A proposal by the Labour Party to form a "progressive alliance" with both the Social Democrats and the Green Party in the Dáil, contains attractive elements for all three organisations.
The two smaller parties would gain access to Dáil speaking rights while the Labour Party could begin to deal with the public opprobrium that caused its vote to collapse. Having avoided participation in government, the parties would be in a position to develop distinctive policies and boost their public profile.
In spite of its superficial attractions, such an arrangement can be expected to pose problems in terms of a broadly-agreed agenda and a party pecking order. There is also a question concerning the Labour Party leadership.
Any negotiations will be delayed until after a government is formed – if that ever occurs – in order to preserve the distinct identities of the Social Democrats and the Green Party. For, in this exercise, the Labour Party would hope to be the main beneficiary.
Changes to Dáil standing orders will extend full speaking rights to parties or technical groups with five or more TDs. The Labour Party was reduced to seven seats in a devastating election result while the Social Democrats won three seats and the Green Party two. A three-way alliance would confer Dáil speaking rights and the possibility of membership on various committees to the smaller parties. It would also create a broader political platform and spread of interests that would allow the proposed alliance to compete more effectively with Sinn Féin from the opposition benches.
Negotiations between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil on the formation of a government are expected to dominate the political agenda for the coming weeks. What transpires from those discussions and, in particular, any arrangement involving Independent TDs will dictate how the three parties proceed. The Social Democrats are holding back on the basis that the formation of a government is the primary issue. Only when that matter has been resolved will the terms of an alliance be considered.