Fine Gael grassroots seek ardfheis motion to confirm ‘centre right’ status

A group of Fine Gael members are pushing for the party to affirm its “centre-right” status in an effort to distinguish it from what one describes as the “woke left”.

A draft motion has gained support from some branches and constituencies, and has been submitted to headquarters for consideration for inclusion on the agenda for the Fine Gael Ardfheis being held on November 7th and 8th.

It asks the assembly to affirm Fine Gael as a “centre-right party, in the European Christian Democratic tradition”.

A document urging support for the motion, which has been circulated among members, argues that occupying the centre right is a “bulwark against the far right and populism”.

The motion is understood to have been authored at grassroots level and signed by councillors, as well as being approved by several branches and constituency organisations.

The group of members which has been seeking support from the party’s grassroots includes David Higgins, an economist and newspaper columnist.

He told The Irish Times that the party should be willing to debate whether the “progressive centre” label it uses to describe itself is appropriate for today’s politics.

“The word ‘progressive’ is now tainted by association with the woke left and most voters already perceive Fine Gael to be on the right.”

The document argues that Christian Democracy is an “established European political tradition, with social justice and community at its core”.

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Higgins continued: “Christian Democracy is the political outlook we share with the European People’s Party [the political grouping of which Fine Gael is a member in the European Parliament], so we should have no fear about using the same label they put before their electorates.”

Some Fine Gael TDs are thought to harbour reservations about the text of the document, with concerns over how familiar Irish voters are with Christian Democracy and whether the Fine Gael brand could be diluted by a more overt association with a political persuasion that is more recognised in other European countries like Germany.

The document states that a recent study by An Coimisiún Toghcháin found that while 32 per cent of Irish voters consider themselves centre right, more than 27 per cent consider themselves centre left.

The same survey showed Fine Gael is perceived by 55 per cent of voters as being centre right, while only 15 per cent of voters perceive the party to be to the left.

It states that Fine Gael perceives its values to be personal responsibility and respecting that individuals, families and communities “want to be empowered and not constrained by the State. We believe in law and order, based on the institutions of the Irish State that Fine Gael has been instrumental in building over a century.”

It also argues that the State is an expression of the Irish nation, while respecting the traditions on the island and acknowledging the importance, as a small nation, of working with international partners – notably Europe and America, and backs a social market economy with a strong welfare state “while valuing work and enterprise … and enabling the efficient operation of markets”.

Fine Gael has been asked for a comment on whether the motion will be included on the agenda – or Clár – for the ardfheis.