Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Left - tactic or principle for Sinn Féin in Europe?
Via politics.ie a blog by Adam Price (Plaid Cymru MP) reveals Sean Oliver, Sinn Féin’s Director of European Affairs, confirmed at the Compass Conference they have received an approach by the European Free Alliance to join their European political group:
‘confirmed that an approach has already been made by EFA and that Sinn Fein are considering their options.’
The EFA is in an arrangement with the Green grouping in Europe as the Greens/EFA. As noted on the politics.ie thread rumours exist that in 2004 SF tried to join this group and were rebuffed and one could speculate that may have been through historical antagonism particularly with the SNP, a situation much changed post-IRA disarmament and their essential disbandment.
This would entail SF leaving the GUE/NGL group that stood shoulder to shoulder with them as they faced very difficult times in Europe over allegations of IRA involvement in the murder of Robert McCartney and the Northern Bank robbery. Joining may also be interpreted as a snub to Batasuna as the constitutional Basque Nationalist Party would become a sister party of sorts.
Now that SF’s most articulate advocate of a left wing position, Eoin O’Broin, is long gone as the party’s Director in Europe maybe a space is opening to review their current arrangements and take a pretty significant step towards the political centre in Europe?
This is all solely based on the recounting of one Welsh elected rep and may come to nothing but is worth watching.
Mark McGregor @ 03:19 PM
On a personal note: as a Left Republican one area I’ve not had any disagreement with Sinn Féin on at any level is their focus, voting, policy and direction in the European Parliament. Their Socialist credentials by their actions in Europe are impeccable. I hope to see them remain in GUE/NGL and hope they encourage Higgins to join them.
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 04:38 PM“Their Socialist credentials by their actions in Europe are impeccable.”
Interesting dichotomy though between how those “socialist credentials” reveal themselves on the European stage and back home in Northern Ireland. Take their stance on women’s sexual and reproductive rights for example.
The EUL/NGL support “safe abortion and the abolition of restrictive clauses on reproductive rights in the legislations of all EU member states.” That doesn’t really tie in with SF’s policy back in NI does it?
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 05:05 PMoneill,
The blog isn’t on Irish politics though and reproductive rights is one of several areas I disagree with SF over locally.
I stand over what I wrote, on a European level a big S socialist would find nothing to criticise SF over on their European record.
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 05:11 PMMark,
Have they not missed votes that were important to the GUE/NGL? I was told they voted on things like the Basques and possibly Palestine/Cuba, but sat out a lot of the rest.
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 05:27 PM“The blog isn’t on Irish politics though and reproductive rights is one of several areas I disagree with SF over locally”
Yes and I know it’s a bit off topic, but I think it reveals an inherent hypocrisy in the membership of the GUE-NGL grouping.
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 05:27 PMGari,
As far as I know they never missed a vote on an issue that was close and when they missed votes it was in all but one case (National Ploughing Championships) due to important issues like maternity, Lisbon, multiple-elections particularly in the north, major policy debates on things like policing and Ard Fheisanna.
If there was an open and shut case against them in Europe I assure you I’d be aware of it and supporting it. As I think you know.
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 05:38 PMIndeed. Although not all important votes are close. I wasn’t suggesting there was an open and shut case (clearly them being in the group is a good thing) just that some of us who see ourselves as socialist with a big ‘S’ might find a little more to criticise than you suggest :)
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 05:43 PMI was at the Compass session, and I can confirm Adam Price’s account.
Personally, I think that there would be clear advantages for Sinn Féin in linking up with Plaid and the SNP, and if that meant overcoming historical antagonisms with the latter, so much the better.
As for the left/centre issue, I think both Plaid and the SNP would see themselves as parties of the left, albeit the centre-left, especially in the case of the latter.
For my money where you label SF on a one dimensional left-right spectrum is less important than whether it is offering a coherent and innovative set of radical ideas.
In that respect, the Compass conference was very interesting.
There was an afternoon session on democratic republicanism that reflected a growing interest in republican thought internationally.
http://www.nextleft.org/2009/06/open-politics-network-democratic.htmlEoin Ó Broin wrote in his book that “the weakness of Sinn Fein’s socialism is shared by much of the European left, many of whom continue to trade on outdated Leninist dogmas or equally outdated Keynesian welfareism.”
The interesting thing about the current debate about democratic republicanism, is that is looking to fill up precisely that gap, and it is deriving some fairly detailed economic proposals from distinctively republican first principles.
I don’t know the detailed history of SF’s relationship with the GUE/NGL or the various Basque parties, So I have an open mind about whether the European Free Alliance is the right vehicle, but I have no doubt that SF is right to be cultivating these relationships and I was particularly glad to see Sean Oliver there.
The British state is going through something of a constitutional crisis at the moment, and its arguably in the interests of Irish republicans to build alliances with those on the left in Britain who are beginning to look in a republican direction.
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 05:46 PMTom,
Are there that many in Britain looking in a republican direction?
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 05:50 PMoneill,
While on that issue alone SF would differ from most, if not all, other members of GUE/NGL it is a confederal group with no whip that afaik only demands broad agreement with the founding principles:
http://www.guengl.org/showPage.jsp?ID=640
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 05:52 PMTom,
Thanks for that. It is an interesting discussion and as yet not joined by any members/supporters of SF on Slugger. Seems a bit strange to discuss the future allignment of that party as outsiders without input from our SF regulars.
