Columnist in denial about strategy failure

AS an adviser to former Labour party leader Ruairi Quinn, I must take issue with the musings of my former colleague Fergus Finlay (May 29) on the outcome of the general election in relation to the Labour’s performance.

Your columnist’s assertion that Pat Rabbitte’s original calculations were ‘correct’ has no basis in fact. We were told after the 2002 election that a strategy that aligned us to Fine Gael would win us seats. It did not — hence Pat Rabbitte’s disappointment. Rather it delivered additional seats to Fine Gael, as it had previously in 1997.

Fergus Finlay’s denial of this simple fact is strange. His view contradicts his own experience between 1987 and 1992 when Labour successfully pursued an independent strategy.

In 2002, Labour maintained its position despite a significant swing to the Government. In 2007, we went backwards even though the Government lost seats.

Internal opponents of the strategy advocated by Rabbitte and Finlay told our party conference in Tralee that it would primarily benefit FG. They, not Pat Rabbitte, were right. Fergus does the party no favours by suggesting otherwise.

Ronan O’Brien

15 Brook House

Riverview

Richmond Road

Dublin 3