There was no mistaking the ambition of the Labour Party leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte, to form an alternative government to Fianna Fáil, when he addressed his party's conference at the weekend. A democratic alliance, informed by the values of the Labour Party and involving Fine Gael and the Green Party, represented his vision of the future. But Labour had first to build the foundations for that government through successes in the forthcoming local and European Parliament elections.
The task Mr Rabbitte has set himself is daunting. And success will depend on a number of related but disparate factors. Not alone will his party have to regain the kind of support it enjoyed in the pre-1992 period if it is to play a dominant role in government-formation, but his putative partners will also have to perform sufficiently well to make up the required Dáil numbers.
The key to it all will be the June elections. Labour needs a large number of new, attractive councillors if the local elections are to form its springboard to government. Newly-merged Labour/Democratic Left lost 22 council seats in 1999 and it would hope to recover those, with interest, even though its standing in the opinion polls has not changed significantly in the meantime. The opportunity is certainly there, with Fianna Fáil in particular disarray, because of broken political promises and allegations of planning corruption. But Sinn Féin has benefited most from that party's difficulties, according to opinion polls. And the Green Party has also made up ground.
Mr Rabbitte targeted Fianna Fáil specifically in his televised address, dwelling on its broken political promises; its failures on health, housing and welfare issues; its links with planning corruption; its planned referendum on citizenship and the faulty memory of its leader. And, having condemned Sinn Féin's links with paramilitarism, he urged Labour Party supporters to transfer their voting preferences in the local elections away from the Government parties.
On offer at Labour's conference was a "Fair Society", involving honesty and social justice, with concessions for the lower paid and fewer tax breaks for the wealthy. A baby bond of 1,000, with interest accruing until the age of 18 years for all citizens, was proposed as an indication of this egalitarianism. Further policy details will be published later this year.
Labour Party planners will be pleased by the way the conference went. But a great deal remains to be done before Mr Rabbitte's vision of an alternative government can be offered to the public with real conviction. A Sunday Business Post opinion poll yesterday offered some encouragement in that regard while the Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, is expected to reinforce the message next weekend at his party's conference. But Dáil performances by the main opposition parties are still patchy and need to be improved if a coalition government involving the Labour Party, Fine Gael and the Green Party is to become a realistic option.