Rabbitte must prove stamina and enthuse workers
At first glance that statement may appear confused, so perhaps we should explain a little. Being part of Government for almost half of the past 30 years has inevitably taken a toll on Labour's ability to enthuse the ordinary citizens who must be the party's natural core of support.
Throughout his six-week leadership campaign, Mr Rabbitte said it was time for the party to re-engage with ordinary working people, with younger voters and with communities in a rapidly changing Ireland. But since politics is about achieving power, and a major share in Government, he knows the party cannot deviate too far from the mainstream in its efforts to redefine and repackage its message.
The party must reclaim ground which is in danger of slipping away to Sinn Féin, especially the younger voters who can at best have but a dim memory of what the IRA has done in the recent past in the name of Irish unity.
They must also beware of the Green Party who have made inroads with middle-class urban voters. But in both cases Labour must avoid becoming too obsessed with SF and/or the Greens.
Even opponents of Pat Rabbitte within Labour will own that he is perfectly capable of tackling these issues. But since it could be several years to the next election, he will need to convince some within and without the party that he has enough stamina On the plus side, Ruairi Quinn leaves perhaps the best organised Labour Party ever. It is far from perfect but there is a basis for building something Labour never really had, an effective nationwide branch network.
Mr Rabbitte also has another advantage Mr Quinn did not enjoy. The current Government is unpopular, heading towards becoming wildly unpopular, and it is being forced by the state of the national finances to lean more and more to the right.
Throughout Ruairi Quinn's leadership term, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern had enough money to simultaneously cut taxes and increase public spending. The Government had a solid national wage deal guaranteeing relative industrial peace and for long periods lasting peace in the North looked within sight, buoying up the national feel-good factor.
Opposing someone at the Government helm in such upbeat times was extraordinarily difficult, and Labour made few enough inroads. But virtually every one of those issues has changed affording Labour the opportunity to get in there from now on and oppose tooth and claw.
They could in fact take a leaf from the book of Fianna Fáil in opposition and kick almost everything.
Going into the general election in May, Labour had alternative economic policies which were scarcely noticed by the voters. In a nutshell, the party proposed borrowing for investment in social capital, including dipping into the pension reserve fund, strictly for investment purposes.
The economic revelations since the election will have strengthened Labour's ongoing arguments that the previous Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrat Government squandered the fruits of the economic boom.
But equally, the new leadership team will know that saying 'I told you so' has limited appeal. Over the next year Labour needs to renew its contact with working people in a way that is relevant to the changed nature of work.
It needs to enthuse those who are dependent on a wage or salary but still care about the less fortunate in society All of that leaves Pat Rabbitte facing a tightrope but that, when all is said and done, is politics.
