The victory of Donald Trump in the US presidential race will undoubtedly have an impact on the Irish election campaign, and indeed those throughout Europe, Labour leader Ivana Bacik has said.
Ms Bacik said that already in Germany there were really serious concerns being expressed about its impact on its economy and that of the European Union.
“We’re a small, exposed economy. We’re certainly very vulnerable. I think it will have an impact,” she said.
The Labour leader was speaking in Dublin on Saturday during a canvass with Dublin South West candidate, Cllr Ciarán Ahern, in Kimmage.
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Ms Bacik also expressed concern that the divisive and toxic nature of the US presidential contest might also be seen during the general election campaign.
“I’ve been very vocal about the increase in the aggressive and shoutiness of political discourse, not just on the toxic spaces online, but actually in the Dáil chamber, where we’ve seen some Deputies shouting and heckling abuse in an abusive way.
“Unfortunately, we’ve also seen it manifested in assaults on canvassers, on candidates, and again, that’s deeply undermining democracy. So I hope that the Trump victory, if nothing else, will have that impact on the campaign here and will mean people will be more courteous and more civil.”
She said she has been concerned about the rise of the far right, and the rise of the politics of division and hate.
“We have always stood against that. We stand for integration and solidarity.”
Ms Bacik said the party would run 32 candidates in 31 constituencies. She repeated that once the election is over she would be seeking to achieve a “common platform of the left, the centre left and the Green movement”.
Mr Ahern said Labour wanted to be a party of government and did not want to be “sitting and sniping in opposition forever”.
He said that the party wanted more investment in public transport, investment in housing and affordable housing, which would involve a State-owned construction company.
“If you don’t change anything, nothing changes. The policies of this Government have been tried and tested and they are just not working.”
The party has also committed itself to what it calls a “genuine living wage”.
Ms Bacik said that 20 per cent of workers in the economy were designated as being on low pay. “Workers in the hospitality sector are among the lowest paid in Ireland,” she said.
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