The announcement that the Irish banking sector needs another
€24 billion, that’s €24,000,000,000 in real numbers or another €5,500
for every Irish man, woman and child, is another sign of the capitalist
crisis in the state. Standard and Poor’s one of the main international
credit agencies has now downgraded Ireland by a further point.
The democracy of Parliament is in short the democracy of
Capitalism. Capitalism gives to the worker the right to choose his
master, but insists that the fact of mastership shall remain
unquestioned; Parliamentary Democracy gives to the worker the right to a
voice in the selection of his rulers but insists that he shall bend as a
subject to be ruled. The fundamental feature of both in their relation
to the worker is that they imply his continued subjection to a ruling
class once his choice of the personnel of the rulers is made…
James Connolly: Parliamentary Democracy 1900
The announcement that the Irish banking sector needs another
€24 billion, that’s €24,000,000,000 in real numbers or another €5,500
for every Irish man, woman and child, is another sign of the capitalist
crisis in the state. Standard and Poor’s one of the main international
credit agencies has now downgraded Ireland by a further point.
The state seems to be heading full steam for the rocks, a
mere 6 weeks after FF walked the plank and Captain Enda lashed himself
to the wheel. The fact that there was still a crisis won’t be a surprise
to anyone, but the scale of the problem is very significant. Lenihan’s
pronouncement that AIB would need €34 billion (but it could be €46
billion) was seen as clear evidence of a government on the slide. But
the new information from the Central Bank is part of a jigsaw that will
become increasingly clear as the pieces fall into place over the next
period. Fine Gael and Labour have come into power in the midst of an
economic cyclone and the coalition will be a government of crisis from
its inception.
The same conditions that prevailed in the economy before the election
still exist, but if anything the latest stress tests demonstrate that
FF didn’t give the full story when the bailout was negotiated at the end
of last year. The price of houses is now reported to have fallen by 51%
over the last three years, unemployment is still a huge issue and the €
has increased in value against the £ making exports more difficult and
the lure of Newry more attractive for Irish shoppers. The increase in
the price of oil, following on from speculation connected with the
revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa, will have a big impact
on the economy in Ireland, because of the heavy emphasis on trade and
the remoteness of Ireland from the rest of the euro zone.
The austerity measures implemented by FF and the Greens haven’t been
reversed. Sure, there may be some tinkering at the edges, but the same
pressures will be brought to bear on Michael Noonan and Enda Kenny as on
Brian Cowen and Brian Lenihan. The bosses want their pound of flesh and
it won’t be long before the knives are out, particularly for the public
sector.
Despite the protestations of Eamon Gilmore and the view among the
right wing of the Labour Party that Labour needed to be in government to
defend the working class, it is very unlikely that Labour will be able
to stem the tide. The changes in the figures for reductions in the
public sector workforce in the Programme for Government might sound
promising, but it has to be borne in mind that the shifting sands and
turbulent currents in the economy and internationally make any “deal”
very tenuous in the extreme.
Labour’s left argued that a principled opposition was better than a
sorry compromise with Fine Gael and that position should gain ground
over the next period. But it will only gain support if it develops a
clear class alternative to the “National Government” position of
Gilmore. Ideally, the United Left Alliance can play a significant role
in that process, but there is a risk that the ULA will fail to develop
into a significant force as a result of sectarian baggage. Ireland has a
significant tradition to the left of Labour, but it is fragmented and
weak. There is no equivalent of the Spanish Izquierda Unida, the German
Die Linke or the Greek Synaspizmos. The ULA organises around a handful
of individuals.
The battles against austerity in Ireland will be fought by trade
union members and young people. Sooner or later that pressure will be
reflected in the Labour Party also. To transform Ireland along socialist
lines the workers of Ireland need to wrest control of their
organisations from the bureaucrats and time servers, the careerists and
the ideas of reformism. There are no short cuts. The crisis in Ireland
will transform the consciousness of working people, time and time again.
It’s time to think big.
…But the freedom of the revolutionist will change the choice of
rulers which we have to-day into the choice of administrators of laws
voted upon directly by the people; and will also substitute for the
choice of masters (capitalists) the appointment of reliable public
servants under direct public control. That will mean true democracy –
the industrial democracy of the Socialist Republic.
James Connolly Parliamentary Democracy 1900