Guys? Tom has given you a very positive teaser for why the idea might be worth pursuing…any thoughts?
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 05:59 PMTom,
Maybe we should clarify for the unitiated what those historical anatogonisms between SF and the SNP mainly centre on?
You fancy giving it a go?
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 06:03 PMCan’t see anjy loink up making the weslh and scottish more radical, but you never know. Have to head out now. Will check back later this evening to see where this goes. Could be interesting.
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 06:20 PMWell done to those men and women of the GUE/NGL for standing shoulder to shoulder with Sinn Fein when the European Parliament and the rest of the world was condemning them over the murder of Robert McCartney. Bravery indeed.
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 06:22 PMwould it be that IRA/Sinn Fein murdered thousands and wrecked the country? the SNP havnt to my knowledge.
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 06:25 PMGaribaldy,
I have tried to collate some of the debate here:
http://tinyurl.com/kpufkuThere’s a fair amount of think-tank wonkery involved, and there are some versions of it that are definitely to the right of where Sinn Féin needs to be. Even I wouldn’t defend this from Richard Reeves:
It is striking that it overwhelmingly non-metropolitan, working class MPs and ministers who understand the role of Labour as being about giving people power, rather than hoarding it to a paternlist, centralising state: Blears, Blunkett, Milburn, Reid, Cruddas. Labour’s crisis is not just one of leadership, but of animating philosophy. Her departure is a further sign of how far Labour has drifted away from its radical, republican roots.
http://www.demos.co.uk/blog/tears-for-blearsStuart White’s stuff is probably more representative. There’s no explicit reference to the Irish republican tradition, but there’s an underlying commonality in the historical reference points (Paine etc) and in the emphasis on citizen empowerment and a strong civil society.
One one level, its partly an attempt to synthesise a coherent philosophy out of a fairly diverse set of trends on the left, that look beyond a traditional Westminster focus.
The Open Politics network is one forthcoming attempt to create a more grassroots network out of this debate:
http://manchester.modernliberty.net/Hence Stuart White’s remark in the link above about “an opportunity for ‘democratic republicanism’ to come out of the seminar room and the blog post and to become a political reality.”
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 06:34 PMTom,
That’s a great set of links but I don’t see how any form of traditional Irish republicanism, socialist or otherwise, can really feed into and add to a debate that revoles around reforming the British ‘constitution’ from the inside out. For SF to become a real part of this discussion it would involve them joining the system at Westminster and abandoning any semblance of Irish republicanism for full-blown constituitional nationalism. Admitttedly the ideological steps now aren’t that big given the current incarnation of SF but the symbolic nature of those final moves may be a long way off.
But… while I love a decent sidetrack…wtf has this got to do with Europe?
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 06:59 PM“National Ploughing Championships”
This is a very important event.
I my earlier post today, I advocated that Sinn Féin move to the centre!
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 07:14 PMggn,
I don’t have Irish so missed it. Any chance you could give us a synopsis here as the blog is very much on the possibility of a demonstrable (further) move by SF from the left to the centre.
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 07:31 PM1. Non-Socialists can also believe in National independance.
2. Why exclude any religon, class or political view, if they believe in independence for Ireland, fine. The SNP are centre-left, and more successful than Sinn Féin.
3. Every noticed how people who leave Sinn Féin as they cant sick being in a political party, on some some part of party policy, etc. etc. are always on the left.
I have never heard anyone saying, feck this Sinn Féin are too far to the left, I am off to join Seasaigí!
The left is splintered, it always is.
Safer working in the centre for independance and then having elections about the ‘isms’ politicans are meant to have.
Surely we can fall out with each other over who killed Trotsky after political freedom?
4. I have read alot of Orwell.
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 07:40 PMggn,
On your No.3 as an exception (that maybe proves the rule) I’ll mention Cllr Liam Browne who left SF over them being too wedded to the left.
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 07:53 PMMark,
Would love to know more about that one, any links?
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 07:55 PMGoogled meself, not sure, but thanks for the hint.
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 07:59 PMGod I love it when people get fanciful and start to believe what they are saying as some sort of truth.
As unpleasant as Alex Salmond is as a politician with the rest of the SNP chancers, (they haven’t done a thing wrong y’know, but that is because they haven’t actually done anything at all)he and they would be writing political obituaries if they were to stand in any proximity to SF.
No one in Scotland wants to get too close to anything Irish, or Nor’n Irish.
Salmond made a fool of himself with his Arc of Prosperity notions of small states, Ireland, Iceland, Lativa being joined by Scotland to drift seamlessly into a future of economic bliss - before the banks crashed. It then became the Arc of Insolvency and suddenly Scotland and Salmond and the SNP are running from notions of being close to Ireland.
Insolvency could be a thing you catch like a Flu.
But so far as Nor’n Ireland is concerned the general belief is that SF are a bunch of murdering bigoted bastards, and that’s starting with the SNP outlook.
Salmond is very supportive of Veterans and their needs in Scotland, a man who recognises a populist idea that he can use is not going to throw that advantage away cosying up to SF who can offer nothing but vote haemorrhage at the Polls.Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 08:00 PMBG,
Sure you are on the right thread?
Posted by on Jun 16, 2009 @ 08:05 PM
