Vote Green for another swords-and-sandals epic on Merrion Street.

Rodericus Dubwestium gave him his Maxim for 4 and a half years. I left everything on the sand near the end of day 33.

He was dragged out of government buildings by the heels – a task carried out enthusiastically by legions of backbenchers from his former Coalition partners.

“We are punching above our weight,” MP Dubwestium said on Tuesday at the launch of his party’s manifesto. Proud to say he fought like a lion with Good Gael And Fianna Fail throughout his tenure in Cabinet, facing constant hostility and antagonism.

It was tough in the arena. He said before the Dáil was dissolved that the brave Greens were “facing sniping every day”.

But it was worth it because from this adversity an electoral slogan was born.

“The Greens deliver.”

How hard was it, Rodericus?

“There will always be tensions and there will often be conflicts, yes. But we resolved those conflicts and I think that’s ultimately what has been the success of this government.”

He sees hard-won victories at the end of a bruising run on the party’s key policy points. Many were apparently implemented while his Coalition partners held their noble noses and conspired behind his back.

But that was only the beginning. Rodericus now wants permission from the electorate to serve another term with his tormentors if, as perceived wisdom has it, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael return to power.

Does his courage have no limits? It’s epic.

This is why the latest Green manifesto is called “Towards 2030 – a decade of change, Volume II”.

Lots done, more to do didn’t cut the mustard.

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One journalist was struck by Volume II’s somewhat grandiose addition to the title, reminding the party leader of the “well-known cliché in cinema that sequels are usually worse than the original.”

Deputy leader Róisín Garvey wasn’t going to let that slide, predicting that the Greens’ equivalent of the difficult second album would be absolutely satisfying.

“I think Paul Mescal will be a better sequel to Gladiator,” Clare’s contestant said, glancing at the confused-looking Rodericus. He wasn’t the only one.

“So maybe you’ll end up eating your words there,” she told the man from Raidió na Gaeltachta.

Was Róisín comparing Dubwestium’s outgoing TD to Mescal, who plays Lucius in Gladiator II? And does this mean that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have had to deal with his version of Russell Crowe’s Maximus over the past four years?

You wouldn’t think so looking at the mild-mannered Rod.

A different sequel might have been more appropriate.

The voice of Marc Ó Cathasaigh from Waterford rose from the sidelines: “The Godfather, Part II.”

Poor Rodericus didn’t know where this was going, but Senator Garvey was on a roll on the Volume II front.

It is crucial that the Green Party has a following, because it is undeniable that the climate is changing. “It’s not that we wanted a sequel. We need a sequel,” she explained.

Rodericus believes the party has a good chance of returning to government, despite his former colleagues’ less than collegial remarks about Green Party policies. People in Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil claim they do not want to return to another gladiatorial arrangement.

But if he returns, Rodericus is ready to engage in training negotiations for the common good of the planet and for people in remote rural areas who need more local buses to take them to an evening’s bingo .

The Greens are rightly proud of the growing network of these buses across the country. Senator Pauline O’Reilly, the party’s chair, spoke highly of “the tapestry of public transport”.

It has improved people’s lives. “It’s not just for old people who go to bingo. It’s for young people going out for a pint,” she said, outrageously ignoring drinking retirees and sober millennials.

When the dust clears after the November 29 vote, Rodericus intends to be there to continue the good fight against climate change.

“First of all, I haven’t heard anyone exclude us.”

And even if that’s the case, they’ve recycled that old chant from the Millwall FC terraces for the Volume II era: “No one likes us, we don’t care.” »

The Social Democrats launched their election campaign a few minutes away by folding bike (there were four of them under the coat rack during the Greens’ demonstration) in the beautifully restored headquarters of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland in Merrion Square.

The Soc-Dems also want to shout at the government, but only if potential lead partners accept their “deal-breaking” red line questions.

The party’s electoral slogan is “For the future”. Considering they’re poised for power and their leader Holly Cairns is expecting her first baby on Nov. 22, they could also get away with “Any Day Now.”

This was just an opening for the Social Democrats. The actual manifesto will be launched another day.

Holly speaks firmly of “conducting difficult negotiations” with any party wishing to count on her support. “We don’t go to government to make up the numbers, we go to government to make a difference. »

That’s what they all say.

But MP Cairns stresses her party will make a decision based on the deal’s break clauses – one of which is a commitment to build 300,000 affordable homes.

“We have the people. We have politics. What we need now is public support,” Holly said.

( Opposition takes on ‘arrogant’ Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael coalition duoOpens in a new window )

She may have the people, but not all of them. Founding members Catherine Murphy and Róisín Shortall withdrew from national politics although they were actively involved in campaigning. Róisín is managing housing expert Rory Hearne’s campaign in his former constituency of Dublin North West.

The election also heralds the retirement from public life of Catherine’s familiar purple-belted Libra Designs Soc Dems coat, which she first officially presented at the party’s launch in 2015. She bought it a few years later early when she first ran as an independent and was advised to choose a trendy color to wear during her campaign.

“I chose purple, or rather amethyst, because amethyst and green were the color worn by the suffragettes. That was the logic and the mantle has been on many doors ever since.

She deploys it during election periods and during special party events. “Then I tend to wash it and put it away until next time. But I won’t put it in cold storage yet. I still have a lot of canvassing work to do, and that could also lead to a result in the presidential election.”