Only the Greens can keep the Conservatives and Lib Dems out of the Holyrood power balance, the party has insisted.
Co-leader Eleanor Scott made the claim at the Edinburgh launch of the Greens’ top candidates and key Scottish Parliament election pledges.
The party is again asking for “second votes” on the regional list and hoping to capitalise on opposition to the coalition UK Government.
Ms Scott said, “Whoever you want as First Minister, the question is this: who should hold the balance of power?
“There are only two choices either one of the Westminster coalition parties, or the Greens.
“In the last session every vote counted, and the Green MSPs helped abolish tuition fees, secured millions for community environmental projects, and won investment in marine renewables.”
Keeping tuition free, investing in public services through fairer taxation and insulating every home in Scotland are the Greens’ key election policies.
Co-leader Patrick Harvie said proposals for a land value tax to replace council tax and business rates would be set by councils and give them more autonomy.
“Our approach would be to empower local councils to look at a range of forms of taxation either to directly fund revenue services or to service debt they wish to take on to invest,” he said.
“We would be empowering them to make their own decisions in the interests of their own community.”
Mr Harvie said insulating every home in Scotland at £100m over 10 years would reduce fuel bills and meet carbon reduction targets.
He said, “Last time Scotland voted budgets were still rising, and the prospect of a Tory government with an ideological cuts agenda was still far away.
“The debates were all about how that extra money should best be spent. It seems a long time ago.
“Now the question is this: do we need a Scottish Government prepared to stand up to that cuts agenda and ask big business and the richest to pay more, or should Holyrood simply be passing the cuts on?”
Mark Ruskell, the top candidate for Mid-Scotland and Fife, said, “Unlike the other parties, each of which in turn has broken promises to students, we know where the money’s coming from to guarantee Scotland won’t return to tuition fees.”
North East candidate Martin Ford said, “MSPs who will make the case for our public services, keep their word on important issues like the environment, and who will defend residents and communities against injustice.”
Photo used under Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr user andre_j_w.