Café bar U-turn - FF and PDs stick it out for votes
The relationship between Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats is showing all the telltale signs of strain, as nervous backbenchers, fearful for their jobs and confused by the latest opinion polls, uneasily prepare to give an account of themselves to an unpredictable electorate at some point in the next two years.
When differences emerged recently between Ms Harney and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern over Government policy on a second terminal at Dublin airport, the battle was won decisively by Fianna Fáil. Unfortunately, the outcome of that fight will prolong the frustrations of weary air travellers.
Amid the current tensions, a rump of 40 FF backbenchers, mainly supporters of the powerful vintners’ lobby, can claim to have scored yet another victory.
Effectively, they forced Mr McDowell to jettison his ambitious plan to introduce continental-style café bars in Ireland where punters could drink beer or spirits while having a snack.
Even the most casual observer of politics would not be convinced by PD denials of an ignominious climbdown by Mr McDowell. Nor by his characteristic bid to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Naturally, it was in the interests of democracy that the Minister changed tack, dropping the café bar concept and conjuring up new legislation to permit people to drink beer and spirits in the country’s restaurants. Turning logic on its head, he describes this as a far more radical proposition, a claim widely disputed.
The best that can be said in his favour is that he avoided throwing the baby out with the bath water by serving up the face-saving, if somewhat stale, dish of restaurant deregulation.
The Minister seems to have forgotten that restaurateurs have long been calling for precisely such legislation, only for their pleas to fall on the deaf ears of government. Ironically, publicans pulled the rug out from under the restaurant business by serving food in pubs.
Once the café bar proposal ran into opposition from vintners, major contributors to Fianna Fail coffers, it was doomed. In a transparently cynical PR ploy, the TDs claimed their concerns were based purely on health fears voiced by doctors and social workers who warned the proposal would only worsen Ireland’s scourge of binge drinking.
Abrasive as ever, Mr McDowell is now claiming victory over the vintners by freeing up the restaurant trade.
The question raised by the latest Government tensions, is whether FF backbenchers are the creatures of the publican lobby or whether they simply resent Mr McDowell’s penchant for making political announcements without consulting members of the major party in the coalition arrangement. Past experience suggests they feel disenfranchised from the decision-making process.
On the eve of today’s crunch meeting between FF TDs and Mr McDowell, it was noticeable that he was careful to direct his ire at the publicans’ lobby rather than take on the angry backbenchers.
But despite his denials, there is not a shadow of doubt that the Minister’s compromise decision to extend full bar licences to restaurants is a long way short of his radical plan to create a café bar society.
With two years to run, it is probably too early to portray the latest row as a premonition of impending divorce. Lurching from crisis to crisis, the PDs and FF know they would be badly damaged if the plug was pulled tomorrow. It is in both their interests to stay in government as long as they can.
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