Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil
Party leader	Micheál Martin
founding	March 23, 1926
Headquarters	65-66 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2
Youth organization	Ógra Fianna Fáil
Alignment	Irish Republicanism Conservatism Populism liberalism
Colours)	green
Parliamentary seats Dáil Éireann	2020 : 38/160
Seanad Éireann	2020: 20/60
Local government in Ireland	262/949
Number of members	18,500 (2013)
International connections	Liberal International
MEPs	2/13
European party	ALDE party
EP Group	Renew Europe (RE)
Website	www.fiannafail.ie

Fianna Fáil [ ˈfiːənə ˈfɑːlʲ ] (abbreviation FF; Irish for Soldiers of Fate or Soldiers of Ireland ) is a liberal - conservative party of the political center in Ireland . It is one of the two big parties and has often formed the government.

When it was founded, it radically rejected the Anglo-Irish Treaty . From the 1930s onwards it became the dominant party in Ireland. Fianna Fáil has been the party most strongly represented in the House of Commons ( Dáil Éireann ) since 1932 and since then has been involved in government for up to 19 years - so FF is after the Swiss parties FDP , CVP , SVP , SP , the Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party (SAP) , as well as the CSV, the party with the longest participation in government in Europe; it has been in the opposition since 2011 and has lost its status as the strongest party. She has been supporting a minority government of the rival Fine Gael since 2016 . The party has been registered in Northern Ireland since December 2007 .

The FF is a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe . Your sole deputy, Brian Crowley , the European Parliament , however, occurred in the legislative period 2014-2019 the EU-critical ECR Group at. The MEPs of the party were previously members of the ALDE group and before that they were members of the Union for a Europe of Nations group . Since the 2019 election , their newly elected MP, Billy Kelleher , has been back in the liberal Renew group (the successor group to ALDE ).

history

The party was founded on March 23, 1926 by Éamon de Valera . The party received its current name on April 2nd of the same year. De Valera, Prime Minister and President of Dáil Éireann from April 1919 to August 1921 and President of the Irish Republic from August 1921 , had resigned from the presidency in January 1922 when the Free State of Ireland had been established by the Anglo-Irish Treaty . De Valera led the faction of opposing parties in the party Sinn Féin from 1922 to 1926 through the Irish Civil War before he left Sinn Féin in 1926 in protest against the hard line of the party and the Irish Free State. Although his new party Fianna Fáil was also opponents of the treaty, it had its own approach to republicanizing the Free State - in contrast to the faction of the treaty opponents within the Sinn Féin, they did not want to "turn back the clock" and start the independence process again.

Fianna Fáil originally refused to participate in the Free State's lower house because of the controversial oath of allegiance to the Free State Constitution and the (British) King . But in the end it was decided to regard the oath as an “empty phrase” and took it off.

The first party leader was Éamon de Valera. Other founding members included a. Seán Lemass , Sean T. O'Kelly, and PJ Ruttledge . The target group of the party at that time were the supporters of the treaty opponents as well as the working class .

Chairperson

• Éamon de Valera (1926–1959)
• Seán Lemass (1959-1966)
• Jack Lynch (1966–1979)
• Charles J. Haughey (1979-1992)
• Albert Reynolds (1992-1994)
• Bertie Ahern (1994–6 May 2008)
• Brian Cowen (May 7, 2008 to January 22, 2011)
• Micheál Martin (since January 26, 2011)

De Valera 1926-1959

On March 9, 1932, de Valera was elected President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State - an office he was to hold for 21 years (16 of which were uninterrupted). During his first term in office, de Valera weakened ties between the Free State and the United Kingdom , abolished the oath of allegiance to the British Crown and reduced the post of Governor General to a minimum. Furthermore, de Valera started the Anglo-Irish trade war in 1933 , which was not settled until 1938.

In May 1936 de Valera abolished the Seanad Éireann and announced the draft of a new constitution. On July 1, 1937, under the government of Fianna Fáil, the Irish people adopted the new constitution .

