JOHN Bruton, Dick Spring and Proinsias De Rossa looked at each other in mild surprise at launch of the Government's election campaign yesterday and marvelled at their success in confounding the pundits. The media and the opposition parties had got it wrong by predicting the Rainbow Coalition would not last for six months.
Now, 2 1/2 years later, they were back, Taoiseach, Tanaiste, and Minister for Social Welfare, seeking public permission to perform their next trick: a radical remodelling of society, with a fair share for all. The rainbow version of "a rising tide lifts all boats".
They weren't saying precisely how it would be done. Not yet. Not with Fianna Fail's taxation proposals due to be released today. But they promised to reduce the tax take from 28p to 22p for a single person on an average industrial wage, and from 20p to 14p for a married couple, within five years.
It was a different way of doing things, they explained. Tax take, rather than tax rates, was what was important. That way, every citizen would benefit more equally from the State's increasing wealth.
John Bruton wrapper himself in, the flag of a "Just Society" and argued the case for increasing the amount in everyone's pay cheque by "reducing tax and PRSI levels and" widening the tax bands.
Cutting tax rates alone would help only the best paid, Mr Bruton insisted, and the Government wanted to ensure that everybody was better off. Tax policies should be for the benefit of all, rather than for the few. "There would be strong economic growth over the next five years and they would ensure the benefits were shared fairly among the people, whether they were employed or not.
THE same message of social solidarity was advocated in as oft voice by Dick Spring. The Government's priorities were to manage the economy successfully to create jobs and to spread the fruits of growth evenly in an inclusive society.
After that, Northern Ireland and the maintenance of the quest for peace was at the top of his agenda, along with the continuing fight against crime.
Bare knuckles featured when Proinsias De Rossa considered the options. There was little difference between the Government and opposition parties on the importance of the issues to be addressed, he said, but they differed sharply as to approach.
The electorate would have a choice between social solidarity and wealth sharing under this Government and "a coalition driven by the Progressive Democrats with a policy of dog eat dog ... leaving the poor to the ravages of the market doesn't help them they just get poorer. And that is what the PDs are offering along with Fianna Fail.
Minutes later, the leader of Democratic Left was back on the attack, warning journalists that if the Progressive Democrats had their way the funding of hospitals would be reduced by millions as Government spending was scaled back.
After that, the party leaders outlined their "21 goals for the 21st century", on which a programme for government might eventually take, shape. And they spoke of investment in education, in health and in caring for families. The promotion of enterprise and of sustainable development was embraced and the fight against crime endorsed.
Sophistication and strategy have arrived in Irish politics. The days of "chuck it and chance it, are over. No longer are a party's election promises disclosed in a single day. Instead, policy documents and press conferences are carefully staged throughout the campaign and television and local radio play central rules. This brave new world is inhabited by spin doctors, party handlers, programme managers and public relations experts.
And, in the first flush of yesterday's Government campaign launch, these political outriders were subject to adrenalin rush as they looked for winning angles.
The contrast with 20 years ago was stark. In 1977, Liam Cosgrave called a general election and, a few days later, Fine Gael's head office closed for a long bank holiday weekend. Nowadays, the parties have special election headquarters and are manning 24 hour switchboards.
THE sheer professionalism of modern politics was evident in Fianna Fail's dismissive response to the Government's "21 goals" programme, issued within three hours of its launch. "A holding statement full of hollow, wishy washy aspirations. .. all smoke and mirrors with no real substance," was the verdict.
The Government was certainly holding off on tax reform details, determined to minimise the impact of Fianna Fail's promise to cut tax rates. Only after the main opposition party sets out its stall on tax rates later today will the Government parties flesh out their proposals on reducing the tax take. That way, they hope to keep their momentum going while focusing on conflicts between the tax rate offers of Fianna Fail and the PDs.
Apart from issues of future policy, the party leaders concentrated on selling Government cohesion to the electorate. John Bruton couldn't envisage a life in government without Proinsias De Rossa. And he recalled the fraught, antagonistic days when he shared a two party government with Dick Spring in the mid1980s. That and subsequent experiences had convinced him, Mr Bruton said, that three political parties could work together better than two. It allowed them to show greater understanding for one another.
It was all soft and lovey dovey stuff, a long way from the cutting edge of party politics. But Mr Spring and Mr De Rossa seemed quite content, endorsing a partnership that worked and a vision of "a prosperous, fair and safe" society.
