Polanski will struggle to end the Greens’ bitter Zionism fight
A controversial conference motion is costing the leftist party local power — but a resolution to the row looks far from easy.
Zack Polanski's Green Party is grappling with the fallout from a controversial policy designating Zionism as a form of racism. While Polanski has pushed the party to challenge Britain's governing Labour Party from the left, recent internal bickering over the party conference motion has made it difficult to move forward. This internal democracy focus has hampered efforts to address the motion, which has triggered a wave of local government deals with Labour being collapsed.
Polanski has sought to regain the initiative by promising an overhaul of party democracy, but this is proving challenging within a party constitution designed to give members control. The situation is further complicated by the fact that members cannot bring forward a motion to amend the Zionism policy for two years after it is voted on, a restriction that the five-member Standing Orders Committee, backed by Greens for Palestine, would enforce.
This creates a bind for Polanski, who must balance concerns from MPs and membership while avoiding over-riding party structures.
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