Result | Shows Unity Essential

of the February 18th election. It was increased their share of the poll in this must be able to give detailed answers supposed to be the most serious in area but in radically different ways. to the multitude of everyday problems the history of the state. The media Fianna Fail gained significant extra which afflict working people. and the politicians agreed that for the support in working class districts while Secondly, it is not enough to have a first time ever the electorate would Fine Gael pulled in the middle class vote. programme it is also necessary to be vote for policies and not personalities. Even more interestingly it was the tradi- able to fight for it. This means winning In the event the opposite happened. No tionally “liberal” sections of the middle the confidence of workers by consistent clear national voting pattern emerged. class (which supported left independents work in their areas and their organisaSwings were mainly on a local basis such as Noel Brown and John O’Connell) tions (trade unions etc). Without and tended to cancel each other out. which gave Fine Gael its biggest boost. building support in this way it will be People did not vote on central policy What this reflects is an initial class polari- impossible to gain real credibility among issues but on local ones. sation. The middle class opted for the workers. But behind the peculiarities of each most conscious and consistent policy of Thirdly, the anti-imperialist movement result there was one clear message: repression and austerity while workers must be able to present itself as a united popular confidence in the ability of rejected it. But this is only a tentative national alternative to the established the major parties to solve fundamental development since, while Fine Gael con- parties. Political organisations such as political and economic problems was sciously speaks for the middle class, Sinn Fein, Peoples Democracy and the considerably down. Fianna Fail in no way represents an IRSP have a responsibility to come Some of the local swings however alternative for workers. together and develop a national could have a national importance in Despite the depth of political and alliance which will be active in every the long run. This is particularly true economic crisis in Ireland it is clear nook and cranny of the country. of the outcome in Dublin for example. that workers saw no national alternaBoth Fianna Fail and Fine Gael tive to the existing party set-up. This Paisley Loses Clout ONE OF the side-effects of the and Robinson in Belfast in the last weapon in the anti-imperialist struggle. Kincora corruption scandal was the British general election. The local Because of this Peopies Democracy elections of last May saw them emerge