Convention puts Labour’s woes into the spotlight

World of Politics with Harry McGee – harrymcgee@gmail.com

We are in the foothills of the general election – there is no doubt about that. Parties don’t have to take out the crampons or the ice axes just yet. But they all know that the incline is getting steeper and steeper.

Party national convention season is getting into full swing and next weekend in Killarney, it will be Labour’s turn to speak to the faithful.

There was a time when these annual gatherings were where party policies were thrashed out and debated. The only people who have any memory of those these days are those who can avail of free travel to the conventions.

The gatherings have become formulaic and predictable. They are full of platitudes, and are wholly focused on the live TV coverage

The most exciting thing about the Fine Gael’S convention in Mayo was a full-throttle debate about 1916 on the fringes. A brilliant full-blooded (almost literally) speech by historian Ronan Fanning elicited interesting reaction from speakers reflecting the Redmondite and Easter Rising wings of the party.

The big message was Fine Gael’s overt and conscious decision to back its Coalition partners to the hilt. A succession of Ministers let the electorate know that both parties are now joined at the hip and will go into the next election seeking a joint mandate.

Expect Labour to repeat the message next weekend. Killarney will be Joan Burton’s first Labour conference as leader and it will be interesting to see how she frames her leadership and sets out her priorities and vision.

Another much anticipated speech will be from deputy leader Alan Kelly. His style is Prescottian (but unlike Tony Blair’s pugnacious deputy he has never thrown a punch).

He’s an unusual politician in that he doesn’t really care if certain people dislike him or if he rubs them up the wrong way. John Deasy, Alan Shatter, and Michael McDowell are similar in that regard.

His interview with Sean O’Rourke on RTE Radio One was interesting yesterday in that he did not hide his light under a bushel when it came to his leadership ambitions.

One of the other highlights of the Labour conference will be the debate over the future of Aer Lingus. This issue proves the point that no matter how much we wish for politics to be national, it remains essentially local.

TDs are rooted in their own communities and at least part of their fealty will be to their own (and so it should be). It’s more apparent down the country but it’s also evident in Dublin.

And so what we have in Fine Gael and Labour is that most TDs who live on the northside of Dublin, in the mid-west and around Cork are fiercely opposed to Aer Lingus being sold to the IAG group and to Willie Walsh.

They believe (and they may be wrong in this) that the takeover might see our national airline – which it isn’t any more – being swallowed up, with staff losing their jobs and with the valuable Heathrow slots being taken away.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.