Fiach Kelly: Martin needs to channel his inner Haughey to help party survive

Recently reminiscing fondly about Charles Haughey, a Fianna Fáil veteran of his era recalled the former taoiseach's approach to any spell out of government and to those in power while he watched on: "Oppose, oppose, oppose and dispose."

It wasn't an exclusively Haughey approach – Bertie Ahern was pretty good at it too.

Fianna Fáil, given its recent history, could never adopt such an attitude during this Dáil but, while it may not be fashionable to say so, its future hopes rest on a return to some of Haughey’s populism and outright opposition.

In the meantime, the task for the party is to be ahead of Sinn Féin when the votes are counted after the general election and then it can, it could be argued, abandon its approach of responsible opposition, forced upon it by the economic catastrophe it presided over while in government.

Memorabilia

It was perhaps no coincidence that of all the Fianna Fáil memorabilia at a special ardfheis stand manned by

Alan Kinsella

, a collector of Irish election posters and leaflets, the most popular items were those which featured Ahern and Haughey.

Perhaps this was because the age profile of delegates was largely middle-aged and above, despite a number of very young members running for election to various party positions.

An elderly delegate, leaving the RDS before 5.30pm on Saturday to watch Micheál Martin’s speech at home, said there were few young people involved in the organisation. In contrast, the recent Sinn Féin ardfheis in Derry was a raucous and energised affair, with many young faces among the attendees.

The atmosphere at Fianna Fáil’s gathering, while not downbeat, was hardly buoyant either and the sepia-toned posters and banners proclaiming past achievements only highlighted an organisation yet to come to terms with its status as a middling party rather than a “national movement”.

But on the floor of the RDS, delegates said they were heartened by recent attacking performances by Martin, both against Sinn Féin and the Government parties, which some felt showed their leader was willing to fight.

The counter argument is that focussing so much on Sinn Féin only highlights them as a radical alternative and gives them even more publicity.

By consistently highlighting Sinn Féin sex abuse controversies and other issues, while saying Fine Gael is too right wing, Martin is trying to create the perception of his party as the responsible centre ground.

A vote at a poorly attended session on Saturday morning saw a motion on ruling out coalition with Fine Gael comfortably passed.

It confirmed what most people in the parliamentary party know already: rebuilding Fianna Fáil needs two spells in Opposition, should the election results allow it stay out of government, which is by no means a certainty. Sinn Féin dreams of an election which would force Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil together.

Agenda

But now that Fianna Fáil has seemingly agreed that a two-term approach is the way forward, it needs to map out a longer strategy with this in mind.

While Martin and his spokespeople announced some policy changes over the weekend – abolition of the Universal Social Charge, a savings scheme to help first-time buyers, moves to reduce the cost of childcare – the positions taken by Fianna Fáil to date in Opposition have been largely reactive.

They have not set the political agenda with a bold move which forced the Government on to their turf. The offering at the next election needs to be refined to a handful of key policies voters will be able to identify with, much like Fine Gael’s five-point plan in 2011.

The more immediate challenge is the Carlow-Kilkenny byelection and sources from various parties agree that Bobby Aylward, the Fianna Fáil candidate, is favourite to take the Dáil seat vacated when Phil Hogan went to the European Commission.

Victory would banish any thoughts of a move against Martin before the election, but the parliamentary party must realise that Martin, a competent performer, is one of their strongest assets. No alternative leader is in place yet.

Should Martin, or whoever succeeds him, emerge as leader of the largest Opposition party after the election, he or she will need to channel their inner Haughey to ensure Fianna Fáil survives.