In 1939, before the outbreak of World War II , de Valera proclaimed Ireland's neutrality - a move that greatly angered the British.

In the 1948 election , Fianna Fáil (although she was the strongest party) lost power to the first multi-party government. Three years later, from 1951 to 1954, Fianna Fáil reunited the government, but no fresh ideas came from it. This resulted in the second multi-party government without Fianna Fáil from 1954 to 1957.

In 1957 de Valera, meanwhile 75 years old and almost blind, took over the office of Taoiseach for the last time . However, he allowed his “second husband” Seán Lemass to implement his program for economic recovery . On June 23, 1959, de Valera was elected third President of Ireland and Lemass succeeded Fianna Fáil as party leader on the same day.

Lemass 1959-1966

Lemass was primarily concerned with economic matters during his tenure, which included his 1958 economic recovery program . The protectionism was abolished and free trade introduced. In addition, companies that settled in Ireland were granted tax breaks and subsidies . One result of this program was an annual growth of the economy by 4%. A second (even more ambitious) program of this type was launched in 1963.

The success of Lemass in economic matters led Fianna Fáil to victory in the 1961 election and Lemass began making more extensive changes. This procedure also included new personal details in the cabinet, u. a. Brian Lenihan , Charles J. Haughey , George Colley, and Patrick Hillery . Although Fianna Fáil led a minority government, this term is considered by many to be the most productive and best in Ireland.

During the period of great change in Ireland in the 1960s, the Fianna Fáil government under Lemass began to be reconciled with Northern Ireland . On January 9, 1965, Lemass secretly traveled to Stormont to meet with Northern Irish Prime Minister Terence O'Neill . In February, O'Neill traveled to Dublin in return .

In November 1966, Lemass announced his resignation as chairman of Fianna Fáil and Taoiseach - after 50 years of "service to Ireland" .

Lynch 1966-1979

Jack Lynch was elected third party leader and the new Taoiseach on November 10, 1966, and Frank Aiken , longtime foreign minister and last minister in de Valera's first cabinet, became Tánaiste .

During his first term in office, Lynch had to go through various crises. 1969 erupted in Northern Ireland riots and Lynch was busy the spread to the Republic to prevent.

A year later, in 1970, Lynch discovered that two of his ministers, Charles J. Haughey and Neil Blaney , were embroiled in a plan to import arms for the IRA - an act that went down in Irish history as the arms crisis and led to a split within Fianna Fáil.

On January 1, 1973, Ireland became a member of the European Economic Community - one of the greatest achievements of Fianna Fáil under Jack Lynch (which was already prepared by his predecessor Lemass).

From the 1973 election to the 1977 election, Fianna Fáil was in the opposition. Fianna Fáil won the 1977 election with a record result (almost 57% of the vote) - a victory based on the party's economic policies, dissatisfaction with the coalition government, Lynch's great popularity, and Minister Tully's attempt to win the electoral districts to alter Fine Gael for the sole benefit of his party .

But due to a lack of concepts, the government under Lynch became more and more unpopular. Poor results in the European elections and two by-elections that Fianna Fáil lost increased the pressure on Lynch, who resigned on December 5, 1979. Two successors were ready: George Colley and Charles Haughey.

Haughey 1979-1992

Nine years after the arms crisis nearly ended his political career, Charles Haughey was elected 4th chairman of Fianna Fáil and Taoiseach at the same time. Haughey's first term in office was dominated by economic problems; In addition to the oil crisis , foreign debt continued to rise. This led to Fianna Fáil losing the second election in 1981 (in November) with the worst election result in party history to date (approx. 45%) and finding herself in the opposition.

Haughey was controversial within the party and he had to ask himself a total of 3 questions of trust in 1982 and 1983 - but he was able to decide all 3 for himself.

