The mood of the Labour membership ‘is very very cool’? How do they know? April 19, 2016
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Uncategorized.trackback
According to the IT this morning:
Opinion in the Labour Party has hardened against another coalition with Fine Gael, with strong indications that party members will reject such a proposal.
And various ‘senior LP’ figures are quoted as saying they’re against the idea.
But curiously bar them not one LP member is quoted as regards their views. Everything seems to be second or third hand or mediated through those who are ‘close’ to the LP leadership…
Tánaiste Joan Burton and Minster for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin were said by sources to be “very sceptical” about another coalition and it was added that the reaction from the party grassroots had been “very, very, cool”.
It matters not one bit but interesting to see this narrative take hold.
The Cedar Lounge Revolution 
How do they know?
They have asked all 20 of them 😉
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“The Irish Times spoke to 27 Labour representatives drawn from across the State, including 20 of the party’s 50 councillors.”
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/labour-representatives-oppose-fine-gael-led-government-1.2615270
To be fair, not many more than JRG suggested!
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Yes good spot, though if LP elected representatives are the totality of the membership… the party is in even worse shape than I thought!
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Developments in the Labour Party are part of a wider deep crisis of capitalist rule in Ireland, with the current focus on the free state.(the 6 county aspect of the crisis is on the way later following the Assembly elections and the implementation of the welfare cuts))
The Labour party is basically down to current and former TDs, 51 councillors, and their immediate supporters and ,crucially, to the SIPTU leadership. The councillors and some of the TDs have revolted, but SIPTU is on the other side
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Since it’s rejection of the Connolly position in the 1918-22 period, the essential committment of ITGWU/SIPTU has been to the stability of the state. The Labour Party, (always “mickey-mouse” in Ireland) has damaged itself in repeated coalitions but never more so than in the outgoing government (except by joining the counter-revolutionary first free state parliament)
The SIPTU leadership from Willie O’Brien’s time until today has always collaborated with the free state. But this collaboration reached a qualitatively higher level during the recent recession. Colluding with FEMPI involved attacking the principle and the reality of free trade unions. This was a betrayal of workers of historic proportions. Members of dissident trade unions were forced to vote on pay agreements with their employer with the gun of greater LEGALLY ENFORCEABLEr pay reductions by the same employer,the state, to their heads!!! The ability of the SIPTU leadership to deliver for the state in the face of a new workers surge has been damaged. This is an important aspect of the crisis of rule of free state capitalism which is now unfolding.
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“From a debt-market perspective, Irish politics remain little more than a sideshow. The election hasn’t stopped Ireland from winning further rating upgrades. Fitch lifted Ireland’s rating early in February; DBRS dished out an upgrade in March.”
http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2016/04/14/irish-bonds-a-vote-of-confidence/
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Taking just one indicator such as bond prices can be very misleading
FINTAN O’Toole AGREES WITH SBPOST in his column in Irish Times to-day
FDI has been the cornerstone of Free State capitalist policy since Lemass
GAME IS UP FOR IRISH RELIANCE ON FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
AND IRELAND CAN DO NOTHING ABOUT IT-NO EFFECTIVE SOVEREIGNTY
From Sunday Business Post-17/04/2016 Jack Horgan-Jones
“The problem for Ireland is that while we loom large in the rhetoric on tax avoidance, our real power in this world is naught.—-
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US TAXPAYERS GROWING TIRED OF IRELANDS ONE BIG IDEA-Fintan O Toole Irish Times 19/04/2016
“This is arguably the biggest economic challenge facing Ireland over the next decade”.
FINTAN underestimates the effects because he ignores the requirements of the fiscal treaty which means that the Irish stae cannot replace FDI
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I left the Labour Party last April when it voted against a resolution to have a referendum to amend the Constitution to declare Ireland a neutral state, the effect of which if passed, would be to terminate the use of Shannon Airport by the US in its pursuit of its doctrine of perpetual war, a resolution which it had voted for in 2003. Nevertheless I still have contacts in the Labour Party, and if they can now actively support the doctrine of perpetual war, I have no doubt that they will also support their 7 members of the Dail and go into coalition with FG again as soon as they can. It is of course very unlikey such a government would last very long, and their 7 members could be 1 after the next election.
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It’s not just Ireland where former social democrats are in deep doo-doos. In Germany the SPD got its first nationwide poll result of under 20% this month. Since – well since WWII.
Before the war the election results of 1933 of 18.5% are the worst since at least 1910 as far as I recall. They were last banging along at 20% when the breakaway parties that later formed the KPD took a significant part of the membership.
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