Wednesday, April 04, 2007
SF Ministerial roles announced
SF has divvied up its jobs - Catriona Ruane for Education, Conor Murphy for Regional Development, Michelle Gildernew for Agriculture and Gerry Kelly takes the Junior Ministry post in OFM/DFM. Margaret Ritchie has been confirmed as the SDLP’s nominee for Social Development. The Unionist parties are expected to announce later in the week.
Fair Deal @ 02:18 PM
Isidore,
You may have missed it but Ruane topped the poll in South Down and took the first Assembly seat.
Sorry to burst your ill-informed bubble of bullshit/deceit.
Posted by on Apr 04, 2007 @ 05:02 PM#It’s just a shame nobody in South Down (and that’s NOBODY!) likes her!’
Makes her leadership of the SF vote in the area and the closure of the gap to the SDLP to negligible figures all the more remarkable.
‘In the last election, she had to canvass with just one other person.’
See above.
‘Are we to believe that Miss Ruane actually wanted to canvass on her own? In short, she is not liked and will struggle to change people’s minds in South Down.’
Again see above.
Isidore your post is just plain dumb.
Posted by on Apr 04, 2007 @ 05:06 PMTo those talking about ministries being used to profile potential MPs, surely if the Assembly is stable Nationalists should consider withdrawing from these pointless and expensive battles in worthless westminister elections?
Posted by on Apr 04, 2007 @ 05:09 PMmickhall, I am probably being blindingly thick, but what id the PRM?
Posted by on Apr 04, 2007 @ 05:12 PMToken dissent
provisional republican movementPosted by on Apr 04, 2007 @ 05:16 PMMickhall - the DFM’s responsibilities are exactly the same as the FM’s. Either could freeze the other out.
I expect you know this but prefer to emphasise the “deputy” in MMG’s title to give a false impression.
Posted by on Apr 04, 2007 @ 06:06 PMThe person who may be disappointed here is Mitchel McLoughlin. I know Shinners don’t do personal disappointment, but he’s too capable to be stuck as a mere MLA. A loss to the electorate as a whole.
Posted by middle-class taig on Apr 04, 2007 @ 05:40 PM
He said, and came across quite frankly and honestly in saying it, on Questions and Answers a couple of weeks ago that he didn’t expect to be considered as a minister, would refuse such a position if offered to him and preferred and felt he was better suited to other roles in the party.
As Sinn Feiners ago, he doesn’t seem the worst. I have to say I just find Catriona Ruane comes across as annoying, but she might be a decent minister - which is the main thing now with she and all 14 of them.
Posted by on Apr 04, 2007 @ 06:22 PMThe only possible explanation for this is that they sense some threat in FST from Foster?
Nonsense!
Michelle has done a lot of work on the Agriculture porfolio within the party. She had the Civil Servants and their cronies in the UUP land owners/Department of Agriculture bricking it at the prospect of her being a Minister.
She is a very capable elected rep from a strong Republican constituency.
What many of you consider “gaffes” and “mistakes” many within the Republican community were very happy with.
She is a young, intelligent woman and that is what most in the DOA have to fear, she won’t take any shit of them.
A good ministerial team!
Posted by on Apr 04, 2007 @ 06:40 PMGildernew is far from safe in F/S/T with the total collapse of the UUP vote the DUP can capitalise but with the added spice of Arlene Foster as the all singing all dancing unified unionist candidate S/Fs goose looks cooked.
It was because of this opportunity to take F/S/T that Foster was not parachuted into Belfast South to replace the local drudge.Murphy is only smart looking, he wears a reasonable suit and trendy glasses but is as bright as a pocket torch using Nutts corner batteries at ten for a quid, I’m not saying the man is stupid it’s just that I won’t be getting him to do my books for me.
Gerry Kelly is almost the same as Conor Murphy he’s also as bright as a pocket torch from Nutts corner except without the batteries.
Ms Ruane though takes the biscut, I tell you having had the misfortune to have been in her company on several occassions I can state with complete confidence that gaff collectors are about to be spoilt rotten.
You only have to look in the womans eyes to know that there may be a lift installed but it definitely does not reach the top floor, it was probably for this reason that S/F sent her to help the Columbian drug dealers escape justice, knowing that they could jettison her at will if it went like her figure “pear shaped” all in all a pretty piss poor teamPosted by on Apr 04, 2007 @ 07:05 PMNobody will be surprised to read the sycophantic Shinner dribble from the likes of Pat Mc Larnon and SuperSoupy – judging from their previous entries here on the Slug, it is only to be expected. No “debate” is possible
SuperSoupy questions my point that Catriona Ruane is not liked in South Down (mostly notably by local SF activists!) and, by way of “proof”, he cites the fact that she topped the poll as if to suggest her 6334 first preference votes reflect a personal vote. I do not doubt for a minute that SuperSoupy genuinely believes this.
Within four minutes of SuperSoupy’s post (and just long enough to type another post?), Pat Mc Larnon makes a similarly ridiculous point, like only Shinner sycophants can! Ruane’s leadership of the SF vote is just that, a reflection of the SF vote. There is no way of judging how far this can be seen as a reflection of her personal popularity, to suggest otherwise is simply delusional. If that’s how Miss Ruane sees it then it would be considerably arrogant of her; but then again, she is a SF representative.
The fact remains that our new Minister was left to canvass on her own. Why? Catriona Ruane’s problem in South Down is not the SDLP, far from it! It is from within her own party whose members in SD resent the fact that she was parachuted in to the constituency by a British spy and, in doing so, kicked the much loved local man out of the game.
