Irish Independent journalist, Hugh O’Connell, claims that People Before Profit has produced an ‘incendiary pamphlet’ because it warns of elite actions against a future left-wing government.
Yet The Case for a Left Government argues that left-wing parties face a choice. They can either resort to managing a highly unequal economy or they can re-distribute wealth and mobilise people power to face down economic blackmail.
The pamphlet suggests the wealthy will resort to an investment strike to stop any substantial reforms. When it comes to their profits they do not respect the rights of a democratic majority to curtail their greed.
There is plenty of evidence of this pattern. In 1981, the moderate Socialist Party candidate, Francois Mitterrand, was elected President of France. An investment strike followed and Mitterrand changed course.
In 2015, Syriza was elected to government in Greece. The EU changed financial rules to create a run on its banks, causing economic chaos. In a referendum, the Greek people voted to reject demands for austerity but, tragically Syriza succumbed.
Or look at the insidious campaign by the millionaire press in Britain to undermine Jeremy Corbyn even before he got into office.
People Before Profit’s pamphlet argues that if these economic measures do not work, the wealthy will use elements within the state apparatus to undermine a left-wing government.
Coincidently new evidence of this comes from recent revelations in Spain, concerning the case of Podemos, a party that originally grew out of the Occupy movement.
Shortly after Podemos won 69 seats in 2015, a “dirty mission” was created to link Podemos to illegal funding from Iran and Venezuela in a collaboration between the then right-wing government, police and media.
The National Director of Police Operations worked with a senior right-wing politician to feed false stories to the media about illegal funding.
Tragically, Podemos succumbed to this type of pressure, joined a coalition with the equivalent of the Labour Party and has done little to upset the rich.
People Before Profit will not play this game. It will stick to a manifesto of re-distributing wealth. It will face down any attempt at economic blackmail or dirty tricks. It will mobilise working class power to carry through a left-wing programme.
Before the next general election pressure will mount on Sinn Féin to temper their radical rhetoric. This has already started, and the party is moving to the centre ground on issues like neutrality and taxation of profits.
People Before Profit wants to build a movement to rid this country of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael dominance.
Our pamphlet is an intervention in an upcoming debate about what measures are necessary to bring real change.
We shall be holding meetings around the country in the coming months. In the meantime, we urge people to get the pamphlet and to send us their opinions on this issue.
