Meeting to create new political party is inconclusive

Fifty people from across the country answered a letter in the Irish Times to attend the establishment of a new political party last night. By Vincent Ryan in Kilkenny.

The meeting was called by Leo Armstrong, a former member of both Fine Gael and the Green Party, and formerly involved in the Priorities Party. Provisionally the proposed new party was proposing to operate under the title of 'The Irish Independents Party' - although this was up for discussion.

Mr Armstrong thanked people for attending and said: “We are all here tonight to form a new party and to go forward and be honest in our dealings and have the country in our heart.” He invited those present to give the reasons why they had attended and what they hoped would be gained by the formation of a new party.

In the two hour discussion that followed it became clear that people felt betrayed by the Irish political class and they wanted an end to 'civil war' politics. Brendan Carey from Roscrea, Co. Tipperary said: “The past in Ireland is going to destroy us all. We have to focus on the future and I’m either going to change it or emigrate.”

Some speakers said that the country is awash with corruption and that politicians are not held accountable for their actions.

Nama and the nationalisation of Anglo Irish Bank were cited as poorly-conceived and described as a bailout for those on the ‘inside’ at the expense of wider society. The government was accused of changing the planning laws to suit property developers. Reform of the legal system was proposed by a group named 'Victims of the Irish Legal System'. A renegotiation of all contracts relating to Ireland’s offshore oil and gas resources was also mentioned.

Michael Bowe from Cork called on the new party to forget about everything that has already happened. 

"Forget about the builders and the bankers," he said. "That is not going to be the biggest disaster in this country. I’ll tell you what is, suicide, divorce, dysfunctional families, marital breakdown. People losing their homes, struggling to put food on the table, and yet the politicians just want to bail out the banks. Forget NAMA, forget the builders and look after the living.”

Mr Bowe wanted the new party to operate as a political movement as opposed to a party, taking inspiration from Barrack Obama’s campaign in America; he hoped that the new party could be funded through a series of micro-donations and grassroots activism.

The mood of the meeting was calm there, but an underlying sense of militancy was evident. A proposal was put forward to adopt “Wir sind ein volk” or “We are one people” as the party slogan - Berliners chanted this phrase as they toppled the Berlin wall. Another speaker calmly referred to the 500,000 unemployed as "a standing army".

In order to register as a new political party an organisation needs 300 members. Mr Armstrong said he was disappointed at the low turn out but that this was only the first meeting.