The president of SIPTU, Mr Jack O'Connor, has called on Labour and Fine Gael to immediately begin negotiations on a pact if they are to offer a serious alternative to Fianna Fáil and the PDs in the next election. Arthur Beesley, Political Reporter, reports.
The leader of the State's biggest union said the parties should agree an alternative programme for government well before the next election to boost their prospects of removing the "neo-liberal" influence of the PDs in government.
He also laid out conditions that must be met before SIPTU would support Labour's entry into such a pact. These included specific commitments to improve health funding, access to healthcare, affordable housing, childcare, and a new government department to protect workers' rights.
He said he was not saying SIPTU would automatically support a pact which met such demands, but ruled out supporting a pact without these conditions.
Mr O'Connor's public declaration of support for the pro-pact policy adopted by Mr Pat Rabbitte could be significant given the unease about the Labour leader's stance in certain sections of the party. SIPTU will have 92 of the 500-600 seats at the party's annual conference in May, which is likely to be dominated by the debate about electoral strategy.
Mr O'Connor made it clear when circulating copies of his speech that he was outlining the terms on which the union might be expected to endorse a pact with Fine Gael "or other political parties".
He did not rule out an alliance with Fianna Fáil, but told activists in north Dublin that the policy of going alone before the electorate in the last election preserved Labour's identity while the coalition strengthened its support and retained power. A founder member of the party branch in Lusk, he said reaching agreement with Fine Gael would be a formidable task given the strength of "neo-liberal thinking" within that party.
"If the margin of difference in terms of seats . . . is to be overcome, it can only be achieved by presenting the electorate with an agreed programme as the basis for a tight voting pact well in advance of the election itself."
He said Labour might ultimately approach Sinn Féin if it failed to reach agreement with Fine Gael, but only if Sinn Féin "had convincingly transformed itself into an exclusively democratic party". Mr O'Connor said that Labour members who argued that the party should remain open to the possibility of coalition with Fianna Fáil failed to recognise that Fianna Fáil was "firmly wedded to the PDs".
While it was not credible to expect the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, to offer the prospect of an alternative scenario before an election, he said SIPTU would be open to a serious discussion of such a possibility if it emerged. However, the only possibility of Mr Ahern entering government with Labour was if coalition with the PDs was not a possibility.