Over 50,000 Protest Water Taxes

Last Wednesday I suggested that the imposition of water charges at the behest of the IMF-EU-ECB could do for the present Fine Gael – Labour coalition in Ireland what the introduction of the “poll tax” did for the ruling Conservative Party in Britain during the 1980s and ‘90s. Sure enough that prediction seems to be coming true with at least 50,000 people – and perhaps many more than that – taking to the streets of Dublin in the biggest political demonstration the capital has seen for many years (interestingly the Gardaí declined to give the news media an official estimate of the numbers, a notable event in itself). By all accounts the Fine Oibre administration was shocked by the size of the mass protest, initially prepared for a fifth of the eventual turn-out, and by the cross-section of voters it represented.

That shock and awe felt in government was compounded by the results of the two by-elections in Dublin South-West and Roscommon-South Leitrim. In the former constituency the Socialist Party’s former MEP Paul Murphy, running under the Anti-Austerity Alliance or AAA banner, managed to sneak past the predicted winner, Sinn Féin’s Cathal King, while in the latter seat independent Michael Fitzmaurice pushed out Fianna Fáil’s Ivan Connaughton, again confounding the accepted wisdom of the press. In both cases avowed opposition to the current regime of cuts in public services combined with new taxes have provided the formula for electoral success. Sinn Féin in particular has played its cards poorly, prevarications and confusion over its position on water charges being justifiably exploited by Murphy and his supporters in Dublin South-West. Officially SF intends to repeal water taxation if it gains office while keeping Uisce Éireann as a state-funded public body, with its TDanna and others paying the charge in the meantime and leaving it up to individual citizens to decide their own response. Which to many voters looks like a party which lacks the courage of its convictions and is leaving it up to others do the fighting. In this case it is Sinn Féin’s further Left rivals in the AAA, Socialist Party, People Before Profit and others who will undoubtedly reap the electoral rewards of the party’s shysterism.

The other big loser from the two elections, aside from the governing parties which saw their combined vote drop by nearly 50%, is Fianna Fáil and its lame duck leader Micheál Martin. Quack all he wants he is fooling no one and it is only a matter of time before his own members serve him up on a platter. Unsurprisingly some sugar is expected to be offered to help the Troika medicine go down in the weeks ahead. Whether it is offered to the right people, or enough people, to make a difference at the ballot box come the next general election is another matter.

Interesting times indeed.