DEMOCRATIC Left's wish to keep the Progressive Democrats out of government at all costs was repeated regularly throughout a debate on the party's election strategy.
Delegates and elected representatives of the party warned that the PDs and the Fianna Fail finance spokesman, Mr Charlie McCreevy - would impose right wing government to the detriment of the poor and unemployed.
Mr Paul Sweeney, a director of policy in the party, said that for the first time the electorate had a clear choice between two coalitions with very differing policies. Under the Fianna Fail/PD "alternative", the public sector would be greatly reduced, with "whole sale privatisations, job losses cuts in welfare, education and health spending".
A number of motions supporting the view that the party should continue in government with its current partners were passed without opposition on Saturday afternoon.
According to the Minister of State for the Marine, Mr Eamon Gilmore, the Coalition was a good government" because Democratic Left was in it.
He added: "No government has ever had a better case for re-election. The changes which we have made in a short 2 1/2 years and the hope we have revived in the Irish people call for the continuation of this good government. The Rainbow Government of Fine Gael Labour and Democratic Left is a good government because it works - unlike the unstable governments led by Fianna Fail, which were forever teetering on the brink of crisis and breakup", Mr Gilmore said.
But delegates unanimously agreed that a core requirement for the party's participation in coalition after the general election must be an assault on long term unemployment.
The Cork TD, Ms Kathleen Lynch, said long term unemployment was the single greatest challenge facing society. "Nearly 100,000 people have been unemployed for two years or more ... This Government has been resoundingly successful in creating jobs. But the high tech, high skill jobs being created are bypassing the long term unemployed", she added.