SEAMUS HEALY TD,
Sir, - Fintan O'Toole was right to point out (Opinion, August 28th) that a "system change" is necessary in the Labour Party and that this should be considered in the context of the wider labour movement.
The cuts in public services and the rightist nature of the present Fianna Fáil-PD Government present a major challenge to the labour movement. On the other hand, the outcome of the last general election presents an unprecedented opportunity to meet that challenge at the political level. Fine Gael is now in a minority on the Opposition benches. The Labour Party has 21 seats, the Greens 6, Sinn Fein 5; and there are several non-Fianna Fáil Independents. The total, approximately 40 seats, is greater than the number of Labour Party deputies elected in the "Spring Tide". There is an urgent need to form a united left front of these parties and individuals on an agreed political basis.
Such an alliance could provide a vigorous Opposition inside and outside the Dáil. Above all, it could show a new political way forward to the poor, the disadvantaged and to ordinary people generally. The alliance would be capable of growing quickly to become a major contender for government.
To generate the enthusiasm necessary for such growth, there are a number of essential requirements. Above all the public would have to be assured that there was no question of entering government except as the majority partner. Any suspicion that the alliance could become a prop to a government dominated by Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael would be fatal. Achievement of the realistic target of 60 seats at the next general election could give the alliance a strong majority in an alternative government.
"System change" in the Labour Party is vital to the development of such an alliance. The major decline in the Labour vote in the 1997 election and the decision of approximately 200,000 voters in the last election to choose parties and individuals of the left other than the Labour Party must be analysed. Clearly, huge numbers of people, many very poor, have delivered a verdict on the Spring governments. The tax amnesty, paltry welfare increases and concessions to the wealthy have had their effects.
If the Labour Party leadership contest merely brings a change of face rather than a "system change", a major opportunity for the labour movement will have been lost. - Yours, etc.,
SEAMUS HEALY TD,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2.