NEWLY ELECTED Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has apologised for mistakes he and the Government made in managing the economy but said the most important thing was to learn from these mistakes.
Mr Martin admitted that the party was facing into the most challenging election since its foundation and said he didn’t expect to improve its poll ratings overnight.
Speaking at a press conference shortly after his election, he challenged other political parties to come up with “specific and credible” policies during the election campaign and promised to put forward a “radical and substantive” programme of reform and to work for it afterward.
He said one of the way politics had failed was because it was dominated by “soundbites, personality and political tactics”.
“Our country needs an election which is as serious as the issues we must tackle. This can only happen if the leaders of the parties show a real commitment to moving away from political business as usual.”
He said the traditional model of election debates was seriously flawed and had to change. He had already written to Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny and Labour leader Eamon Gilmore to propose “the most extensive and detailed series of debates yet seen in an Irish election”.
This would involve two three-way debates, one at the start of the campaign and one at the end. In addition there would be a series of one-on-one debates between the three men and a separate debate in Irish.
The only credible route forward involved tackling the fiscal deficit, he said. The National Recovery Plan would be central to the party’s election programme.
However, things could be done in other areas, even in a time of crisis. Mr Martin promised new policies on job creation, education and support for competitive enterprises.
He said he would put forward policies which showed that the party understood the lessons of what went wrong in recent years.
“People seeking partisan gain, or offering superficial commentary, promote the idea that there are simple explanations. The truth is that the biggest failings have been systemic failings which go to the heart of our political and governing system.”
Asked whether these failings were personal as well as systemic, he replied: “I am sorry for the mistakes we made, and that I made as a minister, but the most important thing . . . is that we learn lessons and ensure that in the future we don’t make the same mistakes”.
He said the political system had failed the people, with all the parties in recent elections competing with each other to promise tax cuts and spending increases. “In that sense, we were all wrong.”
Mr Martin said Fianna Fáil was most effective when it was committed to a “middle way”, a belief that economic growth and social progress can and must go hand-in-hand. “The empty slogans of the ideologues of left and right have never and will never deliver for the people.”
Mr Martin pointed out that he was not born into party politics. His father was a bus driver and his generation was the first in his family to go to second level and university. Growing up, he said, he learned political leadership could be a driver of social progress. The link between this progress and decisions made by Fianna Fáil politicians such as Seán Lemass, Patrick Hillery and Donogh O’Malley was clear.
Mr Martin said he would campaign with energy and fresh ideas. He was committed to giving another 10 years of his life to politics, at a minimum.