Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

Real life is showing that the centre right acts as a handmaiden for the far right. In the US, the incompetence and policies of Biden and the Democrats is paving the way for Trump. In France, the policies of Macron have paved the way for Le Pen and the far right. There is now a real threat of a far right government by the end of this weekend. By adopting far right policy proposals, many included in the European Union migration and asylum pact, Macron made anti-immigration politics more mainstream and gave a boost to the racists.

Let that be a warning to this country. The Government's adoption of a more hardline stance on immigration is framing immigration as a problem for society, just as Macron did in France. In France, as here, the key to challenging the far right must come from mass mobilisations and the building of an anti-capitalist left. Democratic and anti-fascist resistance committees could be created in all French working-class neighbourhoods, suburbs, schools, universities and workplaces. Such committees could mobilise votes for the New Popular Front and prepare, once the elections are over, to resist the far right in power or ensure that elected officials from the NFP respect their election promises.

See this speech in context