In his classic Novel, ‘Heart of Darkness’, Joseph Conrad wrote of strength that it was, in and of itself, no great thing since it is always and inevitably “based upon the weakness of others”. This is a point Enda Kenny, leader of a newly-bloated Fine Gael party might do well to remember. Fianna Fáil, who had been in government throughout the ‘glory years’ constituting the obscenity that was the over-excited capitalist liberty of the Celtic Tiger, have virtually been swept off Ireland’s political map. The recent election left them relegated to third place in the Dáil (Irish Parliament) and their former coalition partners the Green Party left without a single seat. Sinn Féin, who had until recent years been a negligible force in the politics of the Republic of Ireland are now biting at their heels in terms of Dáil seats - an unimaginable situation even a year ago. The big winner, of course, is Fine Gael. However, despite their success at the polls, there is a lesson for Fine Gael in all of this - one that they will be doubtless to ignore.

In 2007, at the last general election, there were already abundant signs that public favour for Fianna Fáil was wavering, after many years in office. At that time, Fine Gael and the Labour party, with the Mullingar accords, had set themselves up as an apparently stable, and coherent partnership to lead the 30th Dáil. This is a coherence which they very much lack now. Throughout the election campaign both parties stepped very tentatively around one another, clashing sporadically over the (significant) issues which divide them. Labour became particularly vicious when it looked like Fine Gael might secure an overall majority - something very rare in Irish politics. During the negotiation process, major Union stakeholders on the left, as well as the youth wing advised Labour to remain in opposition¹. For the purposes of prostration, Labour claimed to appreciate this advice. In the end, however, the chance to have a few Labour men riding in ministerial Mercedes was just too tempting, and the claim to pragmatism just too good an excuse to pass up. Labour will take their place at cabinet, no matter how harmful this may ultimately be to the cause of social justice². They will back Fine Gael proposals to introduce legislation for what they had previously described as “stealth taxation”³. I digress; the point is that last time around Fine Gael and Labour were unsuccessful in gaining a mandate from the electorate. Apparently, people were too comfortable to be persuaded but the rhetorical positing of such absurd slogans as “but, are you happy?” - implying that Fianna Fáil were doing a good job of running the country, but in power, they could wave a magic wand and make us happy. Neither were true then, or are true now. At least Pat Rabbitte, who was widely regarded as the most progressive and statesman-like leader Ireland had at that time, had the good grace to step down as party leader after losing the election. Not so with Enda Kenny, who kept his place, despite having failed in his electoral ambitions.

I suppose that the logic of that move was one of patience; what goes up must come down. At that time, nobody had a clear idea of just how deeply the rot in Ireland’s fiscal well-being was, and a generation (myself included) who had grown up knowing nothing other than double-digit growth found it difficult to conceive anything else. Nevertheless, Kenny battened down the hatches as Fine Gael prepared itself for (yet) another spell in opposition. Their new-found surge in popularity is little to do with gifted leadership (please), nor is it to do with innovative policies - theirs are in essence the same as Fianna Fáil - all that has changed is the name. The great popularity currently enjoyed by Fine Gael is simply the result of great anger directed at Fianna Fáil. Many who had never voted for Fine Gael before obviously did so this time around. And why was that? Well, for most, simply there was nobody else to vote for. In government, Fine Gael will honour Fianna Fáil’s commitment to take on perpetual debt on behalf of the Irish people. The Irish electorate have been conned into taking on board the private gambling debts of the banks (worth some 50 billion Euro, and climbing) and we are all going to pay the price for generations. The election was perhaps the last chance to say no to this madness. But the electorate voted for parties who agree to continue this massive fraud. Needless to say, it is the vulnerable in society who will be hit the worst. This is the great failure of the Irish left -  the failure to seize the moment and capitalize (if you will excuse the pun) on the situation to protect the weaker in Irish society, who have already been worst hit by the recession.

What does all of this mean? For Ireland, the maintenance of the Status Quo. It is not for nothing that at the last election, it was claimed by opposition parties that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil should merge, since their policies are so similar. In government as junior partners in a Fine Gael-led government, Labour will be just that - silently propping up a conservative government as they have always done when in government⁴. They will be powerless to re-negotiate any meaningful amendment to the conditions of the EU-IMF bailout of the country. They will be unable to protect public services and welfare, as Fine Gael set out to continue to slash-tactics of recent Fianna Fáil austerity - no matter what they might say about change. The only type of change they bring is short. The rhetoric of a democratic revolution having taken place in Ireland⁵, with the obvious attempt to create a parallel between the struggle to topple tyrants in the middle east is as distasteful as it is untrue.

For Europe, well, the Merkel-Sarcozy alliance will be at least happy to see their conservative comrade in power, and one who they can ensure will not default on Ireland’s debt. But in a wider, more meaningful sense, in addition to the conservatives taking power in the UK, the ascendancy of political, social and economic conservatism. Furthermore, it represents another successful ensnarement for the IMF, and the apparent vindication of and renewed mandate for austerity. Increasingly, the financial crisis is engendering a ‘new deal’ - but not of the sort implemented by Roosevelt after the great depression in the US. Rather, a new deal whereby, as Klein and Zizek point out⁶, the cyclical crisis in the Capitalist Machine serves as justification to increase the efficiency of the machine itself, by cutting away the provisions of the welfare state. This is not to say that things were just fine before, simply that they are not getting any better now. If anything, we are, as Umberto Eco pointed out, turning back the clock on progressive social advances, and endangering gains for the cause of social justice⁷. Throughout this process, capitalist modes of exploitation have come to be presented and perceived as the only answer to the problems created by its very systemic abuses. Don’t be fooled: the Irish case is only the very tip of the iceberg.

Rónán MacDubhghaill is an Irish writer/researcher currently based in Paris and is a regular contributor to Europa.

Notes:
1. Unite trade union; See Irish times article: Wednesday March 2nd http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2011/0302/1224291145578.html
2. Labour will find it difficult to pursure their social democratic platform in government with Fine Gael; see Vincent Browne’s article of March 2nd: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2011/0302/1224291142810.html?via=rel
3. See DEAGLÁN de BRÉADÚN’s article http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2011/0307/1224291485412.html
4. Finn, Daniel, ‘Ireland on the turn’, in New Left Review, 67, p20.5.
5. Joint statement issued by the incoming government: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0307/1224291485503.html
6. See; Naomi Klein The Shock Doctrine and Slavoj Zizek, Living in the end times.
7. Umberto Eco, Turning back the clock.