Bernie Sanders, who lost last year's race to become the Democratic Party's presidential nominee but won many friends in the process, has emerged as an unlikely catalyst for a showdown between Bob Brown and Lee Rhiannon. The Greens elder statesman and the NSW senator are old adversaries, but Mr Sanders' spiritual presence indicates this is more than a grudge match reawakened. Indeed, some are suggesting it's a struggle for the heart, soul and future of the Greens, and that party leader Richard Di Natale may be a casualty.
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The origins of the internecine struggle date from December when members of the NSW Greens formed a new hard left group called Left Renewal with a broadly anti-establishment and anti-capitalist agenda inspired in large measure by what Senator Rhiannon has called the "Bernie Sanders experience". Senator Rhiannon claims not to be a member of Left Renewal – the Greens having publicly rejected a formal faction system. However, its manifesto is broadly consistent with her own political philosophy, which was nurtured in the radical inner-city politics of Sydney in the late 1970 and early '80s.
According to Senator Rhiannon, "the Greens are at a crossroads, with Labor appearing to move left on some issues and minor parties also pulling our votes away. The Bernie Sanders experience in the US shows that people with radical and anti-establishment policies can win mass support. How the Greens inspire people to join with us and vote for us is our challenge in 2017".
Dr Brown has rejected that view, suggesting the NSW branch is holding the Greens back federally and that Senator Rhiannon is intent on destabilising the party. Senator Di Natale, too, has criticised Left Renewal's agenda, describing the overthrow of capitalism as a ridiculous notion. "If the authors of this ill-thought-through manifesto are so unhappy with Greens policies," he said, "perhaps they should consider finding a new political home".
In what's sure to exacerbate this rift – and increase pressure on Senator Di Natale's leadership – voter support for the Greens fell during the second half of 2016. Whether this was due to the party's diminished media profile under Senator Di Natale's leadership, or was simply the result of the NSW branch's ideological posturing remains unclear.
Dr Brown often extolled the Greens' unity and "inclusiveness" while leader. But like all political parties, they are beset by factional rifts, personal animosities, and turf wars. Some of these divisions have been accentuated by historical quirks. In Tasmania, from where Dr Brown hails, the party's primary focus was on conservation and the environment; in NSW, issues like nuclear disarmament predominated, and still do.
Whether the Greens can profit at the ballot box by adapting the Sanders message for an Australian audience is a debate the party ought to have. Those claiming to best represent the party's "future" would do well, however, to reflect on the old adage that disunity is death in politics.
