Last month, Fianna Fáil held its Ard Fheis and celebrated its founding in 1926. With the by-elections lost in both Galway and Dublin, Micheál Martin is under pressure. However, timing is everything, and despite saying he will lead the party into the next election, a transition to new leadership is likely in the early days of 2027. So, what has Fianna Fáil achieved over 100 years? As the dominant party for most of the State’s existence, it has had a significant impact. The taoiseach recently spoke of the importance of trade, but it was not until the end of the 1950s, after a decade of economic decay and mass emigration, that Sean Lemass, advised by TK Whitaker, opened Ireland’s economic future with the programme for economic expansion driving exports and encouraging inward investment. That was the original template for the Celtic Tiger years. Global financial events and a considerable degree of banking and political hubris brought that to a devastating end, only to be followed by a recovery that has restored full employment and delivered burgeoning public finances along with all the housing and healthcare challenges of a 50 per cent population increase since 1990. The introduction of free education and joining the European Union in 1973 were calculated moves to develop Ireland and give it access to a consumer market of 450 million Europeans. Whether we fully appreciate it or not, we have one of the best performing economies in Europe, though with an over-reliance on potentially transient corporation taxes. The recent fuel protests were acknowledged by a government with the resources to mitigate the effects of oil price increases. Whether that opens a Pandora’s Box of cost-of-living claims in the coming months remains to be seen.
Even with all the criticism of the Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael Government, the Irish electorate seems indisposed towards any lurch to the extremes of political doctrine, unlike our British neighbours. Political stability is as much to be cherished now as it was when Fianna Fáil eventually entered the Dáil almost one hundred years ago, to pursue its aims through the democratic process.
.gif)
