Shouldn’t Gerry develop a more nuanced and circumspect line of thinking?
Bobballs showing some magisterial disrespect for the international representative for West Belfast’s north American perambulations… But after dusting the President of Sinn Fein up a bit, he usefully observes:
Perhaps during conflict anything goes – but when in the peace-building phase, personal credibility and reputation for fair-dealing among participants is important. Doesn’t Gerry’s credibility suffer when he repeats the same ol’ Fantasy Ireland guff from the 70s? Shouldn’t he develop a more nuanced and circumspect line of thinking?
In general, at this point the party leadership might as well pursue fantasy with reckless abandon, and come to think of it I’m pretty sure a new Christmas card now for sale at the SF online shop sums up the party’s current strategy for a united Ireland. See http://www.sinnfeinbookshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=714&osCsid=a44ce7d6c92bbfc498af89f84111fb89
“the international representative for West Belfast”
Mick, it’s annoying enought coming from Peter Baker, don’t you start now too.
That’s hilarious, NCM.
“Dear Santa, please free my country.”
I can’t believe they are actually selling a card with that message on it. I suppose their supporters may as well write notes to Santa to deliver their former right to national self-determination since they formally renounced it when they signed up to the GFA.
http://www.sinnfeinbookshop.com/catalog/images/xmascard09.jpg
I think Adams credibility it as strong as his claim not to have ever been in the IRA. When a person presents that level of pretence it undermines him ultimately. It worked for a while – in the sense of tolerating a move away from terrorism – but the pretense ultimately is dishonest.
A couple of thought provoking articles maybe worth a thread on their own?
Eamonn McCann asking ‘Is Sinn Fein a party of the Left?’
http://www.swp.ie/index.php?page=518&dept=News&title=Is+Sinn+Féin+a+party+of+the+Left?
And Jason Walsh asking ‘Why Northern Ireland is a one-party state.’
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/7716/
“spiked is an independent online phenomenon dedicated to raising the horizons of humanity by waging a culture war of words against misanthropy, priggishness, prejudice, luddism, illiberalism and irrationalism in all their ancient and modern forms.”
… which is quite ironic given the fact that though that article contains one good point (we’ve replaced one one party state with another) it is wrapped up in the biggest dose of prejudice I have read in a while. How describing Northern Ireland as “a made-up Protestant Bantustan” (deliciously ironic – and presumably by someone who believes a state is defined by being able to drive a boat round it) as well as dissing Belgium and Dutch democracy is a non prejudiced piece of thinking I don’t know.
Its a shame because his one point is correct and I could have agreed with him on it – but pointing out the obvious is not necessarily journalism.
Very good article by ‘spiked ‘ . It’s all there bar a few minor points .
I would just raise one issue with ‘Spiked’s ‘ overall analysis .
‘All of the parties in the Executive owe their allegiance not to the electorate but to the peace process – a process without end whose sole purpose is to enforce a political compromise. But this compromise comes at the very high cost of heightening communal division and sectarian tensions.’
Does he see the ‘powerless ‘ sham ‘peace’ process eventually evolving into a ‘war’ process ? for he seems to be suggesting that ‘compromise’ is a dirty word and that NI would be better off with both groups sticking to their ‘original ‘ principles and going back to kicking the living shit out of each other for another generation or two or going for the alternative of playing ‘sham ‘ symbolic government for the next 50 years ?
Perhaps ‘Spiked’ should look at a ‘repartitionist ‘ solution which would allow both parties to stick to their ‘idealistic ‘ principles without having to discomfit each other by having to share power or even sit in the same room ?
One minor Spike factual error
‘Northern Ireland is no longer about as legitimate as East Germany’
It’s actually more legitimate now that the GFA is in place .
‘today it more closely resembles Kosovo.’
No it doesn’t . In Kosovo the Kosovars (a.k.a) Albanians make up 93% of the population and the Serbs the remaining 7% . In Northern Ireland terms that would be like NI having a 93% Nationalist population with 7% Unionist or vice versa . In either case there would be much less of a constitutional problem.
And that’s what plus or minus a few points a fair repartition of Northern Ireland would achieve .
But the ‘ideological ‘ purists of republicanism and unionism would’nt want that now would they ? For it would undermine both their cases for each of their ‘ideal’ solutions
Nuanced and circumspect makes me think of lawyers, I hate talking to lawyers. You ask them yes and no questions and get maybe answers