Bertie: Not Waving, Drowning: SWP analysis of the election

national | politics / elections | other press Friday June 08, 2007 12:02 by e - swp (pc)

Bertie: Not Waving, Drowning

By Kieran Allen

The election results were a blow to anyone who wants to change Ireland to a more equitable and decent society.

Fianna Fail, has been returned to office for its third successive term in government and Fine Gael, which looked like it was in terminal decline, has recovered. On the surface Ireland appears to have returned to the ‘two and a half’ party system that is built around two rival right wing parties and smaller left wing junior partners.

The scale of the blow, should not however, be exaggerated. The Progressive Democrats, who were main party identified with neo-liberalism, were virtually decimated. Despite the loss of Joe Higgins, whose Dublin West constituency is under-represented in the Dail, closer examination of the results reveal that the radical left received serious votes. In many instances, candidates of the radical left received more votes than the PDs who have been in government for ten years.

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http://swp.ie/socialistworker/2007/sw275/sw-275-1.htm