‘Just a straight Yes or No’
Deaglán de Bréadún
This is the transcript supplied to political correspondents by TV3 from last night’s interview with the Irish Labour Party leader on The Political Party, now broadcast on Friday nights at 11 pm. Ursula Halligan is a very good interviewer and so is RTÉ’s Seán O’Rourke who also recently tried to pin Eamon Gilmore down on this issue of coalition with Fianna Fáil.
Ursula Halligan: “If you look at the opinion polls at the moment and if they’re half right, it would look like Labour after the next election will hold the balance of power and it looks like it would be very unlikely that Fianna Fáil could ever get back into power without Labour – is that something you’re ruling out? Just a straight Yes or No – are you ruling that out?”
Eamon Gilmore: “No, now let’s look at the opinion polls because your question is based on the opinion polls.”
Ursula Halligan: “But it looks like you will hold the balance of power.”
Eamon Gilmore: “Based on the last couple of opinion polls, there would be a change in Government and Fianna Fáil would be out of office.”
Ursula Halligan: “So you would be in Government with Fine Gael?”
Eamon Gilmore: “Based on the last, if you look at the MRBI poll, you look at the RedC poll and I think we’ve had a succession of three of them now, the conclusion from all of those polls, all of those polls, if they replicated in a general election, would produce, in all probability, a Labour/ Fine Gael Government. That’s what would be the result.”
Ursula Halligan: “But it could also produce a Labour/ Fianna Fail Government?”
Eamon Gilmore: “No, it wouldn’t actually because if you look at – the numbers wouldn’t stack up …”
Ursula Halligan: “I’m just asking a very simple question and then we can move on from this – I’m just asking, are you ruling out a Labour/ Fianna Fáil Government the next time round? Can you just say that you’re ruling it out?”
Eamon Gilmore: “I can’t predict the outcome of the next general election.”
Ursula Halligan: “So you’re leaving it open?”
Eamon Gilmore: “No, what I am saying because the premise in that question and I want to deal with this very definitely, the premise in that question, is that politics in this country is always a two-horse race between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. I don’t see it like that at all. There is a third option and the third option is Labour …”
Ursula Halligan: “But you can’t do it on your own. You do need Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil. Let’s be realistic about this.”
Eamon Gilmore: “I don’t go for this argument, that you can’t do (it). I mean, 12 months ago …”
Ursula Halligan: “You don’t have the numbers.”
Eamon Gilmore: “But, sure lookit, 12 months ago, people 12 months ago were predicting that the two candidates for the American presidential election were going to be Hilary Clinton and Mitt Romney. Barack Obama was 25% behind.”
Ursula Halligan: “Sorry, are you saying that Labour are going to get an overall majority in the next election?”
Eamon Gilmore: “No, I’m not saying that but what I am saying, what I am refusing to do, is I am refusing to consign Labour as the also-rans of politics.”
Ursula Halligan: “Okay, but you’re also refusing to rule out a Labour/ Fianna Fáil Government?”
Eamon Gilmore: “No, I am not going to go down this idea that there is only, that politics in this country is only going to be about a two-horse race.”
