Since the first leaks emerged on Budget 2013 I have had deep misgivings on aspects of the Budget in relation to the changes to PRSI, to child benefit, to respite grants and to the overall regressive nature of the budget in terms of income. ... I could not for reasons of conscience, or on the basis of the mandate that I received from my constituents in Galway East, vote for the measures in this Bill. I simply cannot vote in favour of measures that will have such a negative effect on working families, particularly given the regressive nature of the hits proposed.... It is unfortunate that we found ourselves sharing Government with a Party whose values see an equivalence in seeking to cut welfare to the most vulnerable in our society with a measure to increase the tax paid by those on high incomes. The progressive section of Fine Gael, prevalent to an extent in the FitzGerald era, is now almost entirely absent and that party now seeks to become an Irish Tory Party - Colm Keaveney
The Labour Party is a condom for Fine Gael which it uses when it wants to screw the most vulnerable in Irish society. It is the protective sheath which protects Fine Gael from the infectious wrath of those it has shafted. Labour talk left but walk right.
Labour as expected has broken its pre-election promises and now takes refuge behind the discourse of nationalism claiming that it is important to get the country back to work. When a member of the Labour Party's National Executive, Ray Kavanagh, using the country back to work mantra, hit out at Labour Party chair Colm Keaveney as having done something ‘shocking’ because the latter had the gumption to vote against the Social Welfare Bill, he was playing the nationalist card against the class one. What is truly shocking and shameful is that Keaveney was left alone among Labour back benchers to vote against the bill.
Ireland is a nation and it is important that the nation aspires to full employment for all its citizens. But there is no sense from Labour that the nation is not an undifferentiated internal entity within which the strong prey on the weak. Labour’s job should be to protect those citizens the nation pounds into poverty and despair through the national economy which has been farmed out to capital.
The role of any state in a capitalist society is to unite the dominant class bloc, disunite the dominated class bloc and mediate the relationship between the two, always to the advantage of capital. The Labour Party in Ireland is essential to this structural function and without it the system would malfunction.
But for whom would it malfunction? Hardly the poorest for whom it is already malfunctioning, unable to deliver their needs.
The snide remarks about political narcissism directed against Keaveney come from quarters who would do much better if they had some political self respect. The Labour Minister for Communications may Rabbitte on about the need make hard decisions. But do hard decisions have to be bad decisions? Why not make decisions that are hard for the rich rather than bad decisions that cripple the poor?
Probably the most venal and useless Labour Party in the history of the Irish state, it has left its black mark against everything it is supposed to stand for. A party William Martin Murphy would be proud of.
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Anthony:
ReplyDeleteIrrespective of which country it is, in today's modern greedy society the rich will always get richer and the poor working class will pay for it, that's capitalism, those in power will do anything and say anything to save there jobs and for them to say, "Get the country back to work", what work are they on about?, them and the bankers have siphoned Trillions and more Trillions to Bail themselves out.
Its hard to catch them at it thought, they sit Brazen faced looking at each other, calling each other, and, Laughing at each other, internally saying to themselves, We always win, nothing has changed, we have joined the great European Bankers monopoly. They are all 100% thieving bastards and should be Hung Drawn and Quartered.
A great post and so very true , I hate to say it but I think Labour as a party will be swallowed up by quisling $inn £ein in their headlong rush to get hold of the poison chalice.what Connolly Mac Diarmada, would have made of these carpetbaggers is not hard to figure out.the hooray Henrys and their cronies are still living a very comfortable existence and not even slightly disturbed by the austerity measures as a matter of fact some see it as a weeding exercise and a golden opportunity to increase the portfolios.they say you get the politicians you deserve, What the fuck did we ever do to deserve this shower of shit?
ReplyDeleteAM
ReplyDeleteI like this post a lot, although I would be even more happy if the LP had been doing the job it was created for. What can you say about the former sticks who reside at the top of this party, did they not digest anything from their mispent youth. They really are a shameless bunch.
The problem with the mainstream Irish political class, like their UK counterparts, they find it impossible to think outside the box, and the box is shut tight, nay nailed down with neo liberal nails.
