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  • More on the future of progressive politics in Ireland

    Posted on September 9th, 2007 Conall McDevitt 1 comment

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    Yesterday I posted some of my own thoughts on the future of progressive politics on the island of Ireland.

    Ronan O’Brien, a former special adviser to the Leader of the Irish labour Party has written an article which appears in today’s Sunday Business Post on the specific challenges facing the Irish Labour Party.  I am reproducing it below with his kind permission.

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    Perhaps the most over used words in debate around the Labour leadership campaign are campaigning and organisation.  Everybody wants to build a campaigning party, rebuild the party on the ground and deal with organisational issues. Such sentiments are understandable, they are after all the stuff of leadership contests and are central to any effective political party but they cannot represent the be all and end all of a new leader’s ambition.   For what it’s worth I don’t believe Labour is that weak on the ground.  Yes, we have succession issues in particular but in my own constituency in this election we were able to put more foot soldiers on the doors than any other party.  Labour receives volunteer support that other parties pay for.  Campaigning per se is fine but it is no panacea to our problems.  If depended upon excessively, it can be counter productive.  It may even garner support locally but hinder progress nationally.  The bottom line is that you can campaign for something morning, noon and night but that does not mean you have the capacity (or the public believe you have the capacity) to deliver what you’re campaigning for.  The health service is a case in point.  The reality is that the world isn’t divided into the black and white that campaigners often imply.  Tara and the M3 is a good example.  Often, there is a fine line between campaigning and whinging and the Labour party is often too negative and too prone to persuasion by minority interest groups contrary to the national interest.  We can be reactionary in the true sense of the word – responding negatively without thinking.  Campaigning is no substitute for taking political positions.   Suggestions too about the party changing its name miss the point also.  Labour and social democratic parties can win elections in the

    UK and on the continent – there is nothing intrinsically wrong with the party’s history and roots.  Let Labour be Labour.  Let’s emphasise its success as often as bemoaning others failures.  In the modern Ireland Labour’s values aren’t wrong.  Its tone is wrong.  People feel more empowered than our rhetoric suggests. So here, from a social democratic perspective is a starter list of high-level principles, dos and don’ts, for the new party leader to consider.  1.  Strategy mattersIf we are serious about our values and our policies we need to be in government to make a difference.  That is the strategic goal.  Any tactical arrangement to achieve that goal will be considered and if that means dealing with FF, so be it.  2.  Class mattersSocial democracy is historically a working class movement.  Class remains a key determinant of an individual’s capacity to succeed in life.  Others say class inequality doesn’t matter.  We say it does because its effects develop from one generation to another.  It may not be as central to our discourse but it hasn’t gone away.  3.  Taxation mattersToday we correctly emphasise that we shall not engage in taxation for the sake of it.  We accept, albeit without enthusiasm, a low corporation tax rate.  Yet without reasonable levels of taxation we cannot begin to achieve our social objectives or secure long-term economic competitiveness.  Of course we have to persuade the public that public spending can deliver value for money.   Public service reform and delivery is our issue.  Going forward, as societies move towards new forms of indirect taxation like environmental taxes, we will need to ensure that the progressive nature of direct taxation is retained. 4.  Democracy MattersThe key divide in the modern world is not between imperialist and subjects, East and West or Christian and Muslin.  It is between those who support democracy and the UN Declaration of Human Rights and those who do not.  Too often our just criticism of US and EU failure to live up to their own democratic ideals blinds us to the faults of others.  Our tolerance of global religions should not blind us to human rights abuses. In

    Iraq there is a democratic regime and international forces operating under a UN mandate. The war of 2003 is now over, let’s admit that fact.  Supporting democracy is too important to be left to George Bush.     5.  Republicanism MattersThe only way to avoid the pitfalls of multiculturalism is to emphasise the importance of key civic and republican values.  Secularism is not hostile to religion, it creates a public space for all religions and none.  The story from Balbriggan this week is a challenge for us all. 6.  Globalisation matters.Trade is at the core of successful political and economic relations.  Too may countries suffer insufficient globalisation not too much of it.  The result is poverty.  Ethical questions are important and consumers have power, let’s ask them to use it. 

    7.  Don’t carp. Despite contemporary problems social democrats have driven much of what is good and progressive over the last one hundred years.  Not everything is wrong.   Vote with the Government the odd occasion and the public will pay more attention to you then when you oppose them. 8.  There is a limit to state responsibilityThe state cannot do everything.  If it takes on more responsibilities, it mush shed others or raise taxes.  If we call for additional state capacity in some areas and we should, we cannot uniformly oppose it lightening its burden elsewhere.  Our case for retaining state control of the national airline for strategic reasons might have been more compelling had we not made the same argument about hotels.  But had the state adopted the same attitude to broadband installation as to rural electrification the country’s competitiveness would be greatly enhanced.  9.  Communities can be wrongLeft wing politicians often pride themselves on being the voice of their communities.  Sometimes these communities can be wrong!  Put the national and public interest first. 10.  Regulation mattersThe knee jerk response of all politicians to any problem is to impose further regulation.  Understandable perhaps, but we must regulate for the compliant majority not the wrongdoers.  Excessive regulation stymies initiative and cannot cater for 100% of situations.  11.  Trade UnionsThe right of workers to organise remains a cornerstone of our values.  But equating trade union interests with the public interest is no longer sustainable.  It is time to let the unions go. 12.  Fighting our battles in the courtsWe need to win more political battles about our values on their merits, not seek to implement them by the back door through the courts or by placing clauses in constitutions.  Our responsibilities as citizens must sit beside our duties as citizens. Finally, what Labour and

    Ireland needs from the new Labour leader is a thoughtful and considered analysis of Labour’s traditions and our issues as a country.  It’s not so much a matter of being radical or redundant but about being constructive and engaging.  The absence of a contest for the Labour Leadership which emerged this week can be looked at two ways.  The party may well have benefited from a debate but the absence of a contest also gives Eamon Gilmore the time to carve out a new and different niche for himself and the party.  Begin to judge him after two years not two weeks. 

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    One response to “More on the future of progressive politics in Ireland”

    1. Tomaltach September 12th, 2007 at 14:10

      Mr O’Brien’s piece is thoughtful. I was particularly attracted by his espousal of “drop the unions”, his statement that for taxation to be justified it needs to be spent well and therefore public service reform is crucial, and finally his recognition that the state cannot do everything so Labour needs to be selective in what it puts as a priority. He didn’t have much space to flesh it all out I know but when he said class matters, what really does he mean? Ireland is not classless, but neither are the strata of society so clearly defined. I think there needs to be a clearer articulation of thinking here. Also, he said globalization matters and therefore trade is important. But that’s trite. Globalisation is bringing about profound changes in how people work, travel, live, fear, invest, etc etc. And much of what it does provides great opportunity but huge risks and instability (for jobs, investments, for disease control, etc). How can the state act as a cushion to these effects? What does it mean to say Globalisation matters?
      Nevertheless, a constructive article.

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