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FF/PD chaos shows only Alliance for Change can offer stable government

Issued : Sunday 6 May, 2007

The bizarre events of the past 24 hours demonstrate very clearly that the only stable government now on offer is the Alliance for Change made up of the Labour Party and Fine Gael.

Having stuck with Fianna Fail for ten years and turned a blind eye on countless occasions when standards in government have fallen below an acceptable level, the spectacular zig zagging by the Progressive Democrats over the past 48 hours is hardly a surprise.

All of the messages coming from the PDs over the past 48 hours suggested that they had already decided to pull out of government, however it would appear that Mr. McDowell’s predilection for another pre-election stunt has been thwarted on this occasion by his senior colleagues.

The fact is that there is little to have emerged in the past week that significantly adds to the seriousness of the information that came into the possession of Mr. McDowell last autumn regarding Mr. Ahern’s finances. Last October Mr. McDowell gave Mr. Ahern his unqualified support. Even as recently as Monday last and following the publication of additional material in the Sunday papers, Mr. McDowell repeated that endorsement.

With the development of a clear viable alternative government, the Progressive Democrats have become increasingly irrelevant. The Grand Old Duke of York performance from Mr. McDowell now means they have now become totally irrelevant.

Despite the artificially hyped events of the past 24 hours, the Labour Party will continue to focus on the issues of concern to hardworking families, rolling out our policy positions on health, education, transport, policing and other key areas.

The Fianna Fail/PD is coming to a chaotic end. Only the Alliance for Change can now provide the stability to protect and build on the economic progress achieved over the past 15 years.