Democratic Left (Ireland)

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The Democratic Left ( Irish Daonlathas Clé ) was a social democratic party that was active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland . It emerged as a group after splitting off from the Workers' Party .

The origins of the Workers' Party go back to the split in the traditional IRA at the end of the 1960s. The more traditionally nationalist part founded the Provisional IRA , the ideologically left-wing part of the movement established the Official IRA , and with it as a political wing the Official Sinn Fein party . After several renaming, the Workers' Party emerged. In contrast to Sinn Féin , the WP did not see itself as a representative of the interests of the Catholic population alone, but as a party of all workers in Ireland, regardless of their denomination.

In 1992 there were disputes within the organization. Many of its members still belonged to the Official IRA, which had been inactive in a military sense since the 1970s, but was continuously involved in criminal activities. This became a permanent burden for the party. The party leadership, especially its chairman Proinsias De Rossa , tried to change the statutes of the party to the extent that alleged members of the OIRA could be expelled from the party. Their Marxist structures should also be reformed in view of the post-communist era. The attempt failed; a two-thirds majority in favor was not achieved. As a result, many leaders resigned, including 6 of their 7 members of the Dáil Éireann . They founded a new party, the Democratic Left. De Rossa was elected as its new chairman.

The election success in the parliamentary elections in 1992 was low with 2.8%. However, when the coalition of Fianna Fáil and the Labor Party failed in 1994 , a new government coalition of the Fine Gael , Labor Party and the Democratic Left was formed. Proinsias de Rossa became Minister for Social Affairs. He was Ireland's first initiative to eradicate poverty.

In the 1997 elections, the party lost 2 of its 6 seats in parliament, and in 1999 the party joined the Labor Party.