I have no confidence in the Government. I did not need Greencore, Bord Telecom, Celtic Helicopters or Dermot Desmond to convince me. I have never had confidence in Fianna Fil or the Progressive Democrats to resolve the economic and social issues confronting Irish society. I do not intend to list again the scandals and allegations against this Government. I want to focus on the possible consequences of an Opposition victory in this confidence vote, or in any event, the probability of an election within the next year.
First I want to reject categorically the smears, personal vilification and muck raked up by the Minister for Justice, Deputy Ray Burke, and other Fianna Fil speakers in regard to The Workers' Party. The Workers' Party are, of course, well able to defend themselves. I want to congratulate the Workers' Party for acknowledging their earlier mistakes and the honest way they have confronted their own history. In particular, I want to acknowledge Deputy Mac Giolla's role in that transition from militant nationalism to constitutional politics and democratic socialism. It is despicable that they should be subjected to McCarthyite smears in this House by none less than the Minister for Justice. They have played an important role in creating a dynamic and democratic Left politics in this country and I welcome them all the more for that.
If present trends in the opinion polls continue, the only possible successor to this Government is another Government with major Fianna Fil participation. There may be a change in leaders, Ministers, even coalition partners, but that is [940] all. Fianna Fil will still dominate whatever new Government comes into place while the Left will be considerably strengthened in any such election.
Of course, Fine Gael fancy themselves as leading the next Government. So desperate are they to get Fianna Fil out, they will enter Government with anyone. They will abandon their principles, join with socialists, conservatives, greens, independents - anyone, to get in. Had Fine Gael not ruled out coalition with Fianna Fil we might have just passed this off as normal political jockeying. Instead, we must be extremely concerned at Fine Gael's motives. There is the stench of a hidden agenda coming from the Fine Gael benches.
We are faced with counter motions of confidence and no-confidence from parties with a few policy differences. Fine Gael's only claim to becoming the alternative Government is that they would regulate crooks, conmen and frauds in the business sector better than the present Government. That is highly debatable. Arguably a Fine Gael-led Government would give rise to even more scandals. Their policy of privatising almost all public sector companies would surely lead to more conflicts of interest and attempts to secure private gains at the expense of the public interest. It will be Greencore all over again in Aer Lingus, Bord Telecom, the ESB and RTE. By their own admission these would all face privatisation in the event of Fine Gael coming to office.
The difference between a Fianna Fil and Fine Gael-led Government is one of degrees. It is this lack of choice that is stifling Irish politics. This is why the majority of people do not want an election. They realise there is no difference between the two major parties. Fine Gael is just another way of saying Fianna Fil. The faces are different, the policies are the same.
If there is to be an alternative arising out of this motion of no-confidence, it will come from the Left parliamentarians and political parties.
If this vote of confidence is to be of any relevance to the vast majority of people, the Left should be very clear about its future intentions. I want to be very clear about this, especially in the light of Deputy John Bruton's invitation to the Left to join him in an anti-Fianna Fil Government.
In the eventuality of a hung Dil where neither Fine Gael nor Fianna Fil, with the help of the Progressive Democrats, can form a Government, the Labour Party will not participate as a minority partner in a Coalition Government with either of the major political parties.
In 1987 the Labour Party adopted the findings of their own commission on electoral strategy. One of those findings is that our medium term goal over ten to 15 years must be to exceed the party's best past performances. This requires that the party fight all elections on the basis of their independent policies and remain independent of all governments. That is the clear and unequivocal Labour Party policy on this issue. That will remain the case for the remainder of the decade.

I want to send a clear message to Fine Gael and indeed to Fianna Fil. The civil war which spawned their parties is over. The reasons for their separate existence have long ago ceased. They are both conservative parties with near identical policies. If between them, they command a majority, they, from the same political stable, have a responsibility to form a government. Let them not shift that responsibility to others.
I want to state categorically that I will never, while the people of Kildare send me here, support with my vote in this [942] House the appointment of a right wing Taoiseach from either Fianna Fil or Fine Gael to head up a conservative majority coalition. The Left must not be involved in giving the kiss of life to John Bruton and Fine Gael, nor should we act as a crutch for Fianna Fil. We must not be a mudguard for the excesses of either.
The only condition after this election or any other election in which I believe the Left should participate in a coalition with a right wing party, is if the combined Left is in a majority. Up to recently this might have seemed pie in the sky. But opinion polls now show Labour and The Workers' Party, together, with 20 per cent of the vote compared to Fine Gael's 27 per cent. The Left is not far off from becoming the second major force in Irish politics, if we act together.

If we count the Independent Socialist Party in Sligo, independents such as Tony Gregory, and the Green Party which I perceive as being an anti-conservative, positive force, we can see that progressive politics is gaining ground.
I do not accept, however, that voting no-confidence in this Government means that the Left must go into a permanent opposition until it can form its own Government. I believe that, together, the Left must campaign to win critical concessions for our constituency. We should be willing to use our parliamentary strength to negotiate the best deal possible based on a set of minimum demands. These demands could include things like: an industrial and credit strategy based on investing in large, domestic public and private sector companies in key export areas as the basis for ending unemployment; a national minimum wage and the implementation of the recommendations of the Commission on Social Welfare report; increased wealth and capital taxation, including a punitive tax on speculation and windfall profits; the [943] introduction of divorce and comprehensive family planning legislation; substantial increase in child benefit; more powers for local authorities; and comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation.
These are just some of the issues that could form the basis of an alternative Left politics. With this kind of platform we can confidently go to the country and argue for an alternative way of doing things. We may not be able to form the next government. But we can make a difference, and that can be the first step on our way to a Left majority coalition. That time might be nearer than many people think.
I want to finally make clear that I am speaking about the Left. I have consciously used that term for I believe all of us in the Labour Party, The Workers' Party and other groups must first and foremost see ourselves as parliamentarians and activists of the Left, in alliance against conservative forces in society. Otherwise, this confidence motion is just an exercise in oppositionism. Those who advise the Left that we should join a coalition with larger right wing parties are not advancing left politics, they are not bringing to people a radical alternative. They are not making a difference. The Left should ignore such advice. I am well aware that the Left is, at this stage, too small to control the national agenda, but we can control our own actions and make our own decisions. Voting no-confidence in this Government can be just the beginning.

