ANALYSIS:The Labour Party has ambitions that are steadily increasing in size, writes Mark Hennessy
BARACK OBAMA has yet to visit Ireland to track his distant roots, but his spirit was evident when the Labour Party gathered in Kilkenny at the weekend: from Labour Youth's "Gilmore for Taoiseach" posters, to Eamon Gilmore's effort to instil hope into a worried population.
In truth, Gilmore's speech was a master class; the best that he has ever given and, probably, one of the finest orations given by any political leader at a party conference of any hue in Ireland for many a long year.
Faced with a government struggling to cope with falling tax revenues and a lurching economy, the Labour Party has a spring in its step and ambitions that are steadily growing in size, both for next year's local and European Parliament elections, and in the next general election.
So far, the public is not quite so convinced, since Fine Gael has been the one to benefit most from the haemorrhage in support from Fianna Fáil, and Gilmore's place at the top of the public satisfaction ratings is as much a reflection of the lowly showing of others as anything else. So far, Labour has yet to understand why it has not been the one to soar.
Throughout the weekend, Labour castigated Fianna Fáil at every turn, but its irritation with Fine Gael was more than visible; from criticisms in public by Gilmore and other senior figures, to more sharply-worded language from party delegates away from the conference hall.
The relationship between the parties has always been prone to fractiousness, particularly since Fine Gael is never able to resist the opportunity to lord it over Labour on every occasion when the opinion polls put some wind in their sails.
This time, however, the depth of Labour's feelings is different in scale and tone, particularly at Fine Gael's increasingly vocal criticisms of public service workers - especially from Leo Varadkar, who enjoys the distinction of being loathed in equal measure by both Fianna Fáil and Labour.
The plague on all your houses approach to both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil offers Labour the opportunity to emphasise its distinctiveness from the two of them, and, for now, deflect questions about which it would ally with in coalition after the next Dáil elections, should the numbers allow.
The happy memories held by senior Labour figures of the time of the 1992/1994 coalition with Fianna Fáil, bar the events which led to its collapse, are still strong, though that has much to do with the fact that Fianna Fáil allowed Labour to dominate the policy agenda.
Life in office with Fine Gael has for Labour never been as smooth a ride, and many in the party fear that a future alliance could be more problematic given the increasingly ideological stand being adopted by some in the major opposition party.
Fine Gael's attacks on the public service, nevertheless, have opened an opportunity for Labour to attract support from State-paid employees, and from trade union members, who should be the party's natural constituency, but who have more often not voted for it.
Indeed, the Labour leader's irritation with trade unions, some of which are affiliated to the party but most of which are happier dealing day-to-day with Fianna Fáil, is obvious. In future, he will demand more from them.
While the traditional red backdrop used at Labour conferences has disappeared, to be replaced by soft-focus photographs, Labour is clearly enjoying the opportunity to dance on the grave of unfettered capitalism.
Bank nationalisations can now be mentioned without sending middle-of-the-road voters into hiding, while talk of increasing borrowing to stimulate the economy can now be portrayed as sensible, prudent stewardship.
Ireland's national debt, which currently stands at 25 per cent of national annual production, including the National Pension Reserve Fund, could be nearly doubled, says Gilmore, in an attempt to kick-start the economy. However, national debts have to be paid back, either by the generation that borrowed the money or by those who come after them. In Britain, chancellor Alastair Darling has outlined plans whereby taxes would rise post-recovery to begin that task immediately.
Gilmore, however, is not outlining a similar plan, opting instead to argue that borrowings could be paid back by rising revenues, rather than by higher rates. Few analysing the state of Irish finances would agree.
Interestingly, Gilmore, in his address on Saturday night, took on board the need to offer hope and optimism to voters, and he avoided replicating the litany of despair offered by Fine Gael's Enda Kenny in his speech to his conference the week before.