Treaty policy could become Martin’s Tallaght Strategy

The Fianna Fáil leader may have a problem convincing the grassroots his strategy is the right one, writes political editor Paul O’Brien

ÉAMON Ó Cuív looks isolated now that Fianna Fáil TDs are declaring they are united behind party leader Micheál Martin’s position on the fiscal compact treaty.

But it wasn’t always that way.

There were some grumbles within the party about the position Mr Martin had taken in recent weeks.

To see why, it’s necessary to jump back a couple of months, when the treaty was being negotiated and Mr Martin was insistent in his belief that the measures it contained would be insufficient to end the eurozone debt crisis.

He was also calling for the treaty to be put to a referendum, as was Sinn Féin.

His stance raised a few eyebrows in the Government, with Fine Gael and Labour openly wondering if Mr Martin was preparing abandon Fianna Fáil’s long-cherished pro-Europe tradition for a eurosceptic position.

Mr Martin was doing nothing of the sort, but his problem was that, in his desire to put policy over politics, his stance could not be distilled into a sharp soundbite.

In early February, he used a keynote address at the Institute of International and European Affairs to spell out his position precisely.

He wanted a referendum because it was dangerous to deny the electorate its say on this treaty when its would have to be consulted again on EU issues in the future.

Mr Martin made clear that Fianna Fáil would support a yes vote in such a referendum, and that it was maintaining its pro-Europe position.

However, he reiterated his belief that the treaty was insufficient to solve the crisis, and called for a much more radical approach, including a “significant expansion of key federal powers”.

Specifically, he wanted a system of transfer of resources similar to the US, whereby the wealthier states would help the poorer ones.

He also wanted an overhaul of the ECB so it could provide much more financial assistance to troubled states.

The speech was comprehensive, and satisfied some in Fianna Fáil who believed he had been unhelpfully vague in the weeks leading up to it.

Others in the party were disappointed though, because all they heard was that the party would support the treaty — and nothing else.

They felt Fianna Fáil was in opposition, and therefore should oppose. They didn’t necessarily want to oppose the fiscal compact per se, but they at least wanted to make demands for a better deal for Ireland before it ratified the compact.

Éamon Ó Cuív articulated those concerns when he spoke out this week, and was forced out as deputy leader and frontbench spokesman as a result.

He argued that the party should not support the treaty unless Ireland’s bank debt was significantly written down.

He also wanted guarantees that Ireland’s low corporate tax regime would be safe from interference.

Given that some Government ministers are both publicly and privately now saying much the same thing — that at the very least, the EU and ECB should grant Ireland a cheaper deal on the Anglo bailout as a sweetener ahead of the referendum — it is suddenly Mr Martin, rather than Mr Ó Cuív, who looks exposed.

Whether meaning to or not, Mr Martin may on this issue have walked his party into a new form of Tallaght Strategy — the politically disastrous approach Fine Gael leader Alan Dukes took in the late 1980s to support the government in taking tough economic decisions.

The strategy helped to cost Mr Dukes his leadership of the party.

Nobody is suggesting Mr Martin’s leadership is at risk — not even Mr Ó Cuív. He knows he is in the minority and that Mr Martin has the bulk of the parliamentary party behind him.

However, they are not behind him without some quibbles. They fear that if they don’t start providing a really strong, vocal opposition, they are going nowhere fast.

As for Mr Ó Cuív, the theory gaining ground in Leinster House yesterday was that his actions were not motivated by a desire to challenge Mr Martin for the leadership.

Instead, politicians suggested, they were motivated by a desire to fend off the threat posed in his own constituency by a Sinn Féin senator, Trevor Ó Clochartaigh, who looks a good bet for a Dáil seat in the next election.

After all, as Tip O’Neill used to say, all politics is local.