The Green party members in Bournemouth at the weekend were, largely, exuberant. More than one person I spoke to used the word “joyful”. “The energy is amazing,” said Jean Lambert, the former London MEP. “It’s exceeded my expectations,” said the new leader, Zack Polanski. “Even the most unfriendly journalist can’t find anyone that isn’t fired up and ready to go.”
The fawning over this snakeoil salesman - dubbed 'Hypnotits' on Twitter - has been astonishing to see. If they'd had social media accounts back in 1978 in Guyana when Jim Jones was getting his Messiah shtick on, it'd have looked a lot like this.
Can't help but wonder if it's going to end up as disastrously.
Polanski himself contributed to this feeling. He has a talent for expressing members’ views clearly and without fearing how the rightwing press might respond.
Where once there was a nervousness about defending controversial but internally popular policies such as drug decriminalisation or denouncing Israeli “apartheid”, the party has now abandoned this caution – and members love it.
Yes, no doubt nutters applaud policy statements from those even madder than they are!
Partly, it comes from the feeling of moving in the right direction in other ways, too. Many members have long been concerned about the party being overly white. While that’s still true, there were, as party chief executive, Harriet Lamb, said to me, “more global majority Greens at this conference than ever before”.
‘We’ve attracted even more loons this year, go us!’
What’s also important is that, for many members, the last few annual conferences have been – as more than one person said – “horrible”, marred by transphobic behaviour.
Translation: Psople who don’t believe men can become women simply by claiming that’s what they are.
But, mostly, the party was focused on steering activist energy into winning new seats: it’s now confident of getting at least one Welsh Senedd member in May, and aiming for two. London’s local elections will be a big focus. And it’s hoping to win mayoralties in Hackney, Norfolk and Suffolk, and Sussex and Brighton – in the latter two, against Reform – in the latter, Millward herself is the candidate.
It remains to be seen whether enough people have come to their senses by then. As the old Chinese curse puts it, we sure are living in interesting times.
The risk now for Polanski is that expectations are stratospheric.
Not the word I'd have chosen...
DAD
ReplyDeletePerhaps the Green Ladies expect that being near Zack Polanski he will enlarge their breasts.