There are two outstanding candidates for the leadership of the Labour Party. Both are clever, articulate, experienced in parliamentary politics, widely respected, radical; even, at a stretch, socialist. And, as an extra bonus, neither of them is Ruairi Quinn nor Brendan Howlin. The problem is that neither is a member of the Labour Party. They are Proinsias De Rossa and Pat Rabbitte, and if the Labour Party has any sense it should postpone its leadership election until a merger between it and Democratic Left has been completed and De Rossa and Rabbitte are available to contest the leadership.
Dick Spring is probably mistaken to make such a significant career decision so immediately in the aftermath of the death of his mother and the health scare to his son. But it is his decision and his life, and that is to be respected. However, he leaves so much undone with the Labour Party and with left-wing politics for the decision to be regrettable on a public basis.
Labour was hugely successful under his leadership and, even in the June election, it achieved its second-best performance in more than 30 years. In government from 1992 to 1997, Labour delivered on most of its promises. But . . .
Labour has failed to make and consolidate the strategic breakthrough to be a main player in Irish politics. More crucially, left-wing politics has failed by default.
There is now no party campaigning for public support for tax increases at the higher levels, for wealth and/or property taxes, for higher social welfare benefits or a basic income, for an end to privilege in health and education.
There is no party demanding as the national priority the elimination of poverty from the fruits of economic success. There is no party acknowledging the futility of the "war on drugs" and the necessity for a war on the causes and effects of drug addiction. There is no party opposing the madness of the prison-building programmes and the hysteria over crime. There is no party insisting that the political system be no longer infected by the contagion of private finance.
There is no party calling for an end to the Special Criminal Court, for a repeal of the Public Order Act, for a repeal of the bail amendment to the Constitution and the other measures enacted in the last decade that have cheapened civil liberties.
There is no party insisting that we know the politics and ideology of judges before we appoint them to the Supreme Court. There is no party demanding fundamental changes in the institutions of the European Union to make the Union marginally democratic and accountable.
The Progressive Democrats have won the ideological battle here. Indeed, that very victory has been the death-knell of the Progressive Democrats as a party; for ideologically we are all PDs now. All parties are committed to tax reductions across the board or across most of the board. All parties are addicted to the adrenalin of crime hysteria.
The Labour Party is more decent than the larger parties, its instincts are less atavistic, certainly than those of Fine Gael and the Progressive Democrats. Labour in government has been able to keep Fianna Fail (fairly) honest and Fine Gael (somewhat) humane. But is that all Labour is about? Are the demands of fairness, equity and liberty to go unattended?
Is it remotely likely that if Ruairi Quinn is elected leader of Labour that it will grapple with such demands? Ruairi is personable, clever, articulate, well-read, personally compassionate. But he was the minister for finance that introduced two budgets that could as easily have been sponsored by a Fianna Fail or a Fine Gael or even a Progressive Democrats minister for finance. His budgets favoured the rich. He probably should be in Fianna Fail, he certainly could be in Fine Gael.
Brendan Howlin is, I am sure, a wonderful son, dependable friend, trustworthy and articulate (if relentlessly long-winded). But what else is there to Brendan Howlin?
On the negative side, there is his handling of the hepatitis C affair, as minister for health in 1994.
Six days after the Department of Health was notified of the hepatitis C link with the poisonous antiD product, a higher executive officer in the Department of Health, acting under authority delegated to him by Brendan Howlin, gave retrospective authorisation to that antiD product for the period April 1st, 1988, to March 31st, 1993. Note, this "authorisation" was granted on February 23rd, 1994, six days after Brendan Howlin had been informed of the hepatitis C link on February 17th, 1994.
Brendan Howlin insists that he did not know of this, and he is to be believed. But exonerated?
And there was worse.
While, as minister for health, he acted with commendable swiftness in requesting the withdrawal of the infected product, he failed in a crucial responsibility. As I wrote here a year ago, given the lethal nature of the antiD product and his special role, as minister for health, as the second guarantor of the reliability of blood products, he had a crucial duty to ensure that the infected product was in fact withdrawn. This was not done.
At least eight doses of the infected anti-D product were administered after February 1994, some administered some several months later. And this was in part because Brendan Howlin failed in his special duty to ensure that all such product was withdrawn.
He should have resigned his ministerial office over this scandal. Whatever his personal qualities, it would be a further outrage in the hepatitis C scandal - by far the worst of our crop - if that man were now elected leader of the Labour Party.
Democratic Left has never recovered from the trauma of its birth, and perhaps this explains its ideological disorientation. But De Rossa and Rabbitte are heavy lifters. They are serious about politics and serious about fairness. As a bonus, Rabbitte is funny.
There is no good reason for Labour and Democratic Left not to be together. Informal negotiations on a merger have been going on over the last few months. Pat Rabbitte, Eamon Gilmore and Liz McManus are in favour. Proinsias De Rossa has not said what he wants but he hasn't said no.
If there is to be a merger should it not occur before a new leader is elected by Labour? Should the new members not have an equal say on who the new leader should be? Shouldn't Labour TDs be offered the opportunity to choose from a wider choice of candidates for the leadership, which would be offered if De Rossa and Rabbitte were available? There might then be a prospect that the unfinished business of the Spring era would be attended to.
As for Dick Spring, his contribution has been an honourable and a considerable one. He has been the dominant figure in Irish politics since the departure of Charles Haughey. He will be remembered with respect.