Opinion

Fionnuala O Connor: Boris Johnson's legacy plans beyond parody

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the legacy proposals as a chance to 'draw a line under the Troubles'.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the legacy proposals as a chance to 'draw a line under the Troubles'. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the legacy proposals as a chance to 'draw a line under the Troubles'.

The Johnson government proposal to legislate the human wreckage of the Troubles out of existence is certainly atrocious, beyond parody.

It also entirely fits the times as determined by the Westminster climate; the political climate, not the global warming lefties go on about, which is all this government cares for.

More shameless than their entire performance so far? Hold on. Hot, even flustered, by a squealing U-turn on racist dog-whistling about England’s soccer team, they are midway through making dangerous nonsense of their shambolic Covid restrictions. There is also a way to go in systematically reneging from the withdrawal agreement Johnson signed with the EU. Taoiseach Micheál Martin, poor man, had been due a meeting today on Johnson’s own turf - now postponed - with this amoral blast on the agenda as well as the logical outcome of Brexit, aka the protocol.

The smart aleck temptation ascribes cynicism on ‘legacy’ all around, Irish culpable as British. Umm, context again. Mark Durkan, then SDLP leader, had a right to recall how sixteen years ago his own party embarrassed Sinn Féin out of supporting Peter Hain’s attempt at an amnesty. But the dealing, a shameless business, was to keep the half-made peace on track. As Durkan remembered ruefully and still with anger, the Irish government in the shape of Bertie Ahern failed to ‘endorse’ the SDLP argument. But the SDLP were outgunned, as Seamus Mallon often recalled Tony Blair telling him, disposal of Provo weaponry one of the last republican gambits.

Though all of this was supposedly settled years back the atrocious proposals are now fed into working-groups, inter-government, inter-party talks supposedly already launched. How to sustain confidence when for the umpteenth time the main player displays that they stand ready to walk away from any agreement they sign up to?

What happens now, probably, is another long slow bog-down during which lawyers, surely, rubbish this entire episode. What legal advice can have encouraged the Johnson-Lewis crew to pitch abolishing inquests, denying citizens the right to take cases? Plus a Truth Recovery unit, eh, Oral History?

The British legal system has been in Johnson’s sights for some time but he hasn’t yet turned his own seeming political impunity plus his whopping majority on the entire remit of the Supreme Court.

As Brandon Lewis in the House of Commons read the plan, so much of it trailed for so long, one jolt came when he had a go at SDLP leader Colum Eastwood. Eastwood had just related how the IRA turned Derryman Patsy Gillespie into a human bomb. Would Lewis come with him to Kathleen Gillespie to explain this amnesty? Covering those who killed five soldiers as well as Patsy Gillespie?

Almost unbelievably, Lewis claimed the Derry SDLP man was exploiting tragedy while the government proposals looked ‘holistically at all forms of investigations’ which could ‘create obstacles to achieving wider reconciliation.’ Eastwood looked stunned above his mask, as well he might.

But it sounded like real Lewis anger behind the Westminster performative-bile. To bolster their own absentionism Sinn Féin insist that the SDLP House of Commons presence is pointless. They have it wrong. When the persistent Stephen Farry and the SDLP pair sting Johnson and his low-level team at least it keeps the sense of politics alive amid Tory runaway irresponsibility and sheer cheek, the dark farce of a DUP skewered on Brexit, and Labour inability for the most part to ‘cut through’ to public opinion.

Not that the episode and the proposals made waves in Britain - nor many ripples in the Republic. These are freakish times, crises crashing into crises globally while temperatures burn up records. Johnson’s own lasting legacy may well be no more substantial than that he fronted up a team as brazen as himself, if less inclined to long, Latinate words.

The Lewis reconciliation soundbite was offensive rubbish. As for decades, the most hopeful reconciling may lie in contact despite politics between people grieving, dignified and remarkably generous.