Greens vs Democrats

There's a post over at Online Opinion that's worth reading about the differences between the Greens and the Democrats. I've posted a comment there, which I'll copy here.


This is a very interesting article. I agree - the Greens haven't been asked the hard questions, and the media does need to do more work here.

To me, it seems that the Greens are very good at managing the media. If you want someone to wave a protest banner in front of a tv camera, the Greens will be there every time. They're at their best when they're instinctively saying "No!" to any proposal put forward. Beyond that, though, they find it very hard to negotiate and reach a satisfactory conclusion for both parties. They just seem to thrive on conflict.

Their record in the Tasmanian parliament shows this, I think. Even during the Labor-Green accord, when they had the balance of power, they found it very hard to reach agreement with anyone, and it didn't last very long. From memory, Bob Brown and Christine Milne (both now Senators) were in state parliament for that period.

The Democrats, on the other hand, haven't been so good at getting attention in the media - they're more willing to talk than fight. As
Malcolm says in this article, the Democrats have achieved quite a bit, but haven't been recognised for it.

I think it would be a sad day if the Democrats lost their seats to the Greens, even if it would mean more drama on the nightly news


So, that's my comment on the article. I do like the Greens, and they'll get my preference before the ALP or Liberals, but I do think the Democrats are better.