Government doesn’t care for democracy, says Rabbite

LABOUR leader Pat Rabbitte yesterday launched a blistering attack on the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrat Coalition describing it as a Government that doesn’t care about society or democracy.

Speaking at a meeting of his parliamentary party to plan for the forthcoming Dáil term and this year’s three elections, Mr Rabbitte said the party’s first target would be to contest every democratic election it can.

That was the clearest signal yet from the Labour Party that it will contest the Presidential Election in the event that Mary McAleese decides to seek a second term.

In a direct reference to the Presidency, he said: “That office belongs to no person or party, but to the people of Ireland. A democratic choice and mandate goes to the heart of the vitality and strength of the office and its engagement with the people. I believe we must make every contribution we can to that engagement. That’s what is expected in a democracy.”

In his broadside against the Government, Mr Rabbitte evoked the Tory Governments of the 1980s led by Margaret Thatcher. “Increasingly it resembles the sort of government that could easily be led by the person who once said there is no such thing as society.”

He instanced what he asserted was the downgrading of parliamentary activity and accountability, the dilution of the Freedom of Information Act, and plans to introduce a press council with Government appointees.

He also argued that Ireland’s prosperity has failed to close the gap between the richest and poorest in society. “While lower unemployment has reduced one risk of poverty, new vulnerabilities to poverty have opened up, especially for the elderly, for long parents, and of people with disabilities.”

The Labour parliamentary party meeting followed a similar meeting organised by Fine Gael the previous day, which had a similar theme.

Labour will be fielding almost 300 candidates for the local elections. Mr Rabbitte says the party will put in a determined effort to increase its representation in the European Parliament. At present, Proinsias de Rossa is the party’s sole MEP. The party’s best chance of gaining an extra seat will be in the East constituency (where Peter Cassells or Peter Ward will be its candidate). Labour says there is also an outside possibility that Ivana Bacik could win a second seat for the party in Dublin.

The strong signals from senior figures within the main opposition parties is that they will adopt a far more combative and robust approach when taking on the Government during this Dáil term, with increasing co-operation and co-ordination between their strategies.

Senior Fine Gael sources this week reiterated that the party is committed to its stance of supporting President Mary McAleese, if she declares as a non-party candidate.