As the debate intensifies within Labour over the leadership's plan for a pre-election pact with Fine Gael, Willie Penrose explains why he rejects last week's plea by his Oireachtas colleague Derek McDowell for the party to plough an independent furrow
Like my colleague Derek McDowell, I remember being elected in the "Spring tide" of 1992. We campaigned hard for change in that election, working day and night to put a totally different style of government in place. We were determined to drive the policies of that alternative government.
As it happened, and for a lot of reasons beyond our control, we weren't able to deliver the change we wanted to after that election.
But under Dick Spring's leadership, we worked hard to shape policy anyway, and I've always been proud to say that we were effective - contributing to the peace process, protecting and developing public services, investing in companies like Aer Lingus, and leaving behind a strong economy and strong public finances.
For the last eight years I've watched in total frustration as one of the most right-wing Governments we've ever had has eaten away at those public services and widened the divisions in society.
In this frustration, I must say that I agree strongly with Derek, at least when he spoke beside me in the Dáil a few years ago on a no-confidence motion in the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats Government, when he said: "It is time for the Government to go because it is, by some distance, the most ideologically right-wing Government the country has had for some time; it has shamelessly used the fruits of economic growth to benefit the better off; its mismanagement of the economy threatens to derail the best opportunity the nation has ever had; the party which leads it is hopelessly tainted with the corruption of its recent past and the behaviour of Fianna Fáil threatens to destroy the faith of our people in the very institutions of our democracy."
I'm not sure what has changed since to alter Derek's position. Fianna Fáil haven't. Certainly the PDs haven't. And this Government is still just as right-wing as the one Derek spoke about then.
Only now it has been longer in office, and it has become, if anything, more arrogant and out of touch than it was even then.
When Derek made that speech, we hadn't had the savage 16 social welfare cuts that I campaigned against for a year.
We hadn't had the Punchestown equestrian centre or the fiasco of e-voting. We were only beginning to put all the tax breaks in place that have helped the highest earners in the country to keep their taxes to an absolute minimum, while hard-working families struggle to pay for the ordinary things in life.
We hadn't had all the broken promises of the election of 2002 (and that's a long list). In those days, even though the situation in our hospitals was bad, it wasn't nearly as bad as it has become.
But here's the thing that people say to me over and over again. "We've got to have an alternative."
Anyone who knows me knows that I keep in close touch with people on the ground. And all the time I get the same message.
People are tired of this Government, totally fed-up with them. But if there isn't a realistic alternative, the danger is that this Government will be re-elected by default.
And certainly arguing for an unworkable alliance of the left is not such an alternative.
What does this mean for the Labour Party? The message is very simple. If we want to mean something in people's lives, we have to be part of giving them a real, democratic choice.
If we choose, as some people want us to, to opt out of government formation until it suits us, then not only are we irrelevant to people's lives, we might as well go out and tell them to vote for permanent Fianna Fáil-led government.
I don't want to see permanent Fianna Fáil government, and the vast majority of my constituents (including many who voted Fianna Fáil the last time) don't want to see that either. They want a choice - a real, credible, progressive and decent choice. If we're in a position to start building that choice, and we decide we're going to opt out, what kind of message is that sending?
But I have to say, I don't think the issue should be who we choose to go into government with.The real issue for us is about what kind of government we want to offer the people.
It might be very easy to build a common platform with Fine Gael. But it might take a lot more hard work, a lot more determination, and a lot more negotiating skill to build a common platform that we can truly call progressive.
Politics is about hard work. In fact, in a funny way, electoral strategy won't win nearly as many seats for the Labour party as hard work will. People have to know that we're on their side in every battle that matters - whether it's about pensions, or childcare, or jobs, or health or education.
They have to know that they're represented by people who aren't afraid to make hard choices, and who aren't afraid to put in the work.
That's why I'll be supporting Pat Rabbitte's motion on electoral strategy at this year's party conference.
It means we will campaign as an independent party. It means people will know clearly in advance our preference for government.
Derek wants us to be independent, but apparently only until the votes are counted. But as far as I'm concerned, once that motion is adopted, I will then be concentrating on maximising the Labour vote in Westmeath and Longford.
I'll be campaigning on Labour policies for Labour seats, full stop.
A prospective alliance with Fine Gael won't diminish the Labour effort in Westmeath and Longford.
And when the election is over, I'll be saying to Pat Rabbitte, "we worked the round of the clock to elect as many Labour TDs as possible. It's your job now to turn that number of TDs into a better quality of life for our people and all the people."
I'm not looking for an electoral strategy that will help me win my seat.
It's the other way round - I'm determined to win my seat so the electoral strategy will pay off for the people I represent.
Willie Penrose is chairperson of the Labour Parliamentary Party and TD for Westmeath