Brian has already noted Liam Clarke’s thoughts on Gerry Adams’ role, and its impact on Sinn Féin’s fortunes in the Republic of Ireland. In the Sunday Tribune, however, the focus of the political correspondent Conor McMorrow, is on the resignations from the party there and on Toiréasa Ferris’ comments. Apparently there is to be a special meeting of the party’s Ard Chomhairle, Oireachtas members and Northern Ireland MLAs, and the party’s “middle tier of leadership” in August to “assess the post-election situation, make plans for the Lisbon campaign and discuss how the party can help ‘ordinary workers under attack in resisting cuts to essential public services, rates of pay'”. From the Sunday Tribune [now linked]
A party strategist has told the Sunday Tribune that the problems in the party are much more deep-seated as they go beyond the election results and are related to the peace process. “If you read between the lines, a lot of people are basically saying they have problems with the peace process. they are starting to realise that it is not going to deliver a united Ireland,” he said.
Well, that would explain the World Tour [for Irish Unity]. It’s not exactly lowering expectations, of course. But as then-Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said, “people will just have to be tolerant of that if it’s not possible to bring it any further.”And continuing in the Sunday Tribune article
A sitting councillor echoed these views and said: “Maybe we don’t know who we are or where we are going. My grievance with the party is that we don’t have any date in mind for a united Ireland. the peace process has been great and this country has achieved so much since the 1994 ceasefire. I am not saying there will be a return to violence either, as anybody who was going to leave for that reason has long gone, but I do think the time has come where we need to cement a definite plan for a united Ireland and work towards that.”
