The election in the Free State, although it may look like a great win for Sinn Féin, could not have worked out worse for them. There are various reasons for this. First, the electorate have forgiven Fianna Fail and those who deserted them in droves at the previous election have begun to return. This is the real disaster for Sinn Féin. If they were ever to make the breakthrough and become serious players down there, they had to overtake Fianna Fail and replace them as the natural Republican party. This they have singularly failed to do.
Secondly, someone is now going to have to try to form some sort of shaky coalition that will run the country for a year or so till the whole thing falls apart. It is almost certain that in this coalition Sinn Féin will be the junior partners to Fianna Fail. When the collapse comes, be that in weeks, months or years, Sinn Féin will find that they have lost more ground to Fianna Fail and the people will blame the minor party in the coalition as they always do. Over the next few elections Fianna Fail shall chip away at the Sinn Féin vote and gradually all the progress they have made will disappear.
The third reason, and probably the most damaging for Sinn Féin, is that while in government in the Free State they are going to have to try to build up some sort of country down there while continuing to practice the politics of division in the north. This will be highlighted more and more by the anti-northern media in the Free State, the Indy will have a field day.
However, there is also another reason why Sinn Féin have peaked – there is no room for a serious left-wing party in Ireland. That ground is already taken by Fianna Fail who are adept at changing their policy to suit the mood of the day. Irish politics, as we shall see over the next few weeks, is still rooted in the Civil War and while this ‘Cold War’ continues in one form in the north and in another in the south, there can be no place for ‘real’ politics in Ireland.
Sinn Féin, while riding high on the discontent of the Irish people at the moment, will not be able to continue their upward climb now that things have settled down on the economic front.
Fine Gael and Fianna Fail will quickly return to the fore and the great declaration of our forefathers that “We declare the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland,” shall return to its usual form: ‘We declare our right to carve up the wealth of Ireland among our cronies in Fine Gael and Fianna Fail.’
Poor Sinn Féin have missed the boat again.
TURLOUGH QUINN
Portglenone, Co Antrim
Smokers have become public enemy number one
So our wonderful local assembly has legislated that smoking in all hospital grounds is banned forthwith. You’d think that the nett contributors to the NHS could have been treated with a bit more consideration. Yes, not a mistake, smokers, with their tax contribution of £12bn annually, not only pay for the total cost of all smoking related illnesses (max £6 billion) but also for many other big drains on the NHS budget. So cut the nonsense about smokers being a drain on health budgets. We are nett contributors, full stop. Small wonder the message from outgoing chancellors to the new incumbent is ‘cigarette tax is a certain penalty kick, because, guess what, there is no goalkeeper’.
Would this suggest that governments are serious about people stopping? Bottom line is that smokers are public enemy number one – not tyre burners, not chocoholics, not rioters or paramilitaries. In fact smokers are the most legislated against citizens in the UK.
Why did they also ban ‘E’ cigs against the recommendations of the UK government’s own research body six months ago? The research found that: “E vapour is 95 per cent safer than cigarette smoke and we recommend that it not be banned from prisons or trust hospitals.”
So, are our MLAs a bit smarter or is it simply a populous move against a group of beleaguered citizens who rather than being kicked from pillar to post, should be applauded for their fundraising efforts on behalf of the great, the holy and the good in society?
KIERAN McMULLAN
Randalstown, Co Antrim
Mr Shaw is still passing on Israel’s propaganda ‘facts’
Andrew J Shaw is back (March 7). Unbelievably he is still passing on the ‘facts’ put out by Israel’s propaganda organs. Has he heard of the Or Commission, established in 2003, to enquire into riots between Palestinian Israeli citizens and Israeli police resulting in the deaths of 13 young Arabs?
The commission’s report found structural and systematic discrimination against the Arab citizens and strongly recommended that “a principal objective of the government must be the achievement of genuine equality for the Arab citizens of the state”.
What happened?
Recently in Haaretz, one of Israel’s leading newspapers, Dr Ram Fruman, an Israeli journalist, wrote: “In Netanyahu’s Israel only a wacko can think Arabs and Jews have the same rights.”
Former US president Jimmy Carter said on an Israel Radio broadcast in 2006 that Israeli policies in the West Bank represented instances of apartheid worse even than those that once held sway in South Africa.
When it comes down to a dispute between Jimmy Carter and AJ Shaw over the policies of Israel in respect
to its Palestinian citizens I have no doubt what side I would take.
EUGENE F PARTE
Belfast BT9
Think before you speak
Maurice Fitzgerald (March 8) gives his opinion about the 1916 rising and the commemorative celebrations.
I quote a few of his remarks:
“There is nothing to commemorate or celebrate about 1916”. He goes on: “It has been 100 years since the rising, but the reality is that the Irish did nothing with its independence.”
Naturally Maurice is entitled to his opinion but I wonder would he have the same view if he lived in the British occupied six counties?
The men and woman who fought and died for independence 100 years ago, ensured Maurice wouldn’t have to live through further British slaughter in the 26 counties.
If Maurice had to endure the shoot-to-kill policy by the British, the gerrymandering, internment, a sectarian police force (RUC) to serve one section of the community, the UDR, collusion by the British with loyalist death squads, Diplock courts, not to mention the daily harassment and intimidation to all Catholics, I doubt very much he’d say – “There is nothing to commemorate about the 1916 rising”.
In life it’s so easy to sit in judgment of other’s and their actions but walk a mile in their shoes first and then comment.
NIALL KEENAN
Cookstown, Co Tyrone
So much for a nation of equals
As we celebrate the Easter rising it is worth pointing out some statistics regarding the housing situation is the area of Dublin that I reside. According to recent figures released by South Dublin County Council that are 5,228 applications on the council’s housing waiting list to be housed in the Clondalkin area. The average waiting time is five years. There are 3,026 males and 3,888 females of which 1,686 are couples – this effects 7,279 children.
Some much for cherishing all the children of the nation equally – as led down by the proclamation of 1916.
PAUL DORAN
Clondalkin, Dublin 22
