Workers Party President Michael Finnegan

The President of the Workers’ Party, Michael Finnegan, has said that the 60% Yes vote in the referendum on the EU Fiscal Treaty will prove to be a pyrrhic victory for the government and the establishment as wider events in Europe are already overtaking the decision.

Mr. Finnegan said that the Yes vote had been achieved only through a cynical campaign of threat and avoidance of the real issues.

“Sadly”, said Mr Finnegan, “this vote will be used to justify and bolster permanent austerity and loss of financial and political sovereignty. However, it exposes the class nature of the treaty – an issue which was clearly identified in the voter turnout. The working class vote was solidly against the treaty but the previous experiences of many working class people when their votes had been disregarded and their decisions set aside has led to disengagement with the political process and, accordingly, reduced the NO vote.

“The Yes campaign was built on a platform of money, fear and outright distortion. The huge financial resources available to the Yes campaign, the fact that the electorate was not persuaded but threatened with dire consequences of a failure to vote for the Treaty, together with a persistent misrepresentation of the content of the treaty and what it means for the people of Ireland and Europe has undermined the democratic wishes of working people. It has also underlined the true class character of the EU and the political parties which support austerity”, said Mr. Finnegan.

“While we now face a further vicious onslaught against workers at the hands of the ruling class, the Workers’ Party take some comfort from a strong NO vote and the opportunity to demonstrate that the crisis is systemic, that capitalism is inherently unstable and unsustainable and that the only alternative for workers is to dismantle the present economic system and construct a socialist future.”