EP Elections: Cross-Posting

Commentary from our EastWestEurope blog:

Looking for a Home in Europe

Irish politicians and journalists often lament the disconnect between European election campaigns and the great issues of EU policy. They explain this by arguing that the perceived weakness of the European Parliament turns it into an expendable plaything, a tool which to beat national governments over the head in a “mid-term” revolt. Or perhaps a place to put either trainee or has-been politicians.

But the attitudes of Irish parties to EP party groupings give the game away. Those same politicians who lecture the public on its ignorance of European issues haven’t a clue when it comes to the ideological families of European politics. They have to join groups, as if it were some great boring chore.

Fianna Fail Goes Fishing

Fianna Fail traditionally resided among the Gaullist bloc. This made some sense. Gaullism is moderately conservative, nationalist, anti-Atlanticist and relatively pro-business – with a statist, Keynsian or mercantilist tinge. Since the Gaullists morphed into the UMP, and even started to emulate at least some Anglo-Saxon practices under Sarkozy, that bloc lost its purpose. Sarkozy moved toward the People’s Party/Christian Democrat bloc. Fianna Fail couldn’t go there, since that space was occupied by Fine Gael. So now they are joining the Liberals, the home of their former coalition partners, the defunct Progressive Democrats.

The problem here is that the Liberals and FF may not get on so well. Many EU Liberal parties are far-out libertarians on social issues. While Fianna Fail has liberalized, it still has a strongly conservative base in many parts of Ireland. But even on economics, there could be trouble ahead. The Progressive Democrats were founded to advance a free market philosophy. Fianna Fail only adopted this with great reluctance. Does this move mean that, even after the death of the PDs, Fianna Fail is thoroughly converted to “neoliberalism”?

At the Heart of Europe?

Fine Gael is no better. As we have pointed out in these pages before, many Fine Gaelers are really social democrats and even squirm at the word “Christian” in any context.

Some now want to explore a link with David Cameron’s Conservatives in the UK. But Fine Gael’s great insistence on being”at the heart of Europe” will be tested to the limits if they go there. FG is with a bigger, winning bloc when it allies itself with the Christian Democrats. But is it better to be a small party in a big group or a relatively bigger party in a smaller group?

And, are Your Friends … Really …  Our Friends?

Labour is much more comfortable in its Socialist bloc, even if they too squirm – at the “s” word in this instance. But perhaps they should look at how the EP Socialists see Ireland’s enterprise-friendly taxation regime. The hectoring of the Irish by German Social Democrats would be unacceptable from any other source. Or perhaps Labour hasn’t noticed that contradiction either.