RABBITTE TO SELL LABOUR FOR A BUCKET OF BLUE BEANS
Jun 7th, 2007 by Conor McCabe
Rumours abound that Pat Rabbitte has set upon a five year strategy that will see the eventual merger of the Labour party with Fine Gael. Having already handed Mary McAleese an uncontested victory, and messed up Labour’s election with the Mullingar Accord, the party leader has apparently set upon the task of bringing the Labour party to the same clifftop as DL, and tossing it over the edge.
Earlier this week on Prime Time, Eamonn Gilmore gave a bizzare interview where he talked about the inevitable decline of the Labour party in Ireland. He said that with the fall-off in trade union membership, the Labour party’s future appears unsecure.
Yesterday, the Irish Times printed an opinion piece by Tony Kinsella (sub required) which blamed the lack of industrialization during the Free state period as the reason for lack of support for the Labour party.
Kinsella’s analysis is wrong. The Labour party’s lack of growth during the Free State period has little to do with the lack of industrialisation. It was involved in a vicious internal civil war throughout the 1920s, losing Dublin to Jim Larkin’s party, which itself lost out to Fianna Fáil. (The partition of the island also had a significant effect on the labour movement, although not simply because of the “loss” of Belfast industry. During this period, most of the analysis of Labour’s role on the island was emanating from the North. Partition meant the loss not only of industry, but intelligence.) The Labour party’s support in the main came from the rural labouring class, with only mild breaks of support in urban centres.
Remember that the rural labouring class, who are not supposed to vote left or join unions, even though over one hundred thousand of them did just that during the 1910s and 1920s.
In truth, the Labour party handed Fianna Fáil the cities, and Fianna Fáil have not let go since. (for a further analysis, see here.)
With regard to Eamonn Gilmore’s comment that the decline of the Trade Union movement means the decline for the Labour party - well, an E minus for effort.
Historically, the main reason why the Labour party has not broken through into the mainstream is because it never tried. It was never a social democratic or socialist party, it was a trade union party, imbued with all of the rhetoric, but none of the vigor, of syndicalism.
Its problems began with its failure to see beyond the Trade Union movement, and to look for votes outside of those affiliated to Liberty Hall and ITUC.
Even this week, an analysis of the future of the Labour party, one provided by a senior member of the party, fails to see beyond the Trade Union movement.
Of course, in the light of the rumours of a merger with Fine Gael, Gilmore’s comments seems more like a buttering up than an analysis.
It looks like a merger is on the way between the Labour party and the blueshirts - with the Labour party bringing the shirts, and Fine Gael picking the colour.
Your historical analysis is largely true; however, the loss of the Labour Party would be catastrophic for Irish politics. I don’t know what Gilmore is talking about when he talks about the ‘decline’ of the Labour Party - apart from 1992, when was it ever any more popular than it is today? But then Gilmore - and Rabbitte have spent most of their political careers in the comfort afforded by the political fringes of WP/DL.
The current Labour Party has many things wrong with it, as has been the case in the past, but it still remains the most feasible means of trammelling the gobshitery and self-serving mentality that continues to plague the country. Every day any desire I have to return to Ireland to live recedes; if Labour melts into Fine Gael, I’m never coming back. I’d sooner live in Albania.
Yeah it’s not going to happen - the merge I mean - but that doesn’t stop Rabbitte & co believing that it’s the way forward. Other thing is, the only way for the Labour party to become a force in Irish politics is to become a real political party - one that recruits, organises, agitates. and at the moment there doen’t seem to be a campaigning spirit in the Labour party. Rabbitte should never have been allowed to get away with this Mullingar fiasco - apart from anything else, it showed a complete ignorance of our political system. The Dáil elects the Taoiseach, not the people. The People elect representatives who share their views / are seen to look after them. They then go ahead and elect a government / Taoiseach.
but I think Rabbitte was allowed get away with the Mullingar accord approach - and get his 2/3 majority to pursue it - because the alternative was for the Labour party to start hitting the pavements again, and like Sargent Roger Murtagh in Lethal Weapon, they’re just too old for this shit.
Rabbitte instead stood on a mandate to be Tainaiste to Kenny’s Taoiseach - instead of standing on issues that then become part of his bargaining chips relative to the amount of seats his party won.
there is hope. The local elections are in two years time, and that should be the start of the Irish Labour’s campaign to get back on track, to start winning local seats, then constituencies, then the 40 or so seats they need to be the equal player in a FF coalition, or the dominant one in a Lab/FG/Greens one.
