Adams concedes need to alter SF message

President's addressSinn Féin must fundamentally reshape its message in the Republic if it is to succeed in future elections, the party's president, Gerry Adams, has conceded following poor results in May's general election.

Highlighting the need to broaden its appeal, he said: "We need to be as comfortable with words like "prosperity" and "economic opportunity" as we are with "equality" and "independence".

Republicans, he said, "need to present relevant, modern politics and policies to meet the needs of Ireland in the 21st century," he told a special party conference in Dublin.

The poor general election result in May, where the party's Dáil team was reduced from six to five, was "a wake-up call" for Sinn Féin: "We need to do things differently," he told the Griffith College meeting.

The party's leadership, so long dominated by figures such as Mr Adams and the North's Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, "needs to be expanded to be truly national".

Last night, party sources said this would not mean formal appointments, but, rather, that efforts would be made to increase the profile of TDs and others in the Republic.

The Griffith College meeting, entitled Engaging Modern Ireland, is the second part of Sinn Féin's internal re-examination, following a private meeting of 600 delegates in mid-November.

The 2002 Dáil victories, along with the 2004 European and local election successes, meant "most of us" in the party had "expected to see a continuation of that success" in the May election.

The internal review, he said, had shown that Sinn Féin "is not strong enough on the ground in many constituencies" and that it had to widen its "political appeal" if it is to succeed in future.

"We also need to present our message in a better, more coherent way," said Mr Adams, though he made no reference to his own much-criticised television performances in the election campaign.

Sinn Féin, he said, "needs to rejuvenate our party from the ground up and republicans need to re-organise, restructure and recruit more young people".

"Today, the frontline of the struggle is here in the south. That means adopting and developing new strategies and tactics to meet the challenges facing republicanism in this part of the island."

Emphasising the need for Sinn Féin to be seen as more pro- business, Mr Adams said it must "develop a new working relationship" with small and medium-sized business owners.

"We need to work together to deliver the next generation of jobs that will drive the economy forward and sustain economic prosperity," he said.

Over coming months Sinn Féin TDs will organise regional meetings with local chambers of commerce, business people and other social partners.

Insisting that Sinn Féin is "not a high tax party", Mr Adams said it had said that election promises by other parties to cut taxes had been "irresponsible" and "we were correct in that".

The Budget, which was particularly disappointing for those on low and middle incomes, had seen Fianna Fáil "renege on many of the promises that saw them elected in the first place".

The Government "seems oblivious of the difficulties facing ordinary people" and this has been best illustrated by its decision to accept pay rises. "If this Government had any principles whatsoever they would decline this latest wage increase. It is not fair, it is not money well spent and it is not compulsory," he declared.

Urging a "No" vote in next year's referendum on the EU Reform Treaty, he said he believed that Ireland's place "is within the European Union". However, the treaty would, he said, "involve the most substantial transfer of powers from member states to the European Council and the European Commission to date".