Dear oh dear. With all that’s happening in the US Democratic party just now, one might have thought it would be near enough impossible for politicians elsewhere to catch the eye of the media. Well, fascinatingly, the Green party has defied all odds. The eco-zealots have found themselves in the spotlight this afternoon after a series of rather, er, bizarre responses to the news that Joe Biden will not contest the next election.
After the US President announced he would be abandoning his re-election campaign on Sunday night, the Green party was quick off the mark with its press release – circulating it within an hour of the news so as not to disappoint those on the edge of their seats waiting to hear what the eco-activist reaction was. ‘Biden stepping down “a true sign of Leadership” say Greens’, roared the subject line, before co-leader Carla Denyer also took her tribute to Twitter. ‘I wish President Biden well and thank him for his many years of public service,’ she wrote earnestly. ‘This cannot have been an easy decision for him. But to take a decision that is personally difficult, but that is in the public interest, is a true sign of leadership.’
Yet it seems that in Denyer’s haste to make herself relevant, she failed to consult her party membership. Cue the outrage…
‘For the record, Carla doesn’t speak for me and she doesn’t speak for a huge chunk of the Green party,’ fumed former prospective candidate Adam Pugh, adding: ‘This is a horrendously bad take.’ Meanwhile Leanne Mohamad, who contested Wes Streeting’s Ilford North seat as an Independent, raged: ‘Can someone explain to me why this tweet has not been deleted? How absurd.’ And Scottish Green activist Ellie Gomersall wrote furiously that ‘I think not enabling genocide would be a truer sign of leadership to be honest.’ Crikey.
It wasn’t long before Denyer had to drop her pomposity and make a rather abrupt U-turn. Grovelling to her eco-warrior followers, she made a third statement on the issue, writing:
For decades successive US Governments have supported the Israeli government’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land, and Biden is complicit in the slaughter of innocent people in Gaza. Last night I was positive about President Biden’s decision to stand aside as a candidate. Some people read into this that I was offering my unmitigated support for his Presidency, including the policy of selling arms to Israel. Given my long-running work campaigning for peace, this is the last thing I wanted and certainly not my position. I am sorry for not making it clearer, and that my comments left some in doubt and concerned. The next president needs to work for peace, stop arms sales to Israel, and ensure an immediate ceasefire and release of all hostages. The world needs the next US President to be a peacemaker.
Tldr; ‘When I wished Biden well, I actually meant he was complicit in slaughter.’ What a mess…
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