FF criticises Rabbitte on coalition stance

Fianna Fβil has strongly criticised Labour TD Mr Pat Rabbitte following his declaration that he would not serve in any coalition led by them.

"He has now the unique distinction of being the first man in history to refuse an invitation which he never received," said the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue.

His refusal to serve in government with Fianna Fβil has "little to do with political conviction and more to do with the clear fact that there is no ministerial place for him in any FF/Labour coalition. The reality is that Ruair∅ Quinn can only reward one member of the former Democratic Left with a Cabinet post, in the event of Labour going into coalition with Fianna Fβil, and that his name is not on that list has fast dawned on Mr Rabbitte.

"Pat Rabbitte should stop pretending he does not want a ministerial post. While he is at it, he could make a New Year's resolution to tell it as it really is - not that he doesn't want the job, but that there is none available, hypothetically speaking of course. What is even more amusing than Poor Pat's tale of woe this Christmas is his announcement that he has always been a model, loyal and disciplined politician. This loyalty is best illustrated by the fact that he has been a member of more political parties in the past than there are stars on the Labour Party flag."

However, Mr Rabbitte's declaration could make life more difficult for the Labour Party in the New Year when it will face repeated questions about its post-electoral strategy.

The party's annual conference in November agreed to leave options open for Mr Quinn, but the tone of the debate that preceded the decision was strongly opposed to coalition with Fianna Fβil.

The Dublin South West TD's move has been variously interpreted in Leinster House as being the first shot in a bid to replace Mr Quinn as leader, or an attempt to copperfasten his candidature for a Cabinet seat in a Fine Gael-led coalition.

So far, Mr Rabbitte has not been supported by any other Labour figure. "There are a lot of people around who are months away from being a Minister of State. Nobody wants to go out of line," said one observer.

Last month, Mr Quinn is understood to have met separately with a number of TDs, including Roisin Shortall, following a survey by RTE's This Week programme on Labour coalition opinion.

"He would have made the point that conference set out the position and that is where matters stand. Anything else just makes life difficult," said a Labour figure yesterday.

During his career in the Democratic Left, Mr Rabbitte was the small party's leading figure, though he has been overshadowed somewhat in recent times by ex-Democratic Left TD, D·n Laoghaire's Mr Eamon Gilmore.