In the early years the Irish political party system was fundamentally a two party contest between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael. By the 1940’s however, the dominance of Fianna Fail, and the consolidation of a Labour vote meant that a Fianna Fail versus the rest scenario had emerged in the Irish political system. This dynamic continued until the 1980’s when the introduction of political parties such as the Progressive Democrats, the Greens and the rejuvenation of Sinn Fein breathed fresh life into Irish politics. This was one of the key developments in the evolution of the Irish political party system as the introduction of the smaller parties saw the combined electoral share of Fianna Fail and Fianna Gael drop from 80% in 1980 to 62% in 2002. With more of a choice for voters in Ireland these days, some commentators have suggested that Ireland’s political party system is drifting towards a more European model. There is evidence to support these claims. Coalitions, regular features of European politics, have become more commonplace in Ireland. The electoral success of the Progressive Democrats and more recently the Greens can also be cited as evidence to support this suggestion.
However, even with these recent developments, it is clear to see that Ireland’s political party system has a number of unique characteristics that are not found in most other European countries. As Carty explains: “Viewed from a comparative perspective, the patterns of electoral politics in Ireland seem completely anomalous. Parties so unique they are not really classifiable organize a party system unlike any other in Western Europe.” Unlike most of our European neighbours the party system in Ireland does not have a clear left-right dimension. Whereas a clear left-right divide has always existed in Great Britain, where traditionally the Conservatives and Labour stand ideologically opposed on many issues, the same cannot be said about Ireland. The two main parties in Ireland are very much of a center-right political preference. Very little policy difference exists between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, and throughout their history Labour, the supposed liberal party, has shown that they can be ideologically compatible with either party. Germany, with its two main parties the CDU and the SDP positioned in the centre right and centre right respectively, is much more representative of the European political party system than Ireland. France, with its right wing Union for Popular Movement Party and left wing Socialist Party, is another example in this regard.
Another unique characteristic of the Irish political party system is its lack of a libertarian-authoritarian dimension. The Progressive Democrats, with their opposition to government interference in the personal sphere, have a liberal political philosophy but they too are centre right oriented. It should also be noted that the PD’s suffered badly in the last Irish election and the survival of the party at the next election is in some doubt. Once again, the electorates in most other European countries have a choice between parties with authoritarian or libertarian political philosophies. In Ireland the reality is that all the major parties are similarly aligned in this regard resulting in a crowded center right.
There are further differences between the Irish political party system and the wider European model. In Ireland there are no clear religious or social dimensions and a complete lack of a regional political party presence. All of the major political parties in Ireland are able to draw on support across all the different sectors of society including the working, middle and upper classes. With Ireland predominantly Catholic, the issue of religion has not been a strong factor in this country’s political system either. This is in contrast to a large number of European countries including Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Italy. In these European countries there is traditionally strong support for the Christian Democratic parties that generally tend to hold more conservative political philosophies than their opponents. In Ireland, there are no real differences between the religious outlooks of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael. As mentioned above, Ireland has no political party that represents just one particular region of the country. All parties are national. However, many other European countries - Spain, France, Belgium and Great Britain - have such regionalist parties and this represents yet another difference between Ireland’s political party system and the rest of Europe’s.
Having examined the origins and evolution of the Irish political party system it is clear to see that it has a number of unique characteristics. This is largely due to the heavy influence that the Civil War divide has had on the Irish party system. In recent decades Irish politics, with the emergence of the PD’s and the Green Party, has undergone some important developments. Coalition governments have become a regular feature of Irish politics and this has led some commentators to declare that Ireland is drifting towards a European model. However, as illustrated in this essay, a large number of crucial differences still exist between the Irish political party system and the wider European exercise. Ireland does not have a clear left right or authoritarian-libertarian dimension to its political party system. In addition, religion, class or region does not heavily influence the Irish political party system and as a result differs enormously from the majority of our European neighbours.
Bibliography:
R.K. Carty, Party and Parish Pump: Electoral Politics in Ireland, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1981
Simon Hix and Christopher Lloyd, Political Parties in the European Union, Macmillan Press Ltd, 1997
R.K. Carty, Party and Parish Pump: Electoral Politics in Ireland, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1981, 14
Simon Hix and Christopher Lloyd, Political Parties in the European Union, Macmillan Press Ltd, 1997, 30
Simon Hix and Christopher Lloyd, Political Parties in the European Union, Macmillan Press Ltd, 1997, 46