Fianna Fáil won the 1987 election, but without achieving an absolute majority. Haughey was narrowly elected Taoiseach. In his second term in office, he and his party concentrated on solving the dramatic economic problems. At that time Ireland was the European Community's problem child and was on the verge of being economically taken over by the International Monetary Fund . In 1989 Haughey surprised everyone with an early election in order to achieve an absolute majority. But instead of winning seats, Fianna Fáil lost seats and was forced into coalition with the Progressive Democrats in order to stay in power. So far, Fianna Fáil has categorically excluded coalition governments, and many in the party have been dissatisfied with Haughey's decision. This was the beginning of Haughey's end.

In 1991, Haughey had to face another vote of confidence initiated by Albert Reynolds , and Haughey won again - but the result showed Haughey's dwindling support in his party. In 1992, Haughey was at the center of a scandal that had happened 10 years ago - the wiretapping of two journalists. Although Haughey always claimed not to have known about it, the evidence indicated it and Haughey resigned. The new party chairman of Fianna Fáil and Taoiseach was on February 11, 1992 Albert Reynolds.

Reynolds 1992-1994

The new cabinet around Reynolds contained a few new faces. Reynolds was hoping for a continuation of the coalition with the Progressive Democrats , but after the so-called Beef Tribunal ( Beef Tribunal , a tribunal that was created in 1991 to inconsistencies in the export trade in beef educate, especially the extent to which politicians were involved) withdrew the Progressive Democrats withdrew from government and a new election became necessary.

In the 1992 election, both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael suffered defeats and finally Fianna Fáil formed a coalition with the Irish Labor Party under Dick Spring .

One of the most important points during Reynolds' reign was the progress of the peace process with Northern Ireland and on December 15, 1993 the so-called Downing Street Declaration was signed by both governments.

In 1994 there were disagreements between the two coalition parties over the appointment of a judge to the Supreme Court . The dispute over this eventually led to Reynolds' resignation in November 1994.

Ahern 1994– May 2008

On November 19, 1994, Bertie Ahern was elected 6th (and youngest) chairman of Fianna Fáil. Ahern was ready to continue the coalition with the Labor Party, but the latter withdrew from the government and after various negotiations (which had become possible due to by-elections) a coalition of Fine Gael, Labor Party and Democratic Left formed a new one in the middle of the term of office Government and Fianna Fáil was in opposition.

The coalition government only lasted until the 1997 election and Fianna Fáil was able to form a coalition with the Progressive Democrats , with Ahern as Taoiseach . The work of Ahern and his government (as well as that of Tony Blair on the UK side) eventually led to the Good Friday Agreement , a new milestone in Irish-Northern Ireland relations.

During the tenure of Bertie Ahern, Fianna Fáil was repeatedly confronted with allegations of corruption . Ray Burke had to resign as foreign minister for this reason and Liam Lawlor got in the crosshairs because of payments received. Both were later arrested.

But in the 2002 election Fianna Fáil recorded no losses, which is mainly due to the 1997-2001 economic boom ( Celtic Tiger ), and only narrowly failed because of the absolute majority, which led to a renewed coalition with the Progressive Democrats - for for the first time since 1969 a government was re-elected.

Although there have been a few candidates to succeed Ahern since the election, including a. Brian Cowen and Micheál Martin emphasized that they should not waste any thought on resigning and want to lead the party into the next election.

In the 2004 local elections, Fianna Fáil recorded the worst result since the 1920s. This is mainly due to the government's financial decisions (the economic situation deteriorated briefly in 2003) and the failure to keep election promises.

In the 2007 elections Fianna Fáil was only able to achieve a government majority through a party alliance with the participation of the Green Party and the Progressive Democrats .

On April 2, 2008 Ahern announced his resignation from the party chairmanship for May 6, 2008.

