Burton finds an ally in IMF over her fiscal targets

The International Monetary Fund has expressed support for Labour leader candidate Joan Burton noting she wants to maintain the agreed bailout fiscal targets.

In its first formal post-bailout report on Ireland’s economy, the IMF took a brief look at the “sharp fall” in support in the recent elections for the current coalition.

The report noted support for the two governing parties was 31% down, from the 55% at the 2011 general elections.

“This fall is widely seen as reflecting the large fiscal consolidation in recent years together with the limited benefits, as yet, for the majority of the population from the emerging recovery,” the IMF said.

Continuing, the report zoned in on the current Labour leadership battle noting Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore was resigning, and that the selection of a new leader was under way.

Curiously, officials in Washington chose to highlight that Joan Burton was the favourite in the race. They also seemed to indicate their approval by highlighting her remarks she wants to keep the fiscal adjustments on track, as agreed under the bailout with the EU and IMF.

The report noted: “The leading candidate [Ms Burton] has indicated that her intention is to remain in the coalition and to maintain the fiscal targets for 2015, while also emphasising the need for social repair alongside economic repair.”

Asked if their formal comments indicated their support for Ms Burton in the leadership contest, IMF Ireland mission head Craig Beaumont replied: “We were taking that from a quote. We have not spoken to her directly, nor have we spoken to Alex White [the other candidate].”

The comments come ahead of the next round of the Labour leadership hustings in Cork this evening.