The leader of the SDLP, Mark Durkan, has gone on the offensive against Sinn Fein, in the Belfast Newsletter today. The article is based upon a six page dossier compiled on the issue of attacks on the District Policing Partnerships by the party. The full document was available on to the party’s website early today, but the site is currently under attack from computer hackers.
His party’s acceptance of the PSNI, which replaced the historic RUC just over a year ago, has led to a series of political attacks from Sinn Fein accusing them of being opportunists. Until now Durkan has seemed reluctant to respond in similarly strident terms. Clearly the spark for this change of has been the attacks on Catholic members of of the DPPs, a fair proportion of whom will be members of his party.
Although clearly these physical attacks are not being orchestrated by either Sinn Fein or the IRA, the dossier maintains that “…leading Sinn Fein figures have helped to create an atmosphere of threat and intimidation against those participating in the new beginning to policing”. It then goes on to outline a series of allegations against it’s rival nationalist party of a range of subtle and not so subtle attacks on the SDLP’s position viz-a-viz the PSNI.
What makes this so worthy of note is not so much the substance of particular allegations but that it signifies the first serious political broadside from the moderate Nationalist party against its more militant rival, perhaps since the ceasefires of 1994. Most commentators agree that the SDLP has lost momentum and energy during the course of the ceasefire. Are we witnessing the first concerted kick back, in order to stem the one way tide of voters drifting towards Sinn Fein?
Which might lead us to ask (once again with feeling); is there an election in the air!
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
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