Maybe Kermit the Frog was wrong. Maybe it is easy being green.
Over the weekend, the Island’s Green Party held its annual general meeting with some good news for the party’s membership.
With $79,532 – donations have nearly doubled compared to last year, and memberships have climbed to 462 from 294.
And let’s not forget the Greens topped the most recent MQO Research opinion poll with 34 per cent support from decided voters – a slight edge over the governing Liberals with 33 per cent. Trailing in third is the Progressive Conservative Party with 28 per cent, which isn’t too bad since they haven’t chosen a new leader yet. With two per cent, the NDP have a lot of work to do.
The kicker is that 39 per cent of voters said they’re either undecided or don’t plan to vote. These votes are up for grabs for all the parties.
For better or for worse, a new PC leader after this weekend will affect the polls one way or the other.
And, the Liberals are governing one of the hottest economies in the country.
Both the Liberals and PCs aren’t standing by idly. Membership in these parties remains strong. As well, the Liberals have raised $362,209 and the PCs $203,017, so their political machines are likewise gearing up for an election.
So, let’s not get our hopes up too much. Yes, the Greens are becoming more popular, but is that enough to dethrone the Liberals or bypass the PCs on election day?
That might be a tall order for a party that had only 10.8 per cent of the vote in the last provincial election. By contrast, the Liberals had 40.8 per cent and the PCs 37.4 per cent.
The other interesting aspect is what the rise of the Greens could mean for the functionality of the province. The dilemma is that difference of opinion from elected officials is good for a democracy. But do we want the same dysfunctional situation as New Brunswick with the two parties with the least number of votes – the Greens and the People’s Alliance – holding the balance of power to pass legislation? Unable to form a minority government, former premier Brian Gallant resigned as leader of the Liberal Party.
Could the Greens on P.E.I. be that game-changing third party?
Still, it’s easy to fall in love with the Greens, and some political pundits and the media have done just that.
But let’s put their support in perspective. The Green Party has 462 members. Up to 8,000 members could vote in Saturday’s leadership for the opposition Progressive Conservatives.
And, whether we like it or not, money matters in election campaigns.
The Green Party’s nearly $80,000 pales by comparison to the $203,000 raised by the Tories or the $362,000 raised by the Liberals.
Islanders love affair with the Green Party may be short lived.
