Alex White defends Labour’s record in government

A senior Labour Minister has defended the party's record in government and called on their supporters to "keep trust with the Labour Party" in the coming election.

Minister for Communications Alex White said that unlike some of the absolutist positions put forward by parties of the "so-called left" politics and government was about compromise.

He was speaking after a series of weekend election polls showed his party was struggling and was on course to lose a significant number of seats.

“There is no party that is going to be in the next government who are not going to have to compromise. So compromise is the order of the day. Coalition is the order of the day in this country. So whether it is Labour, or anybody else, talking about government they have to understand that they will be compromising. And that applies to all parties.

“I hear some parties on the left or so-called saying they will never compromise on any of their policies. They will. Unless they decide never to be in government.”

He defended his party’s role in government saying while Labour did not achieve everything it wanted, it had kept many promises, including a pledge to bring jobs back to the Irish economy.

“Look at the mass destitution there was in other countries. We didn’t have that here. We kept many promises. We are a serious party of government. We are not messers, we are not grandstanders.”

Asked on RTÉ radio's This Week programme why the Labour Party wanted to return to government, Mr White said his party had played a crucial role in guiding Ireland out of the economic crisis and had an "absolutely critical" role to play in its recovery.

He rejected a suggestion that Labour was, on the basis of policy platforms, more closely aligned to left-wing parties and should consider joining a broad left-wing grouping.

He said parties of the “so-called left” had no credibility and had no interest in actually managing the affairs of the Irish people.

“Government is about actually carrying out policies, it is not about grandstanding. I don’t think there is any reality to compromise with some of those parties, because those parties have decided that they don’t want to be in government.”

“We are not a mudguard, we are a vanguard of change.”