Marty
We live in the hear and now and in the South SF is a far better party than Labour, in recent years, it has consistantly placed itself in the same trench as the working classes and dispossessed. One should not ignore that fact because of hurts and disapointments suffered in the past. (forgive me for being so blunt but I cannot see a viable alternative)
This economic crisis is pushing the shinners ever left wards, the centre ground is already occupied by Labour and a section of FF, whose supporters are moving leftward, which is in the opposite direction to their party leaderships, who have no answer to the crisis accept more austerity, for that is what their masters demand.
There is a political space for the taking here and SF is the only progressive party in a position to take it. The more support the Shinners get the more it will be pushed leftwards. Not least because the ULA is about to implode, or whither on the vine, due to the accursed desease of the Trots. Who seem to prefer being outside the Dail shouting "the workers united will never be defeated" rather than being inside within a left front, calling government ministers to account.
"The role of any state in a capitalist society is to unite the dominant class bloc, disunite the dominated class bloc and mediate the relationship between the two, always to the advantage of capital. The Labour Party in Ireland is essential to this structural function and without it the system would malfunction."
ReplyDeleteThe State functions are more akin to an executive branch of transnational capital nowadays. The state and borders are used as an illusive method to divide the working class within the state by providing some notion of electoral and state responsibility. It is also a mechanism of preventing a unified front against transnational capital and multi-national corporations being effective across national borders and states.
As for quisling SF I tend to agree with Marty that at least in rhetoric they will fill a vacuum on the left in Irish politics in the 26counties while implementing austerity in the 6counties. However if elected into government or a coalition my opinion is there is no mechanism that would ensure they would implement policies espoused to get elected- any party and government are at the mercy of the now unified central European banking system and would follow previous government in austerity measures. At a local level is possibly where some of this may be resisted?
Mick a cara good as always to hear your view and yes I take your point but a cara here is the rub quisling $inn £ein are indeed well placed to take the votes of the left and the dispossessed,it is not just with an eye on the past that I spoke of my disapointment about quisling $inn £ein capturing these votes but the fear for the future,by this I mean they have what Anthony rightly describes as the "stick virus" and we all know how damaging this really is,since the 80,s quisling $inn £ein have played the field being all things to all men,now when in a situation when the movement needed to reach out and make friends and contacts this was understandable in most respects, but from the treachery of the gfa we have witnessed q$£ almost split into two separate parties a right wing norn iorn wing and a left wing in the south ,the problem a lot of people will have is this just playing to the gallery just to get their hands on the reins of power, I suspect that this is the case given their recent history and that of the sticks which Adams seems so intent on emulating.my advice to anyone considering putting their vote in this party box is think hard about it they are not a party of principle or integrity..none of them are having said that...
ReplyDeleteThis is probably naive and stupid of me.
ReplyDeleteBut why don't the people who left SF, simply rejoin and take control of the party and bring it back to what it once was a party for the people based on working class, socialist policies.
Wouldn't it then be possible at the next ard fheis to put foward a motion for a new leadership?
'none of them are having said that...'
ReplyDeleteend of story.
Larry:
ReplyDeleteYou are right, Adams made sure that would never happen, he rigged all the votes, new the outcome, new who would walk out and disagree with him, and then took command of the Northern P.I.R.A, Oooops, I forgot, He states he was never in the RA, how disrespectful can that be to 10 Brave Hunger Strikers?.
If Gerry Adams wasn't in the IRA as he claims why wont he take a simple polygrapgh test? I know it's not 100% accurate but it's as close to as makes no difference.
ReplyDeleteThat way the question would be answered..
I don't care if people think I'm niave..But it would help answer a lot of question or at least put them to bed..
itsjustmacker/frankie
ReplyDeleteThe entire political and financial system is filthy. The Asian tiger collapsed in the 90s, Argentina, Japan, Iceland and Scandinavia all had financial crashes and yet the celtic tiger was permitted to 'roar' headlong over the fiscal-cliff; to borrow a phrase. No-one knew it was going to happen.
Adams never being in the Provos and FF sitting in the Dail attacking FG is all part of the same dirty clique doing what they do. Sean Fitzpatrick stands in front of a court and claims he lives on 80 euro a MONTH. The judge accepts that shite and Fitzpatrick flies straight to his 8,000,000 euro villa in Spain.