Only then will be see the emergence of Ireland as a true social democratic state, instead of this fucked-up post-colonial hybrid.
I’m sure it is simply a rumour. The history since 1989 has demonstrated that mergers end up less than the sum of their parts. But, if Rabbitte etc really believed this then their analysis would be even worse than it currently seems. Even the mild social democracy of Labour would find little to comfort it in FG. They come from such disparate traditions, and visceral loathing of SF is simply not going to work asa glue, particularly since SF in five years will be probably without Adams and/or remain as diminished as now.
I think one of the most intriguing aspects of Mullingar was the way in which it demonstrated a credulity on the part of some (by no means all) Labour members when it came to the abilities of Rabitte and the former WP/DL cohort. These have been, as I hope people now see, wildly overstated. Rabbitte etc are generally not bad human beings, but some seem to have regarded them as the most ‘cunning, devious…’ etc, etc.
But the paucity of ambition is what really irks me. Conor, you’re right. Labour should have been pitching to become the voice of the left, not a subsidiary voice in an FG led coalition. And when one considers that the seat numbers FG had entering the election were approx what Labour had at its high point, why not play on that?
[…] Perhaps they await the knock on the door from Bertie Ahern. Or perhaps they’ve given up. Conor, over at Dublin Opinion, notes a rumour that there is a long term plan for a merger of Labour with […]
I think that the problem with the Labour Party is that it does not have enough “cute whore” politicians. In Ireland dishonesty or the hint of dishonesty in not a hindrance to getting elected. The Labour Party has very serious honest politicians but most people want “personalities” and not saviours.
If people were asked if they though Enda Kenny was an honest man most would have answered “Yes, but he is boring”. FF seem to have got the right mix of characters when it comes TDs.
They pick a guy who is popular in business, sport or both. This means the guy is already worth 3,000 first preferences, if he has a relation who has been successful in politics this is worth another 2,000 votes. If he is a friendly guy who has the gift of not offending sensitive voters at the door he will pick up a few another thousand votes in transfers. Finally having the charm to convenience voters that he can deliver what ever is needed for his area will see him through the doors of Leinster House.
Who said Irish Politics was about running the country, stupid, its about getting elected and re-elected. The reason Labour have failed to gain seats is that they don’t follow this proven formula.
Labour just don’t have a party machine (never really did) or a clear direction (sometimes it did but just for a short time). Pat Rabitte’s a decent politician, witty and genuine if a bit smug. But I just think Labour target FF/FG type voters when they can offer a lot more to SF/Green type voters. They don’t work hard enough for the disadvantaged. They don’t highlight than one in ten Irish kids live in poverty. All the time they have to hold back so they can still appeal to FF/FG post-election. It’s hard for them too, I’ll admit, because the things I’ve outlined above are not what people who vote care about. Sometimes you’ve got to take a risk - it’s a joke that two parties that are essentially the same take 75% of the seats.
Listening to Brendan Howling on the RTE news at 1 today was quite heartening. Clearly he is not one to sell the pass.
I mean, of course, Howlin… Apologies.
Hi worldbystorm, I was away the weekend so only got to the internet today. The rumour came from a senior member of the Labour parliamentary party. could be just simple old shit-stirring, but there you go!
Interesting. Doesn’t entirely surprise me…
As a Fine Gael supporter I would not want a merger with Labour and am disappointed at the way labour people are blaming FG for a poor Labour result.
You only lost one seat and were helped by our transfers. In 2002 when we lost 23 seats you did not gain a single seat. Grow up and go out and fight for your seats. It’s easy to blame others when you cant face up to facts.
FG did everything it could to help Labour win seats, we didn’t bank on labour having such a week machine.
I’m not blaming FG for a poor labour result. I’m blaming labour for the poor labour result. Part of that was due to the Mullingar accord. It should never have happened. But that’s not the fault of FG, that’s the fault of Labour. I’ve been arguing for Labour to go out and fight for seats since day one. and that includes taking seats from FG, especially in Dublin.
But yeah, it’s true. Labour’s problems are not done to cute-hoor Irish politics, not down to funding issues, not down to the Bertie facotr - it’s down to the fact that they have a weak party machine. spot on.