"Frankfurt's Way or Labour's Way" (sometimes repeated as "Labour's Way or Frankfurt's Way") was a campaign slogan used by the then Irish Labour Party leader

Eamon Gilmore Eamonn or Éamon or Eamon may refer to: *Eamonn (given name), an Irish male given name *Eamon (singer) (born 1983), American R&B singer-songwriter and harmonicist * ''Eamon'' (video game), a 1980 computer role-playing game for the Apple II *"Éamon ...

in advance of the country's 2011 general election. The phrase has become an archetypal example of a broken

election promise An election promise or campaign promise is a promise or guarantee made to the public by a candidate or political party that is trying to win an election. Across the Western world, political parties are highly likely to fulfill their election p ...

in Irish politics. Described as "a desperate attempt to get votes", Gilmore claimed on 3 February 2011 that the Labour Party (if put into power) would renegotiate the recent EU-IMF deal brought in under the

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

coalition. The promise was made as Gilmore launched Labour's economic plan. Frankfurt (in Germany) is home to the headquarters of the

European Central Bank The European Central Bank (ECB) is the prime component of the monetary Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's Big Four (banking)#Intern ...

(ECB). The party made a very strong showing, almost doubling its share of the vote to become the second-largest party in the Dáil, its best showing ever. They then formed their own coalition with

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

, but did not renegotiate the deal. In 2012, after a decline of 25 per cent in their vote previous year's election evaporated, the ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

'' said the Labour Party was "haunted" by the promise.Labour haunted by old slogans
/ref> The following month, the

European Fiscal Compact The Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union; also referred to as TSCG, or more plainly the Fiscal Stability Treaty is an Enhanced cooperation#Related intergovernmental treaties, intergovernmental treat ...

was enshrined in the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

, thereby ensuring the very fiscal compliance Labour had vowed to oppose. Gilmore's promise was also referenced following the rush through the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...

of legislation to liquidate IBRC in 2013. Even Labour stalwart

Fergus Finlay Fergus Finlay (born 1 June 1950) is the former Chief Executive of the charity Barnardos in Ireland, leaving the post in 2018. He was a senior member of the Irish Labour Party and is also a weekly columnist with the '' Irish Examiner'' and the autho ...

admitted in 2015 that it was "a phrase he ilmorehad difficulty living down". However, Alan Kelly claimed "A lot of Labour's way was achieved" when quizzed on Gilmore's promise in 2015. In Labour's centenary year, state television (RTÉ) produced a two-part documentary on the history of party. They titled it ''Labour's Way''.Labour's Way
/ref>

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Frankfurt's Way or Labour's Way 2011 Irish general election European Central Bank Labour Party (Ireland) Political catchphrases Snowclones