Friday’s Dáil election brings to a close a short and dismal campaign. Simon Harris has managed to demolish Fine Gael’s polling lead in a mere three weeks. Fianna Fáil are now top of the polls, followed closely by Sinn Féin with Fine Gael lagging behind in third place.
Class issues, the cost-of-living crisis and housing above all, were prominent concerns for the working class. Despite attempts by the media to make immigration the main issue, it is well down the list of priorities. Carefully ignored throughout the campaign were deeper class issues. Such as the rapidly widening economic inequalities in the South. The poverty level wages for hundreds of thousands of workers and ongoing the scandal of underfunded disability services.
The media narrative of a society and economy ‘doing well’ and ‘overflowing with money’ was yet again exposed as meaningless to the working-class majority. Millions of whom who are still struggling to get by and angered by the gap between the reality of their lives and politician’s rhetoric during this election campaign.
There is not yet a party of a mass working class character that can harness that anger in a socialist direction. Despite being mired in crisis before the campaign kicked off, improved polling for Sinn Fein during the campaign itself likely reflects a layer of the working class looking for an alternative. However, Sinn Fein don’t offer any real break from the growing inequality of capitalist rule.
As we have argued before, the capitalist establishment has sought to find an electoral formula to cobble together stable government. This is amid declining long-term support for the traditional capitalist parties of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael following the 2008 economic crash. Where Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael will be locked into coalition, with rotating Taoiseachs, and smaller parties like Labour, the Social Democrats, the Greens and Independents making up the numbers.
Whatever government emerges from Friday’s elections the preferred option for the ruling class will map closely onto the description above. The implications of another five years of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in coalition has not been closely discussed in this campaign. A merger of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael would be the most politically honest approach from these organisations. But, as we all know, honesty has never been their strong point.
Vote Left, Transfer Left
Given the trajectory of electoral politics in the South it is imperative that a left presence be retained in the next Dáil. Polling numbers suggest that Solidarity-People Before Profit may retain most or even all of the 5 seats they currently hold.
Militant Left members have assisted in the election campaigns of genuine left candidates. Notwithstanding our political differences, we are calling for working class voters to vote left and transfer left. This includes Solidarity-People Before Profit, the Workers Party and genuine left independents with proven track records of fighting to defend the working class and who raise class demands, such as public housing, better wages, public ownership of utilities, to take a few examples.
Mass Party of the Working Class
The prospect of another Fianna Fail/Fine Gael coalition is the product of a forced political realignment within the capitalist establishment after the shock of the 2008 economic crash. This is clearly now the preferred vehicle for enforcing capitalist rule.
How should the left respond? After the failure of the United Left Alliance, the Solidarity-People Before Profit grouping has managed to sustain itself for nearly ten years. However, it is clearly insufficient to meet the severe political challenges the working class faces. Electoralism is consuming ever increasing resources for the socialist left, while a growing far-right threat on our streets exploits class issues like housing to push its agenda of hate and division.
We have said before that a new mass party of the working class, rooted in the trade unions, and based on an explicit socialist programme is urgently needed. We would encourage the socialist and left TDs and organisations to join with us in arguing for such a development.