Madam, - Donnach Maguire (letters, December 13th) asks a relevant question when he asks why the Labour Party should be denied by Mr Rabbitte the option of coalition with Fianna Fail after the next election. He quotes the "successful government" of 1992. Indeed, if Mr Reynolds and Mr Spring had not fallen out it could be argued that that coalition would still be in existence.
In that event we would be going into the next election with Fianna Fáil having been in government for 20 years instead of 18 of the last 20. The advantage of Mr Rabbitte's stance, therefore, is that it gives the electorate an alternative to the perpetuation of a one-party political hegemony. A majority of the Labour Party members has backed this stance.
In addition, it is to Mr Rabbitte's credit that he has confronted the media consensus that there is no alternative for this democratic republic to a one- party hegemony. - Yours, etc,
TONY LEAVY, Sutton, Dublin 13.