Courage in New Year should bring charter for government from Left

December-January 2014 11

CHARTER FOR LEFT NEWS

UDGING by the speakers at the mas-

sive rally in Dublin on 10th December

against the Government’s water

charge regime, the protest is far from

over – and it is no longer just about water.

Despite media eﬀorts, most notably in

RTÉ, to downplay the scale of the mobi-

lisation on a mid-week, mid-winter,

working day, the turnout was impressive

with up to 60,000, at its peak, gathering

at Merrion Square for the speeches and

entertainment.

Although there were plenty of

Right2Water, Sinn Féin, anti-austerity

and People Before Proﬁt banners the

crowd largely comprised working people,

young and old, from across the country

who are clearly of the view that water is

one charge too many. While there are

diﬀerences of opinion on whether water

charges, even as a conservation meas-

ure, are wrong in principle, or whether

people should be encouraged to break

the law and refuse to pay, those on the

march appear to be of a mind that the

issue has moved on: to the credibility of

the Government itself.

In their contributions from the plat-

form, Gerry Adams, Richard Boyd

Barrett and Clare Daly, among others,

predictably made the government par-

ties the target of attack, not only for

their mishandling of the water debacle

but for all the other austerity measures

that have devastated the lives of so many,

and forced the young away in droves,

over the past six years. Trade-union

speakers warned of the hidden agenda of

privatisation that clearly inﬂuenced the

architects of the new water regime, most

notably the former environment minister

and now EU Commissioner, Phil Hogan.

The dramatic climbdown on charges and

the decision not to deploy metering until

well into the life of the next government

may not be enough to persuade suﬃcient

numbers of a deeply sceptical, and cyni-

cal, public to register with Irish Water

by next April.

Already the forces of the Right are

railing against the prospect of Sinn Féin

as the lead partners in a Left adminis-

tration. Eﬀorts to construct a new party

from former Fine Gael and other right-

wing independents around Lucinda

Creighton or Shane Ross, or even Michael

Fitzmaurice, reveal a level of disarray

that is seriously frustrating for those

most fearful of a Left alternative.

Within the government parties there

is an element of panic over opinion

polls that suggest that many ﬁrst-time

TDs elected in the 2011 ‘democratic

revolution’ will remain just that. The

desperation is most acute for Labour

given recent ﬁgures that suggest it will

be lucky to retain 10 seats from the

remarkable 37 they won last time. But

Fine Gael too is in trouble as it drops

below 20% from its election high of more

than 36%. Although these trends can,

and most likely will, be reversed as the

election approaches and voters interro-

gate the actual detail of party policies,

there is no question that a fundamental

change can be expected in the historic

year of 2016, if not before. Fine Gael may

cobble together something with a bloc of

like-minded independents, or if it comes

to it and needs must, in a coalition with

Fianna Fáil.

The Left, on the other hand, can always

snatch possible defeat from the jaws of

victory by failing to take an opportu-

nity to generate fundamental political

and radical change. It can do its best to

convince people that socialists and their

progressive allies could never really run

an economy (unlike those bright sparks

in FF, the PDs and FG) or it can seek to

provide solutions to the challenges that

confront the Irish people over the com-

ing decade.

There is a potentially sizeable bloc of

progressive parties, and of left-wing and

independent TDs who could help propel

a real alternative to the various forma-

tions on the right. This would require a

dramatic initiative by trade unions, com-

munity organisations, progressive NGOs

and think-tanks, Sinn Féin, Labour and

other serious left-leaning politicians and

parties, in the new year.

It would be aimed at ﬁnding an agreed

charter for government that can embrace

the key concerns of an austerity-fatigued

electorate and be focused on radical

political reform; the replacement of

regressive charges, including the hated

USC; on water and property taxes; and

promote a progressive taxation system

that targets corporate and other wealth.

It could address fairness and equality,

low pay, poverty, youth unemployment

and emigration, and public and private

debt. Given the approaching anniversary

of the Rising, it could set out the strategy

for an agreed, democratic and genuine

Republic. To succeed it will require a

degree of ambition and political cour-

age that has been absent for too long in

the culture of the Irish left. •

Right in disarray over how to deal with a Left Sinn-Féin-led administration.

By Frank Connolly

Courage in New Year should bring

charter for government from Left

The charter

could address

fairness and

equality,

low pay,

poverty, youth

unemployment

and

emigration,

and public and

private debt

“