Cowen, May 2008 – January 2011

On April 9, 2008, Brian Cowen was appointed as Ahern's successor at the party leadership and the new Taoiseach with effect from May 7, 2008 ; Cowen had no opponent. Cowen resigned from the position of party chairman on January 22, 2011 after his coalition had broken up and the opposition sought several motions of no confidence. He no longer stood as a candidate in the early election he had appointed to the President. Because of his way of dealing with the Irish financial crisis, Cowen is known as the worst Taoiseach in Irish history.

Martin, since January 2011

On January 26, 2011 Micheál Martin , who a few days earlier had been defeated in an internal vote of confidence of his party against the previous party chairman Cowen and had then resigned as Foreign Minister of Ireland, was elected as the new party chairman. In the Irish parliamentary elections on February 25, 2011, the party had to accept the worst result since it was founded with 17.4 percent (-24.1 percent) of the first preference votes and fell back to third place.

In February 2019 Fianna Fáil partnered with the Northern Irish Social Democratic and Labor Party .

Chairman election 1959

The 1959 presidential election began in June 1959 when Éamon de Valera resigned as leader of the party to become President of Ireland. De Valera has been party leader since its inception in 1926 and three times Taoiseach . His successor, Seán Lemass , was elected on June 22, 1959 after just one ballot. Lemass became Taoiseach the following day.

Candidates

• Seán F. Lemass , Tánaiste and Minister of the Economy

Election campaign

Seán Lemass has been de Valera's "heir to the throne" since his election as Tánaiste in 1945, and his choice as successor has never been questioned, either inside or outside the party.

Nevertheless, three other candidates were in discussion:

• Seán MacEntee , whose poor job as finance minister in the 1950s reduced his chances from the start. He did not run.
• Frank Aiken , Foreign Minister.
• James Ryan , Secretary of the Treasury. It was speculated that Aiken and Lemass would be the two main candidates and that Ryan had chances as a compromise candidate.

But when Fianna Fáil gathered to vote on June 22nd, MacEntee proposed Lemass as the new chairman and Aiken supported this proposal, so that Lemass was elected unopposed.

Election of the chairman in 1966

After Seán F. Lemass announced his resignation in October 1966, the search for his successor began. His successor was Jack Lynch , who was able to prevail against George Colley after a ballot with 50 to 19 votes (76% to 24%) .

Candidates

• Jack Lynch , Treasury Secretary
• George Colley , Secretary of Commerce

Election campaign

The two most likely candidates for election were George Colley and Charles J. Haughey . Both were 41 years old, had less than 10 years experience in the Dáil, had gone to the same school class, represented the same constituency, but were otherwise fundamentally different. Colley, the son of one of the party elders, represented the traditional wing of the party and had the support of the older party members. Haughey, on the other hand, was seen as an innovator.

The resigned Lemass himself had approached Patrick Hillery and Jack Lynch and suggested participation - both declined. When it appeared that there would be no other candidate besides Colley and Haughey, Neil Blaney decided to join the race - he could count on a large amount of support from the party's Republican wing. The threatened collapse of the party into three wings increased the pressure on Lynch to stand for election after all - as finance minister he was the obvious (because most powerful) candidate in the election. He also had 20 years of experience, was in the cabinet for 9 years and is known as a winner of national championships in the sports of hurling and Gaelic football . After various MPs started a "Get Jack!" Campaign, Lynch finally gave in and ran for elections. After Lynch entered the election, Haughey and Blaney withdrew their candidacy in support of Lynch. Colley, however, refused to give up and so there was a choice between him and Lynch on November 9th, which Lynch clearly won.

To prove that Lynch did not blame him for this step, Colley stayed in his cabinet. Colley, in return, gave Lynch the fullest support and in time became his greatest ally in the cabinet.

Election of the chairman in 1979

The chairman election took place on December 7, 1979 after Jack Lynch resigned as chairman and Taoiseach. Charles James Haughey succeeded him and was elected after a ballot.

