Opinion

Patrick Murphy: Patriotism is a willingness to challenge government

Patrick Murphy

Patrick Murphy

Patrick Murphy is an Irish News columnist and former director of Belfast Institute for Further and Higher Education.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar appears to find inspiration in figures such as Michel Barnier. Picture by Niall Carson/PA Wire
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar appears to find inspiration in figures such as Michel Barnier. Picture by Niall Carson/PA Wire Taoiseach Leo Varadkar appears to find inspiration in figures such as Michel Barnier. Picture by Niall Carson/PA Wire

HAVE you noticed the new fashion in Irish patriotism? You will remember the old days when Tone and Pearse and Connolly were all the rage, but now we have a new brand of patriotic leader.

Step forward Michel Barnier, Donald Tusk and Angela Merkel, who will "stand by Ireland every step of the way".

These are the new darlings of Erin, our defenders against the Saxon foe. Indeed, don't be surprised if Donald Tusk gives the oration at an Easter Rising commemoration in Milltown Cemetery next weekend.

A somewhat sceptical view, you say, and you have a point. But it is hard to avoid the conclusion that in its reaction to Brexit, Irish nationalism has gone over the top in its love affair with European right wing leaders, whose social and economic policies are little different from Theresa May's.

As Yeats might have asked, was it for Angela Merkel that all that blood was shed?

So how have we come to this Brits-Out, Germans-In model of nationalism? Why has Ireland gone from opposing the Nice (2001) and Lisbon (2008) Treaties to relying on what Sinn Féin calls Michel Barnier's defence of "Ireland's interests". And as Brexit drags on, what exactly is Ireland's national interest?

Irish nationalism depicts Brexit as merely an attempt by the British upper class to rebuild the empire.

But while some Tories have imperial ambitions, Brexit was largely a rebellion by ordinary people against a Tory government.

The pro-Brexit vote was heavily influenced by rampant poverty, declining public services, and a general disillusionment with politicians.

Who in Ireland observed that about 500,000 children in Britain attend school on an empty stomach every morning? Who has listened to English head teachers describing how children take food from the canteen to bring home with them? In Britain eight million people do not have enough to eat. If you were hungry, would you side with the Tories (including Remainer Theresa May) in a referendum?

The 'little Englanders' explanation for Brexit was compounded by Britain's failure to organise its withdrawal from the EU, sparking protests against the possibility of a trade border in Ireland. (It was interesting to see Sinn Féin members demolishing a make believe border wall, 21 years after they had agreed to the legitimacy of the border.)

So Irish nationalism has sided with the EU, even though it is just like Britain, only bigger.

One hundred and eighteen million EU citizens are at risk of poverty, 43 million of whom cannot afford a decent meal every second day. Almost 13 million Germans are in poverty. Why isn't Angela Merkel standing with them?

The reason is that the Brexit argument between Britain and the EU is just about competing visions of capitalism.

Oddly, nationalism's obsession with the EU ignores the role of the European Central Bank (which administers EU monetary policy) in Europe's banking crisis 10 years ago.

By forcing Irish taxpayers to compensate unsecured bond-holders, the ECB ensured that although Ireland has less than one per cent of the EU population, it paid 42 per cent of the total the European banking bill.

Hence the rush to stand with Ireland. When the next economic collapse comes (and it will) Ireland will again be a pushover for paying unsecured bond-holders.

Ah but, says Sinn Féin-led nationalism in the north, we need EU support "to protect Ireland's interests". So what exactly is the national interest right now? (Isn't it remarkable how the national interest always coincides with a party's electoral ambitions?)

So is it in Ireland's national interest, for example, to protect the Bank of Ireland? Only 16 per cent of its shares are held in Ireland, while 23 per cent are held in the UK. (The rest are scattered across the globe). So if we protect the Bank of Ireland, we are protecting some British interests.

Should we protect Ireland's largest employers? But Apple, Boston Scientific, IBM and Intel are all American firms, with worldwide shareholders. In any case, none of them report financial figures for their Irish operations.

And how exactly will the EU protect the 15,000 homeless in the south or the more than 100,000 children in poverty in the north? What will Michel Barnier do for them?

In analysing our social and economic problems, nationalism has traditionally turned to Tone, Pearse and Connolly.

Even if you disagree with all their conclusions, they offer a framework for identifying the interests of the Irish people. But nationalism's leader, Leo Varadkar, finds inspiration instead in sound-bites from Tusk and Barnier.

Somebody once said patriotism is a willingness to challenge the government when it is wrong. It is certainly a good place to start.