LABOUR PARTY leader Eamon Gilmore has warned voters against giving Fine Gael “a monopoly of power”, and urged them to switch to Labour to ensure a coalition government.
As the campaign entered its final days, Mr Gilmore said opinion polls had made it clear Fine Gael was going to be in government next week, but people had to take action if they also wanted Labour to be part of that administration.
“It’s either going to be a single-party Fine Gael government, with a monopoly of power to one political party, or it is going to be a coalition of Fine Gael and Labour,” he told reporters yesterday
Mr Gilmore said he believed voters wanted a government that would address the country’s economic problems in a balanced and fair way.
“I don’t believe that that will happen if we end up giving a monopoly of power to one political party.”
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny warned tough times lay ahead. “You are not going to walk into a situation on February 26th where suddenly the sun shines on everybody and the warmth is on our backs economically,” he said in an interview on TV3.
Mr Kenny ruled out any default on Ireland’s debt, but said he was determined to try to renegotiate the EU-IMF deal and insist senior bondholders share the burden.
“There’s no case for a sovereign default here under any circumstances ... You simply don’t do that as a country.”
When asked if there had been any informal contacts with Labour about coalition between the two parties, he said: “There hasn’t actually.”
Mr Kenny was asked during a visit to the headquarters of video-games company Popcap Games if Fine Gael would be making any recommendation to its supporters on transfers. He said: “I’ll decide if we do anything, on Wednesday or Thursday.”
Meanwhile, former taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Dr Garret FitzGerald said Mr Kenny would be best served going into government with the Labour Party.
Speaking at the University of Limerick, Dr FitzGerald said such a coalition would be “much more solid” than seeking support from Independents, which he described as “disastrous”. “With Independents you have no idea. They can blackmail you for something in their constituency,” he warned.
Dr FitzGerald believes the two parties can sort out their differences. “If they sort those out and stick together for five years, you have the kind of majority needed to do all the unpopular things that need to be done,”
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said his party in government had given a clear priority to pensioners, increasing the State pension by over 130 per cent.
“I can confirm that our plan for the next five years shows how the State’s finances can be restored while still protecting the State pension.”
Mr Martin added that the party’s plans for the elderly also included a new national positive ageing strategy which would set the direction for future policies, programmes and services for older people in Ireland.
The Irish Timeshas the best colour writing with Kathy Sheridan joining Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin on the canvass in Naas while Harry McGee observes the reaction received by the Green Party’s Eamon Ryan
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