Rabbitte vows to remove FF and PDs from power

LABOUR leader Pat Rabbitte yesterday moved to shore-up his party’s rainbow alliance with Fine Gael by ending confusion over whether he would go into Government with Fianna Fáil.

After appearing to float the possibility of cutting a deal with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern after the next General Election, Mr Rabbitte insisted he was firmly committed to removing FF and the PDs from power.

“I have no intention of leading Labour into Government with Fianna Fáil and every intention of persuading the Irish people to change this Government and that means change the two parties” he said.

Speculation over Mr Rabbitte’s post-election strategy intensified at the weekend when he refused to rule out going into coalition with Mr Ahern.

He said it was “inevitable” the Dáil numbers would stack up for a FF/Labour Government and said his party’s manifesto could be achieved by such an arrangement.

Tánaiste and Progressive Democrat leader Michael McDowell seized on Mr Rabbitte’s weekend comments as proof the Mullingar accord between Labour and Fine Gael was a “dead duck”.

“It comes down to a straight forward choice. Do you want a PD/FF Government or do you want a Labour/FF Government?

“I’m glad to see the Labour Party finally tumbling to the electoral facts. They are preparing a fall-back position from the Mullingar accord because they know it’s a dead duck politically,” he said.

Fine Gael’s enterprise spokesman Phil Hogan branded Mr McDowell’s comments “idiotic ramblings”.

He claimed: “The PDs, at 1% in Dublin in the last poll, know that they are a party heading out of Government.”

The Taoiseach said it was “arrogant” to rule out going into power with any party until the voters had made their choice although he reiterated Fianna Fáil would not do a deal with Sinn Féin.

Polls in the past month showed floating voters preferred the option of a Fianna Fáil/Labour coalition.