The resignation of
two Fianna Fáil TDs from the party whip and the trickle of resignations
of Sinn Féin councillors over the past period are both indications of
the underlying issues and factors in Irish politics at the present
time. Although the two parties face very different scenarios the
uniting factor is the deep crisis in the Irish economy and the
political situation that flows from it. The mass organisations of the
working class, the trade unions and the Labour Party are also under
strain, workers are looking for a way out of the current impasse
FF under strain
The resignation from the party whip of the two Fianna
Fáil TDs for Sligo Leitrim Jimmy Devins and Eamon Scanlon over the
issue of Breast Cancer services means that on paper the ruling
coalition has had its majority slashed to 0. This, on top of the
outcome of the two by elections in Dublin in June means that a General
Election might come a lot sooner than would have been expected
otherwise. After all, Cowen doesn’t theoretically need to call an
election until 2012. But it’s perhaps unlikely that Fianna Fáil will
hang on that long. It would however be wrong to assume that the Breast
Cancer issue in itself will bring the government down. After all the
two TD’s concerned have now got a considerable amount of leverage over
the Taoiseach and Mary Harney and they may be able to force the
government’s hand. But the danger signs are there for Cowen. The crisis
in the economy will be creating enormous strains within the Fianna
Fáil. After all, many of the careerist politicians in their ranks will
be worried about number one. Particularly if number one is at risk of
losing their seat at the next election. The Green Party is currently
engaged in a review of the programme for government that they signed up
to in 2007. But their fate seems intimately bound up with the fate of
Fianna Fáil. The prospect then seems to be for a long slow lingering
death for the ruling coalition.
SF Defections
Meanwhile
the Sinn Féin have now lost 3 councillors in a series of defections,
over seemingly varied issues. The latest defector Louise Minihan makes
some telling points as she explained in her resignation press release:
“I
joined Sinn Féin in 1998, when I was sixteen years of age. At that time
I believed that party to be committed to its stated objectives of
ending British rule in Ireland and the establishment of an Irish
Democratic Socialist Republic. It is clear to me today that this is no
longer the case.
Sinn Féin has, over the course of the last
twelve years, moved steadily away from the core values of Irish
socialist republicanism and is no longer willing, or able, to challenge
the British occupation of the Six Counties or the rotten capitalist
system which is causing so much hardship to working families across
Ireland today.
Sinn Féin is taking the wrong position on a whole
range of national, social and economic issues resulting in that party
becoming largely irrelevant to working people. For years I voiced my
disquiet within Sinn Féin about the direction that party was headed, in
the vain hope that radical politics might triumph over reformism. Like
thousands of other republicans before me, I have come to the conclusion
that the battle for the heart of Sinn Féin is lost. While wishing those
many genuine activists who remain within Sinn Féin well in the future,
I believe that many of them will sooner or later come to the same
conclusion that I now have.”
We
would argue that Sinn Féin’s socialism has by and large been reserved
for the distant future and that they have no solution to the social and
economic crisis. So in reality they have hit an impasse. The divisions
within SF represent the underlying class divisions and tensions within
society. There is a tendency for left nationalist organisations like
Sinn Féin to fracture along class lines at some stage and the economic
impasse in the 26 counties will be having an effect as sections of the
party look for a way out of the crisis.
Pressure builds inside the working class
But
what is the nature of the impasse? Economic crisis, attacks on the
living standards of the working class, attacks on public services and
mass redundancies throughout the state. It is not hard to see that a
crisis of this magnitude will have an impact on the consciousness of
working people. Likewise the assault on the working class represents a
shift in the consciousness of the bourgeoisie. Many workers will be
beginning to look for a political and industrial response to the
crisis. As such the trade union leaders and even the Labour Party
leaders are coming under pressure to defend workers. That is no
surprise since that is after all what the trade unions and the Labour
party were established to do. More than that, the Labour Party is
supposed to give a political voice to workers. The pressure within the
movement from below will inevitably force the leaders to move. As we
explained recently Jack O’Connor’s remarks about the social partnership
talks are significant as is the fact that Gilmore has been forced to
change his tune over the nationalisation of the banks (albeit on a
temporary basis). Many active workers in the unions and the Labour
Party will be looking for more. They will be looking for a clear
socialist programme and a commitment to struggle to achieve it. The
recent Euro and Council elections saw a big swing to the left
especially in Dublin with big increases in Labour’s representation as
well as Joe Higgins election to Brussels.
The
swing to the left represents the political expression of the struggle
against the crisis. We have covered many of the industrial disputes and
the political fallout from the crisis. The huge changes in Ireland will
have dramatic political consequences. It is the mass organisations of
the organised working class, the trade unions and the Labour Party that
will be decisive in breaking out of the political and economic impasse
that we face today. There are no short cuts to winning a majority of
the working class away from the bankrupt ideas of reformism. The task
has to be to transform the mass organisations of the working class.
Article first posted on the Fightback site – website of the Marxists in Ireland