Posted by on Apr 04, 2007 @ 09:18 PMMick
I’m not 100% certain, but I doubt either Michele or Catriona will ever see 40 again.Posted by on Apr 04, 2007 @ 09:25 PMIsidore
Looks like Denis Donaldson managed to complete his mission, even if it did come a year after he died.
Posted by on Apr 04, 2007 @ 09:35 PM“Mick
I’m not 100% certain, but I doubt either Michele or Catriona will ever see 40 again.”Wiki has Gildernew born in 1970 and Ruane in 1962.
Posted by on Apr 04, 2007 @ 09:49 PMThe man not ball rule suspended again but sure it’s only SF being hacked at.
Posted by on Apr 04, 2007 @ 10:47 PMIndeed Soupy
Posted by on Apr 04, 2007 @ 10:56 PMWhat a load of nerdish sycophancy. Who cares who got which particular “high office” and whether Gerry is better than Michelle or Alex more acceptable than Columbia Caitriona.
These Sinners,who have ushered Paisley into power, are nothing but a bunch of self-serving, sectarian power trippers in a wee partitionist six counties toy town parliament.
They are part of the new six counties elite and
we will soon see just how reactionary their policies are. The attack on the trade unions over water tax is just the start of it. Bourgeois Catholic Nationalism how are you?Posted by on Apr 04, 2007 @ 10:58 PMOh SuperSoupy I hope you ok, and that you haven’t been too upset by the comments.
Its not like you viciously attack contributors or anything…
Posted by on Apr 04, 2007 @ 11:05 PMSean,
The ‘attack’ on the Unions led to one main postal Union endorsing Mitchel’s idea and calling on the others to do likewise.
This, of course, was not as widely covered as other people having a pop.
Posted by on Apr 04, 2007 @ 11:07 PMTD,
I’m a big boy don’t worry, I’m not asking for personal protection from the asinine contributions above. I’m just noting what is allowed to stand as acceptable comment on government ministers designate when a rule is rigorously aplied in other situations.
No biggy, it’s standard form. I just mention it occasionally.
Posted by on Apr 04, 2007 @ 11:13 PMThis post concerns the SF ministerial roles and Ruane in particular. To question how affective a SF minister can be if she doesn’t possess the full backing of her party is certainly fair comment; or is that merely an “ill-informed bubble of bullshit”? Better to whinge than answer the question eh?
I KNOW people in more than one of the SD cumman
refused to canvas with hermade their excuses as to why they would not be able to canvass with her; something previously inheard of within the ranks of SF! It’s not just a case that Ruane is not liked, she has yet to convince the SD SF that she is not another Donaldson!Posted by on Apr 04, 2007 @ 11:38 PMIsidore,
I know more people in South Down SF than you do, I know that they all have a great relationship with Catriona and the few that had any issues left long ago with the electorally rejected Cunningham.
Being in the same count centre with them in Lisburn I saw the uncontainable joy of every SF member in that constituency as they saw her poll-topping result and gleefully rang their friends/comrades to boast about the wonderful result the team had accomplished.
Sour grapes and bullshit on your part. Lap it up. She stuffed every contender.
Your bitterness just makes victory sweeter.
Posted by on Apr 04, 2007 @ 11:58 PMmickhall,
As no one has answered your question on the difference between FM and DFM (Unionists won’t want to) I will -
There isn’t one. The prefix means nothing other than the stage they got the equal role.
The main function are:
The duties of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister will include, inter alia, dealing with and co-ordinating the work of the Executive Committee and the response of the Northern Ireland administration to external relationships.
but the office has other policy setting areas including most importantly Europe.
They are equal roles. Mallon often made an issue of the prefix seemingly reducing his equal status. McGuinness will have exactly the same legal status as Paisley regardless of any prefix.
Posted by on Apr 05, 2007 @ 12:16 AMIsidore (change the name),
Just got a reply from the SF Director of Elections for SD. At no stage was Catriona out canvassing with a team of less than ten SF members on many occasions they had over 50 activists out with her.
So is he lying or are you? Prove your bullshit - but you can’t because it’s just bullshit.
Posted by on Apr 05, 2007 @ 12:22 AMIt’s obvious that the Shinners in the North believe in the sinn part strongly.
No-one, and especially no man, can find it easy to eschew personal power for the benefit of the party. I suppose that virtue of selflessness comes from the Struggle.
South of the border, it lasted a generation, before mé féin got the upper hand, where it sits in absolute authority today.
Fáilte ar ais, missfitz.
Posted by on Apr 05, 2007 @ 12:33 AMThe site has been plumbing new depths of trolling almost on a weekly basis. This thread being no different.
Pre election it was the home for a plethora of ‘new’ posters who had the task of talking up the dissidents etc and the trouble that SF were having.As it was these clowns were humiliated and their analysis shown to be propaganda or just plain lies.
One would have thought these ‘posters’ would have had the good grace to disappear back beneath the stones they evidently originated from. But no, we have the likes of ‘Isidore’ crawling out with sweeping statements about Ruane. According to this poster ‘nobody likes her’. How this single troll was able to do a vox pop on every single person in Sth Down is not explained. But then again that is not the point is it. The poster then has the audacity to talk of the much loved local candidate. Who exactly is that? Is that the person who also fought the assembly elections and got nowhere.
Speculation and rumour mongering will always collapse under the sheer weight of the facts. As it is ‘isidore’ it is the voters of that constituency that have damned you as a fool and a liar. Lie all you want and profess an inside knowledge but put against the truth that came out only a few weeks ago via the ballot box and people can make up their own mind.
Having posted before under another identity ‘isidore’ has now reappeared to give post election analysis based on the ‘everyone knows’ school of thought. Not likely, at least have the wit to wait till the election results are a bit of a memory.
Posted by on Apr 05, 2007 @ 07:38 AM