WE on the other hand are expected to mind our P'S and Q's in case we say something controversial which may be used against us at some stage in the distant future to show we are PC lacking or not sensitive enough on social or political matters.
ON YER FUCKIN BIKE SOCIETY...say i!!!
Frankie,
ReplyDeleteRegarding lie detector tests, where would you draw the line? The place for these issues is in a courtroom.Otherwise people would be continually calling for tests for all sorts of people like Bertie Ahearne, Mick Wallace and every other gob-shite.
Anyway if they are only 99% accurate, this is still not accurate enough. Means one in hundred would be falsey guilty/innocent.
Organized Rage
ReplyDeleteIf you think for one moment that SF are in anyway to the left or thinking about moving to the left or even proactive about the interests of the working class in the south, the real santa will be here in 9 days. They are central right at the least. FF, SDLP, idelogy. They are no where near the left, fuck sake if you listen to them speaking out the corners of their mouth in the north and the south you might get vertigo at the height of the lies,hyprocracy and bullshite comes from their mouths.
FUCK ME could you imagine the bearded one hooked up to a lie detector the fucking thing would go haywire after the first question ,and thats just to confirm your name ffs....
ReplyDelete@ An Buachaill...
ReplyDeleteI'd draw the line there. I'm not trying to poke fun a Gerry Adams either. This is someone who was (like a lot posters on the Quill) has been beaten in an interrogation centre, jailed, almost killed in a gun attack because of his political beliefs etc... I just find it strange that while in the cages he conspired with Brendan Hughes and others to take control of the RM. If as he says he wasn't a member of the PIRA then why was he allowed to reorganise the PIRA into cells/ASU's. Maybe he's waiting for the truth and reconcillation process to come clean.
@ Marty
I don't know about the machine going haywire but there would be a huge surge on the National grid. I understand why you think David Ervine 'input' was a bit weak. One of the things I've taken from Voices from the Grave is the prisoners on both sides were yrs ahead in their thinking of a workable solution for the North than all the politicians put together.
A reflection of what is happening in Britain with the Tory/Lib-Dem coalition....presently and based on recent local and central election results, it would be reasonably safe to predict that both parties are destined to be annihilated at the next West Minster elections -more so the Lib-Dems than the Tories. Now comparatively, the same political circumstances exist in Ireland with its current coalition…. Although annihilation may be too strong for here. Fine Gael will take a hit but mainly weather the storm but Labour, for its betrayal, will suffer the bloodiest nose and this quite possibly will manifest itself in election success for SF/MI5….
ReplyDeleteBut politics being politics anything can happen between then and now and especially before both general elections as politics is the only arena where miracles actually do happen! So from another angle, don’t be surprised if both parties in the two coalitions survive relatively unscathed for the public are very easy swayed by the powers of the media……
for instance, I watched a news article about Osborne’s austerity measures aimed solely at the bottom feeders of British society, the benefit scroungers, and the interview clearly took place in a working man’s club somewhere in the North of England which as we are all aware of is not a Tory stronghold and during the discussion between him and the interviewer, the viewer learned that the benefit scrounger was long-term unemployed, was scrounging of state benefits for quite considerable time, was unexpectedly to popular belief constantly looking for a job, his family had barely enough food to eat or clothes to wear and Christmas was going to be a non-event and to cap it all off the benefit scrounger being interviewed sided 100% with Osborne’s policies and in his words, for the good of the country….
Now that is the mind-set that PR spin has successfully implanted in to the working class in Britain…..do you think that it is any different in Ireland? The austerity packages against the people of Ireland, although spat upon by most right thinking people, are accepted otherwise there would already be mass protests on the streets…perhaps for the good of the country may apply to Ireland as well and therefore the likelihood of change is as far from Ireland as it is in Britain!
Nial
ReplyDeleteYou are 500% correct about the media. It is the media calling the shots and conditioning the population. Thet are doing it now already about the RCs in the north not wanting a united Ireland. They have also been pampering if not encouraging the flag protests.
The true nature of the state and the media/inteligence connections has come through very clearly lately.
No wonder foreign 'terror' groups see western media as nothing but spies.
Dingo,
ReplyDeleteSF without the Adams leadership might try something more radical if they got into government but under him they will do as Labour did and just as they are doing now in the North.