Labour leader Ivana Bacik said on Friday it is “unlikely” her party will enter government, but added that she will not back out of talks with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil yet – surprising some members of the party who expected her to announce a pull-out.
After a meeting of Labour Party TDs at Leinster House at lunchtime, Ms Bacik told journalists that Labour would write to Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to see further meetings to discuss the possibility of Labour entering formal talks.
But she immediately said that it was unlikely that Labour would enter government due to policy differences and the Dáil numbers which – with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil combined within two seats of a majority – would give Labour limited leverage in negotiations and in government.
She said it was “hard to see” how Labour could have “sufficient leverage to deliver on our radical programme for change”.
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“There’s a very strong view across all sections of the Labour Party that it’s hard to see how we would go into government given the lack of leverage, given the lack of capacity and influence we would have,” she said.
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Ms Bacik denied that the move of seeking further talks was only for the optics because Labour did not want to be the first party to duck out of coalition talks.
Labour sources later acknowledged the widespread view in the party leadership that it would not be entering government, but said that they needed to let the process “play out” for a while yet.
Ms Bacik said that a recent story in the Irish Independent – citing an internal party report of a meeting in which she is reported to have said that she would engage in talks about government but had no intention of actually doing a deal – “did not accurately reflect what I said at the meeting”.
She said Labour would launch a hunt for the leaker. Asked what would be the consequences for the leaker, she said: “Well, clearly expulsion from the party” – though she later clarified that any investigation would be conducted in accordance with due process, and expulsion was only one option for an independent process.
Tipperary TD Alan Kelly – understood to be one of the few voices in the party who wants to seriously consider entering government, and who spoke at Friday’s meeting – will join Ms Bacik and the Dublin Central TD Marie Sherlock on the team to meet Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael next week.
Meanwhile, Taoiseach Simon Harris said that Gerard “The Monk” Hutch’s near success in the recent general election is cause for reflection on the “disaffection” that certain cohorts of society feel towards the political system
Speaking to reporters in Templemore in Co Tipperary, Mr Harris said it was “good thing” that Hutch was ultimately not elected.
“I think we do need to reflect on the disaffection that sometimes people can feel from the political system and sometimes that communities can feel, in particular, from the political system,” he said.
Mr Harris described as “incredible” the level of media attention Hutch received during the campaign, suggesting that he enjoyed more coverage than some party leaders.
Speaking about the potential of entering government with the Regional Group of Independents, Mr Harris said that securing a whipped majority was “absolutely essential” in any multiparty government coalition, including one involving Independent TDs.
A function where the heads of the coalition parties or groupings can meet to hash out policy issues and ensure majority support within government is required for “smooth operation” of a coalition government, Mr Harris said.
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