Bourgeois governments seeking re-election often have the task of persuading the electorate to vote for guns instead of butter. It is a reflection of the complexity of the Irish situation that the Lynch government, in seeking re-election in the South of Ireland is appealing to the electorate on a programme of "Butter not Guns".
Taking advantage of the E30 million which will be saved by the Irish Exchequer when the Irish agricultural subsidies are paid by the EEC Common Agricultural Fund, Fianna Fail is bribing the electorate with a proposal to spend this £30 million, representing more than one third of the total public expenditure, on a massive social welfare programme, which almost doubles the amount spent on welfare, and-would make massive inroads into the gap between the Irish standard of social welfare, and the general Western European standard.
The other side of the programme, although not explicitly speit out, will mean increased repression, in a desperate attempt to defeat in the South the Republicans whom the British are unable to defeat in the North. The National Coalition "alternative government", , an alliance of the traditional Law-and-Order thugs of Fine Gael with the Trade Union-backed Labour Party, is running on essentially the same programme, with this minor difference: it was the first to call for repression and the first to propose the bribe.
When Lynch first announced the snap election, many people saw this as a sign of his strength. In fact, that he is forced to offer this bribe at all is evidence of his precarious position. As pointed out in the last issue of The Red Mole, Lynch is aware that the White Paper is likely to offer little of significance to the Catholics in the North. Yet to be successful in the repression to which he is committed, he will be forced sooner or later to introduce large-scale internment, under whatever euphemism, in the South. He could not do this on his old parliamentary strength. Thus one of the reasons for the timing of the election was an attempt to flush out and purge the "pro-Republican" dissidents in his own Party. But while Fianna Fail centrally appeals for votes on the basis of having kept the South out of the Northern war, in areas with strong Republican minorities. Fianna Fail canvassers are forced to appeal for votes on the basis that "Jack (Lynch) only cracked down on the boys when Cosgrave blew the gaff". Halfway through the election, Lynch is forced to shake hands with Haughey whom he dismissed from the government and then imprisoned for alleged pro-Republican activity.
Whatever the result of this election - and a Republican victory is excluded - it will not mean the end of the Irish struggle. The nationalist population of the North, which forms the backbone of the armed resistance to British imperialism, although Irish citizens according to Southern law, have no vote in the election.
Neither have the more than a million Southern citizens forced to emigrate to Britain. A poll carried out by the leading emigrant newspaper, the Irish Post, showed Republican parties getting almost half the votes of this section of the Irish nation.
In the South itself although an amendment to the constitution last year gave the vote to 18 year-olds, in this election nobody under 22 will have a vote, thus disenfranchising over 200,000 people.
Thus three of the politically most conscious sections of the Irish people, and those most active in pro-Republican politics, are unrepresented. But the energy and support of these people, mobilised on the streets, will continue to be the main base for this phase of the Irish struggle.
Gery Lawless MODE