greenpolitics.ca

Where did Canada’s Green parties come off the rails? Or more likely, how come the Greens never really got on track in the first place? I’ve pondered this many times over the past 25 years, and it seems to me that besides the centralised, hierarchical structure I’ve already discussed, the main reasons for its failure are conventional political thinking, political naïvité, and lack of a strategic vision. But there’s more….

After a quarter of a century of dogged snuffling along the trail of electoral aspiration, it should be obvious to even the most fervid Green Party supporters that apart from pushing the mainstream political parties to slightly ‘green’ their political image, their collective political effort has resulted in almost complete electoral failure.

Book Review Canadian Green Party leader Elizabeth May has written an interesting but politically disappointing book on the dysfunctional state of Canada’s parliamentary democracy. Although it could be used as a lay-person’s guide to Canada’s Westminster-style politics, May provides no real insight as to how this inauthentic, fractious, and ethically corrupt mess can be cleaned up and genuine democracy attained. She knows the score, but fails to understand the nature of the game.

Canadians have voted in this election not to give the Conservative Party an overall majority, which means that two-thirds of the voting public do not want Stephen Harper to continue as prime minister. I have sent this letter to the Governor General requesting her not to agree to another minority government. Feel free to copy and circulate it. You send one, too — it’s time for action!

Conventional party politics offers limited opportunity to achieve the depth of cultural change necessary to safeguard life on this planet. Although there is a need for political activism, even Green political parties are neither far-sighted nor bold enough to put forward a clear vision of an eco-centric society. So I’m announcing a change of focus for this site.