POLITICAL CRISIS IN THE SOUTH | THE FALL OF THE FIANNA FÁIL/GREEN PARTY GOVERNMENT

Sinn Féin emerges strong from winter of turmoil

The Sinn Féin Dáil team: Speaking up for the public against Fianna Fáil and the ‘Consensus for Cuts’

BY MÍCHEÁL
Mac DONNCHA

THE winter of 2011 has been an incredible time in Irish politics. Central to all these events - both in helping to finally topple the Fianna Fáil/Green Government and in exposing the Fine Gael/Labour Consensus for Cuts - has been Sinn Féin.
The amazing sequence of events began with the victory of Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty in the Donegal South-West by-election. That set alarm bells ringing in Fianna Fáil as the party that has dominated politics in the 26 Counties since 1926 faced the greatest ever decline in its support.
The self-styled ‘Republican Party’ went on to call in the IMF, a massive blow to economic sovereignty. The sell-out nature of that deal, its hugely damaging consequences for the Irish people and the fact that the Taoiseach and Government ministers were denying it would happen until it did, shortened the life of the Government drastically.
The ludicrous Green Party announced they would pull out of Government - but only after they had agreed the IMF/EU deal, the savage Budget 2011 and the four-year plan that promises four more savage budgets.
Fine Gael and the Labour Party joined the ‘Consensus for Cuts’ - criticising the Budget but accepting the fundamentally flawed economic strategy behind it. Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said on the Late Late Show that Labour in government would not reverse the Budget cuts.
January 2011 began with a record low opinion poll rating for Fianna Fáil. This coincided with revelations that Brian Cowen had played golf and dined with Anglo-Irish bank boss Seán FitzPatrick, just weeks before Cowen introduced the blanket bank guarantee.
Then it was Sinn Féin in the Dáil that turned up the heat again.
On January 12th, the day the Dáil returned, Sinn Fein Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin extracted from the Taoiseach the information that two other key figures, one an Anglo Irish Bank director and the other a director of the Central Bank and Financial Services Regulatory Authority, were also at the now infamous Druid’s Glen dinner with the Taoiseach.
At Leaders’ Questions, Ó Caoláin again pressed this issue with the Taoiseach. Cowen did not respond directly to Ó Caoláin’s questions but threatened legal action:
“If the deputy has any suggestion or evidence to the contrary, he should not abuse the privilege of this House. Let him go outside and say it and I will see him in court.”
Ó Caoláin said the Taoiseach had not answered the questions. He told Brian Cowen:
“Would the Taoiseach agree that there are only two possibilities, namely, the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance were fully aware of the real situation in relation to Anglo Irish Bank and they withheld that information from this House; or, alternatively, the Taoiseach did not have the knowledge and was codded along by these people, corrupt bankers and others who had both the Taoiseach and Minister for Finance as fools?
“Either the Taoiseach and Minister for Finance are fools or they misled us.”
Within hours, Cowen won his confidence motion at the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party but then tried to pull a massive political stroke by orchestrating the resignation of ministers and the promotion of Fianna Fáil TDs to the Cabinet. The furore led to Cowen resigning as Fianna Fáil leader on Saturday 22nd January and the Greens’ withdrawal from Cabinet on Sunday.
Then it was once again left to Sinn Féin to provide the real opposition as Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Labour and the Greens united to have the Finance Bill put before the Dáil.
Speaking after attending the meeting of Finance spokespeople in the Department of Finance on Monday 24th January, Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty TD accused both Fine Gael and Labour of engaging in political fraud. Deputy Doherty said:
“I went into today’s meeting with the sole purpose of telling the other parties that Sinn Féin will not be a party to the grubby little deal to pass the Finance Bill in the dying days of this Dáil.
“There was an opportunity today for the Opposition parties to bring down this Government once and for all and to bring about the general election that the people are crying out for.
“Unfortunately, however, in what I can only describe as an act of political fraud, both Fine Gael and the Labour Party buckled and agreed to extend the life of the Government for one more week to pass a Finance Bill which they both claim to oppose.”
Sinn Féin Dublin South Central TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh added:
“While Fine Gael and the Labour Party have huffed and puffed for a long time about wanting to replace this Government they agreed to prolong its life to pass a Finance Bill which will facilitate the Budget cuts which they claimed to oppose.”
When the Dáil returned on Tuesday it was only the five Sinn Féin TDs and Independent TDs Finian McGrath and Maureen O’Sullivan who voted against the taking of the Finance Bill. That Bill was scheduled to finish on Saturday 29th January with the general election to follow. Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin concluded:
“General election 2011 must mark a sea-change in Irish politics. Sinn Féin will be at the forefront of that change.”