Ireland: Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin defections: signs of the times. What do they mean for Labour?

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.