As Adam Olsen takes over as the sa国际传媒 Green Party鈥檚 interim leader, he and his members have to think about what kind of party they want to shape.
The Greens have had breakthroughs federally, with the election of Elizabeth May, and provincially, with Andrew Weaver鈥檚 victory in the last sa国际传媒 election. They are still a long way from opposition status, and even further from forming a government, so what goals should they set for themselves?
Most party leaders will dutifully trot out the standard line: 鈥淲e are running to form a government.鈥� It sounds appropriately confident, but doesn鈥檛 fool anyone when the only card game your caucus can play is solitaire.
On the federal landscape, the New Democrats have never formed a government, yet they have shone light on issues such as medicare and social justice. The most saleable of their policies have been co-opted by majority and minority governments.
Do the Greens aspire to a similar role, holding the government鈥檚 feet to the fire until it brings in Green-inspired legislation? They can do that only if they convince government that they have a significant slice of the electorate behind them on the issues they are pushing.
The Greens are eager to shed their reputation as a one-issue party, knowing they will have to change that perception if they hope to elect more than a token number of MLAs and MPs.
Olsen working on the grassroots and Weaver labouring in the legislature have a lot of building to do before a new leader is elected next year. Forming a government might be just a dream, but even with small numbers, they can help form public policy in sa国际传媒