Candidates

• Charles J. Haughey , Minister of Health
• George Colley , Tánaiste , Treasury Secretary

Election campaign

After Fianna Fáil's landslide victory in the 1977 election, the signs turned against Lynch - the economy deteriorated, squabbles within Fianna Fáil rose sharply and the party lost two major by-elections in November 1979 - one in Cork , Lynch's hometown . After the announcement of this defeat, Lynch decided to resign on December 5, 1979. The election of his successor took place just two days later.

Lynch's preferred candidate was George Colley and it was hoped that the quick resignation decision would surprise other candidates. But the calculation had been made without Charles J. Haughey . Both candidates faced each other in the run-up to the presidential election in 1966 and both still represented the same wing of their party.

The support for both was on the same level until the election, except for one difference; Colley had the support of almost the entire cabinet, while Haughey knew the second row of TDs behind him. Although Colley believed that he had surprised his opponent and that a short “election campaign” would suffice, Haughey had been preparing for this day for several years. The so-called " Gang of Five ", a group of five men Tom McEllistrim, Jr , Mark Killilea , Seán Doherty , Jackie Fahey and Albert Reynolds , had already started promoting Haughey within the party for several months, as they did Anticipated Lynch's resignation.

The secret ballot took place in the party rooms of Fianna Fáil in Leinster House (Dublin). The evening before they were both tied. But then Secretary of State Michael O'Kennedy , previously a supporter of Colley, decided to switch sides. Haughey finally won the election with just 44 to 38 votes.

The transfer of power from Lynch to Haughey did not go smoothly. Colley was deeply disappointed that he had not been elected chairman on his second attempt. He demanded (and got) a veto right from Haughey on the proposal for the post of Defense and Justice Minister. Colley kept the post as Tánaiste, but lost his office as Minister of Finance.

Four days after the vote, Haughey was elected the new Taoiseach, but had six hours of criticism from other TDs, including Fine Gael chairman Garret FitzGerald . But the choice of Haughey came at a price, as two decades of internal party arguments followed. Despite all of this, it is thanks to Haughey that the Irish economy has been able to recover from the near collapse.

Chairman election 1992

After Haughey resigned from office in 1992, the search for his successor began. For the first time, three candidates stood for election, but Albert Reynolds was already chosen as his successor after the first ballot . He was elected on February 6, 1992.

Candidates

• Albert Reynolds , former Treasury Secretary
• Michael Woods , Secretary of Agriculture
• Mary O'Rourke , Secretary of Health

Election campaign

The beginning of the end of Haughey's chairmanship was in November 1991 when Treasury Secretary Reynolds put a vote of no confidence in Haughey - Haughey won. At first, government activity continued until Attorney General Ray Burke passed a phone surveillance law. The Cathaoirleach Seán Doherty referred this law to his person, who was involved in a wiretapping affair in 1982 and therefore kicked out of the cabinet. Doherty, who in his position now had to deal with the new law and had always claimed that he was not involved alone in 1982, said in a television interview that Charles Haughey had also known about the affair. Haughey denied this, but pressure from his coalition partner ( Progressive Democrats ) led him to resign as chairman of Fianna Fáil on January 30th.

Reynolds was the first to stand for election. Haughey suggested Bertie Ahern, who refused. Reynolds' election was never in jeopardy, although Michael Woods and Mary O'Rourke also stood for election. Reynolds won with 61 votes (79%) versus 10 votes (Woods) and 6 votes (O'Rourke).

Chairman election 1994

The election of the chairman in 1994 was quick and easy. After Reynolds stepped down, there was only one person who stood to choose: Bertie Ahern. Ahern was elected the new party leader on December 19, 1994.

