its demands for social transformation.   They will not gain public support at a level that will thrust them into government unless they quell the mutiny in their ranks and present a clear policy that gains a degree of support from ordinary people.

Perhaps that is a basic political requirement that the ruling party holding office would do well to understand.  That old maxim that   "  disunity is death "  holds relevance !