Murphy calls for united left-wing alliance

People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy has called on the Irish left to unite ahead of the upcoming general election.

In an opinion piece published in The Irish Times, Murphy said that a “united left alliance” could have potential to remove Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil from office.

Murphy praised Sinn Féin and the Social Democrats for being willing to co-operate with People Before Profit at a local level in Dublin following June’s local elections, but said it should be the first step in a more formal arrangement.

He said that the Vote Left, Transfer Left pact from the 2020 general election should be repeated.

Ahead of June’s local elections, Murphy asked Sinn Féin and the Social Democrats to take part but had his overtures rejected.

Following the relative success of left-wing parties in June’s local elections and electoral gains for the far-right, Murphy said the timing of a pact was important.

He noted “Sinn Féin and Social Democrat councillors voted for the People Before Profit nominees for mayor and deputy mayor on South Dublin County Council. Elsewhere, they correctly criticised Labour for joining with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. This is to be warmly welcomed. Will they now follow through and join a pact for a left government?”

The Dublin South-West TD asserted that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael would be happy to ditch the Green Party as coalition partners and replace them with independents.

“In fact, this would be one of the most right-wing governments in decades. Having ditched the Greens for right-wing Independents, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael would further ratchet up their scapegoating of asylum seekers. This would embolden the far right even more, creating a hostile environment for people of colour, migrants, trade unionists, LGBTQ+ and disabled people,” he wrote.

He said that a left-wing “would present a clear choice to the electorate: stick with Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael or vote for a left government.”

“It would offer a clear route to ending the rule of these two parties. Strong transfers between left parties and left Independents would increase the prospect of a left majority being returned to the next Dáil.”

He cited the case of the New Popular Front that was formed for France’s snap parliamentary election.

The pact saw various parties on the French ranging from the French version of Labour, left-wing populist La France Insoumise, the French Green Party, as well as far-left parties, team up in a repeat of the 2022 parliamentary elections.

The alliance finished 2nd place in the first round of voting behind the far-right National Rally party and well ahead of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist En Marche party, despite being cobbled together at short notice.

Noting that the alliance “isn’t perfect” (indeed, there have been concerns within the alliance over who the prime ministerial candidate should be as well as lingering tensions over the Israeli-Gaza conflict) he said that the French left, notorious for their infighting, was able to come together at short notice to team up against Macron and the far-right and secure good results.

However, Murphy indicated that Labour would not be part of a hypothetical Irish left alliance.

He noted that Labour pulled out of proposed progressive alliances in Dublin, including Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council.

“Labour jumped at the opportunity to coalesce with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael; that should give the public fair warning of what it intends to do after the next general election as well,” he said.