Labour conference - Siding with FF best bet for power

IF the most crucial annual conference in Labour’s recent history signalled anything, it was the party’s determination to convince voters it would be a safe pair of hands in any alternative government.

Like its counterpart in Britain, the party is seeking to take the centre ground of Irish politics. With this in mind, Pat Rabbitte moved to assuage the fears of middle-class voters, assuring them Labour would not meddle with Ireland’s low-tax regime.

Not alone would Labour keep taxes down, he promised, they would pursue a policy of fair taxation rather than jacking taxes up.

It remains to be seen if nervous voters will swallow the sweetened coalition pill being prepared by Labour and Fine Gael to capitalise on the mood for change from a coalition depicted as arrogant, out of touch, and wasteful.

Tactically, Mr Rabbitte’s keynote address amounted to a pre-emptive strike against Fianna Fáil-PD attempts to conjure up the spectre of Labour as the champion of high taxes.

Delegates were reminded that by the time the election comes around, Fianna Fáil will have been in power for 20 years. The challenge was to produce an alternative, sensible and realistic package for government in which Labour would have real clout.

Ruling out the possibility of getting into bed with Fianna Fáil, the leader was “in tune with the heart of the party” and saw no evidence that Labour supporters wanted any truck with FF. He dismissed such rumours as spin.

Nevertheless, difficult negotiations lie ahead if Labour is to hammer out a deal with Fine Gael, a party of broadly conservative ethos. Shaping an achievable programme will require much compromise on both sides.

The keynote message was that Labour will mean greater equality, more access to housing and education, better health and transport systems, plus an end to corruption and sleaze in politics.

Essentially, the party is banking on people tiring of a coalition depicted as dividing society and misusing Ireland’s unprecedented resources. However, Fianna Fáil will be telling voters they have never had it so good.

At the outside, the election is 58 weeks away. But Taoiseach Bertie Ahern could go to the country earlier in order to cash in on the feelgood factor likely to be triggered by a give-away Budget and with SSIA savings putting billions of euro in people’s pockets.

Going on the opinion polls, there seems little prospect of Labour making up the numbers with Fine Gael and so the Greens are being actively courted in the hope of forging a three-way coalition arrangement.

The weekend conference has kicked off Labour’s election campaign. With 21 Dáil seats, a 12% popularity rating in the opinion polls, and Sinn Féin breathing down its neck, the party will have its work cut out to convince voters it has a realistic chance of forming an alternative administration.

Despite Pat Rabbitte’s trenchant objections to getting into bed with Fianna Fáil, the political reality suggests that this formula, however unpalatable, may yet prove the party’s best chance of getting into power.