New Thinking

With public opinion being informed by the presidential contest in seems that there is some movement in support for progressive politics.

With Fine Gael able to go it alone in government, there remains an opportunity for the Labour Party to be part of a process of contributing to a movement away from the failures of deregulated capitalism. 

The decision to enter coalition (again) with Fine Gael - a conservative party still wedded to Thatcherism - does nothing to move the ordinary people of Ireland - Labour's constituency in other words - towards a society that Connolly or Dr Noel Browne could be proud of.

Members of the Labour party have much more to offer than this.  They should abandon any sectarian hostility they may hold towards other progressive parties, including Sinn Fein and start talking about serious alternatives to the current paradigm.

There are people rejecting Thatcherism and its international variations and coming out onto the streets.  The chips have been thrown in the air and the outcome of all of this is unpredictable, but it would be a major failing of this generation of political activists if they forget what brought them into politics in the first place.