Left alliance willing to wait for government role

Left wing grouping, the Anti Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit, have effectively ruled themselves out of the next government by vowing not to enter coalition with most other parties.

The group, which between them has four TDs, one of whom, Joe Higgins, is not running again, is aiming for at least seven seats, the number needed for recognition as an official parliamentary grouping in the Dail.

But even if it achieves, or exceeds, that objective, the chances of featuring in the next government are slim as the only substantial party they haven’t ruled out partnering with is Sinn Féin.

Speaking at the launch of their joint manifesto, Dun Laoghaire TD Richard Boyd Barrett tried not to be drawn on who they might support in coalition.

“For us it’s about policies, nothing else. We don’t have preferred partners,” he said.

“We’re standing 31 candidates, the biggest intervention by the genuine left, probably in the history of the State, offering an alternative. So that’s are main priority.”

However, the launch was thick with criticisms of Labour and when asked directly if that meant ruling out coalition with the party, Mr Barrett said: “Yes. How can you possibly do a deal with a party that has betrayed every promise that they made and every principle that they ever stood for? They have ruled themselves out by their shameful betrayal and collaboration with parties who have engaged in such really brutal and savage cuts on Labour’s own supporters.”

Pushed further on the group’s prospects for helping form a government, Paul Murphy, TD for Dublin South West, said: “In order to be in government, we’re not going to trade our principles for perks and mercs. That’s the bottom line.

“We don’t think that we will bring about change by propping up Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, or Labour and so we will stand for and hold out for a left government and we won’t go into coalition with them.”

Mr Murphy denied this meant consigning the grouping to the opposition benches indefinitely. He said the media underestimated the pace of public radicalisation and a left wing government would be formed sooner than was appreciated. “We are on 10% consistently in Dublin. We are on the verge potentially of becoming the third party in Dublin,” he said.

Key points in the group’s manifesto are the abolition of water charges, property tax, and the universal social charge, and the reversal of all austerity measures. They also want to replace the HSE with a free national health service, abolish third-level registration fees, introduce rent controls, and repeal the Eighth Amendment.

They said their pledges would be funded by tackling corporation tax avoidance and making the highly paid pay more, but they denied their policies would attack middle-income earners and enterprise.

“The problem we have is with a very small layer, the 10% of the population who have been insulated from an economic crisis that they created and who don’t seem to believe in paying taxes,” said Mr Boyd Barrett.

The group intends having a rotating leadership and denied their alliance was too loose to be effective.

Mr Boyd Barrett said: “There’s not going to be a whip but what keeps us coherent is principles.”

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