A MOTION to disbar the party from entering a coalition government with Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael is due to be debated at the Sinn Féin ardfheis in Dublin on March 5th and 6th.
The proposal, from the Charlie McGlade Cumann in Drimnagh, Dublin, states: “This ardfheis calls on Sinn Féin not to go into power with other parties in government such as Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael, as this would be incompatible with our policies and would damage the party.”
Announcing the programme for the ardfheis at a news conference yesterday, former MEP Mary Lou McDonald said: “Sinn Féin won’t be in government with anybody whose priorities are attacking the poor and public services and running a wholesale right-wing agenda.”
She added: “There is barely a hair’s breadth between what this Government has done and what Fine Gael might propose to do, were they in government.” Asked if the party leadership would be supporting the Drimnagh motion, she said: “Yes we will for the simple reason that we are not in the business of propping up failed politics and failed policy.”
Asked if the party would even be prepared to talk to other parties after the general election, TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh said: “We would be willing to talk to any political party, whatever the outcome of an election is.
“The only basis of any of those talks is if our political agenda, our political platform are being taken on board and that the policies of any future government which we would support would be compatible with those.”
He added that, “We’re not going to, at this stage, rule out sitting down with parties, but only on that basis.”
Asked if Sinn Féin were a party of permanent opposition in the South, Ms McDonald said: “Of course we’re not – and we are in government in the North – and the whole purpose of having ardfheiseanna and so on is to create a policy platform that one day you will implement.”
Other resolutions deal with international affairs, the peace process, Irish unity, job creation, environment and public services, regional development, culture, Irish language rights, justice and policing, and party development.
Guest speakers include Siptu president Jack O’Connor and Paula Clancy, director of left-wing think tank Tasc.
The party intends to hold next year’s ardfheis in Belfast and in Munster in 2012.
Looking ahead to this year’s conference in the RDS, Mr Ó Snodaigh said: “We recognise that those on low incomes and in receipt of social welfare cannot afford cuts in their incomes and that’s becoming clearer and clearer as people have got their first pay-packets of 2010 – the scale of the cuts and the effect those cuts are having.”