Frankfurt's Way or Labour's Way

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"Frankfurt's Way or Labour's Way" (sometimes repeated as "Labour's Way or Frankfurt's Way") [1] was a campaign slogan used by the then Irish Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore in advance of the country's 2011 general election. The phrase has become an archetypal example of a broken election promise in Irish politics. Described as "a desperate attempt to get votes", [2] Gilmore claimed on 3 February 2011 that the Labour Party (if put into power) would renegotiate the recent EU-IMF deal brought in under the Fianna Fáil-Green Party coalition. The promise was made as Gilmore launched Labour's economic plan. Frankfurt (in Germany) is the location of the headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB). [3] The party made a very strong showing, almost doubling its share of the vote to become the second-largest party in the Dáil, its best showing ever. [4] It then formed its own coalition with Fine Gael, but did not renegotiate the deal.

In 2012, after a decline of 25 per cent in their vote previous year's election evaporated, the Irish Independent said the Labour Party was "haunted" by the promise. [2] The following month, the European Fiscal Compact was enshrined in the Constitution, thereby ensuring the very fiscal compliance Labour had vowed to oppose. [5] Gilmore's promise was also mentioned following the rush through the Oireachtas of legislation to liquidate IBRC in 2013. [6] Even Labour stalwart Fergus Finlay admitted in 2015 that it was "a phrase he [Gilmore] had difficulty living down". [7] However, Alan Kelly claimed "A lot of Labour's way was achieved" when quizzed on Gilmore's promise in 2015. [8]

In Labour's centenary year, state television (RTÉ) produced a two-part documentary on the history of the party, titled Labour's Way. [9]

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References

  1. ↑ "'Labour's Way Or Frankfurt's Way' Latest". Broadsheet. 1 April 2011.
    - "Letters to the Editor: Labour's way, Frankfurt's way - or back to the old ways". The Independent. Ireland. 1 November 2014.
    - A Dark day for Labour
    - Niall Stokes (28 May 2014). "Broken promises in a broken system". Hot Press.
  2. 1 2 "Labour haunted by old slogans". The Independent. Ireland. 18 May 2012.
  3. ↑ Harry McGee (4 February 2011). "Gilmore vows to renegotiate 'bad deal' on EU-IMF bailout package". The Irish Times.
  4. ↑ "Irish election: Enda Kenny claims opposition victory". BBC News . 26 February 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
    - Doyle, Kilian (27 February 2011). "Fine Gael poised to lead next government as FF collapses". The Irish Times . Retrieved 7 November 2018.
    - McDonald, Henry (27 February 2011). "Fianna Fáil trounced as Fine Gael and Labour set to form coalition". The Guardian . London. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  5. ↑ Vincent Browne (5 June 2012). "Tonight with #vinb: We now know Labour's way is Frankfurt's way". Magill.
  6. ↑ Fedayn (7 February 2013). "Frankfurt's Way". Rabble.
  7. ↑ Fergus Finlay (14 July 2015). "Dáil could lose its way without politicians of vision and principle". The Irish Examiner.
  8. ↑ Alan Kelly (23 February 2015). "Saying Labour hasn't delivered is just 'lazy media spin'". The Journal. Dublin.
  9. ↑ Adrian Grant (28 April 2013). "Labour's Way". Irish History Review. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016.


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