New Labour leader essential in contribution to healthy democracy

THE leadership election in the Labour Party could well have a fundamental bearing on the future shape of our democracy. It is that important.

Don't all leap down my throat, accusing me of grinding an old anti-Fianna Fáil axe. I'm not just trying to make a party political point here. I know that as a Labour member (who has a vote in the election) I have a vested interest in the outcome, but I honestly believe that Labour can and must play a historic role in the next few years.

The day after the last election, I wrote here that "the Taoiseach may discover now, as others have before him, that political victory comes with a heavy price tag. The next 12 months may be the most difficult, and the loneliest of Bertie Ahern's career."