Candidates

• Bertie Ahern , Secretary of the Treasury

Irish President by Fianna Fáil

Of Ireland's nine presidents, six were from Fianna Fáil governments or were appointed by Fianna Fáil. Only Douglas Hyde (1938–1945), Mary Robinson (1990–1997) and incumbent President Michael D. Higgins had no connection to the party. Hyde was installed by de Valera, but was originally nominated by Fine Gael (and supported by Fianna Fáil). Robinson comes from the Labor Party and beat Fianna Fáil candidate Brian Lenihan in the presidential election . Higgins was also a Labor Party candidate in the 2011 presidential election, while Sean Gallagher, a former Fianna Fáil member, ran independently.

corruption

Although the party, together with its coalition partner, was re-elected in the 2002 election, there were again some scandals. There have been similar cases in the history of Fine Gael (the second largest party in the republic), but not as many. Fianna Fáil has in the past been described by the other parties, Fine Gael and Labor Party, as "the most corrupt party in the Dáil ".

Former Minister Ray Burke, briefly appointed by Bertie Ahern in 1997, was called "corrupt" by Fergus Flood , a former High Court judge, at a hearing and was sentenced to tax evasion in January 2005 . The preferential treatment of Burke in prison was heavily criticized - especially by the opposition around Fine Gael.

Former Fianna Fáil government secretary Frank Dunlop accused longtime Fianna Fáil senators of taking bribes to favor certain construction companies. As part of this investigation (which is still ongoing) it is expected that the names of former and current politicians from all parties will be dropped - but above all from the Fianna Fáil party. The court has not yet ruled on the validity of Dunlop's allegations.

Former TD Liam Lawlor was also accused of receiving funds from construction companies. Lawlor has been jailed several times for not wanting to cooperate with the investigative committee. He did not resign, however, attended the House of Commons meetings, and was subsequently sent back to prison. There he enjoys the same advantages as Ray Burke.

Beverly Cooper-Flynn , TD of County Mayo , was forced to quit the party after it was revealed that she had been providing illegal tax evasion advice as a financial advisor to the National Irish Bank .

Ógra Fianna Fáil

Ógra Fianna Fáil is the youth wing of the Fianna Fáil party, which was founded in the mid-1970s and plays an active role within the party.

Election results

year	choice	Share of votes	Seats
1973	Dáil Éireann 1973	46.2%	69/144
1977	Dáil Éireann 1977	50.6%	84/148
1981	Dáil Éireann 1981	45.3%	78/166
Feb 1982	Dáil Éireann Feb. 1982	47.3%	81/166
Nov 1982	Dáil Éireann Nov. 1982	45.2%	75/166
1987	Dáil Éireann 1987	44.1%	81/166
1989	Dáil Éireann 1989	44.1%	77/166
1992	Dáil Éireann 1992	39.1%	68/166
1997	Dáil Éireann 1997	39.3%	77/166
2002	Dáil Éireann 2002	41.5%	81/166
2007	Dáil Éireann 2007	41.6%	77/166
2011	Dáil Éireann 2011	17.5%	20/166
2016	Dáil Éireann 2016	24.3%	44/158
2020	Dáil Éireann 2020	22.2%	38/160

See also

• Elections in Ireland
• Political parties in Ireland

Web links

Commons : Fianna Fáil  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ Henry McDonald: Ireland's general election - the Guardian briefing. In: the Guardian. February 18, 2016, accessed May 18, 2016 . 
2. ^ Sinn Féin Joins List of Surging Anti-Austerity Forces in Europe. In: The Huffington Post. February 23, 2016, accessed May 18, 2016 . 
3. ↑ rte news: "FF officially recognized in Northern Ireland", December 7, 2007 , last accessed September 14, 2010 (English)
4. ^ Brian Cowen: Announcement by the Taoiseach, Mr Brian Cowen TD, on the Leadership of Fianna Fáil. January 22, 2011; Archived from the original on January 27, 2011 ; accessed on January 23, 2011 . 
5. ↑ choice Micheal Martin as Chairman of the Fianna Fáil. Retrieved February 28, 2011 . 
6. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20150924060239/http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/publications/2011_Electoral_Handbookrev.pdf
7. ↑ SDLP members back Fianna Fáil partnership. In: bbc.com. February 9, 2019, accessed March 16, 2019 .