Howlin in attack on Rabbitte’s strategy

SENIOR Labour Party TD Brendan Howlin last night made his most public and direct criticism of the electoral strategy pursued by leader Pat Rabbitte for the General Election.

The Wexford TD and Leas Ceann Comhairle contradicted two key points made by Mr Rabbitte in his analysis of a disappointing election performance.

The Labour leader accepted that the ‘Mullingar Accord’ benefited Fine Gael exclusively but disputed that the party would have fared better from a stand-alone policy. He also said the party had a fundamental problem with its brand.