Europe – Page 27 – Slugger O'Toole

Conservatives and UUP join new anti-federalist EU group

Pete Baker on June 24, 2009, 2:19 am

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The UK’s Conservative Party, along with UUP MEP Jim Nicholson, have joined a new grouping in the European Parliament – the “anti-federalist” European Conservatives and Reformists Group, 55 MEPs from 8 member states. Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan thinks critics of the move should apologise. The BBC profiles the various members here. The Conservatives will be the biggest party in the new group with 26 MEPs, including Northern Ireland’s Jim Nicholson of United Conservatives and Unionists – New Force. Others who …

Left – tactic or principle for Sinn Féin in Europe?

Blank on June 16, 2009, 10:19 pm

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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 …

More questions than answers after EU election

Pete Baker on June 12, 2009, 4:44 pm

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Part of a one-two from last night’s Hearts and Minds along with Liam Clarke’s “If you ask me”. Some solid analysis from BBC NI political editor Mark Devenport in the aftermath of the EU election. Pete Baker

Europe for Dummies..

Pete Baker on June 10, 2009, 11:07 pm

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An educational interlude during the EU election count on Monday with BBC NI’s Jim Fitzpatrick and Peadar O’Broin of the Institute for International and European Affairs. Listen out for the concern for “smaller fringe parties” as the number of MEPs is reduced. Adds Although, as Mark points out in the comments, in the event a very small fringe party took the third seat in Dublin. Pete Baker

CityBeat Slugger Politics slot: making politics work…

Mick Fealty on June 9, 2009, 9:57 pm

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Okay, my monthly slot on CityBeat goes out at 6.45 tonight, with an overview of the various shocks delivered by last Thursday’s Euro-poll. In short I argue that whatever misgivings unionists have about dancing with what many of them, as Jim Allister has demonstrated, still believe to be the ‘ugly bird’ of the ball – Sinn Fein – the elections confirm that they are the firm and favoured choice of an overwhelming majority of the Nationalist electorate. Commensurately, perhaps it …

In case you missed it…

Mick Fealty on June 9, 2009, 6:52 pm

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Here’s that unmissable interview with Bairbre de Brun with her party President, one Mr G Adams acting the lig at her side… Check out the rest of his site for interviews with candidates and assorted others at the count centre yesterday… Mick FealtyMick 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

Cllr Christy Burke resigns from Sinn Fein…

Mick Fealty on June 9, 2009, 5:34 pm

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There’s a major ruck going over at politics.ie , starting with a rumour about a senior SF rep resigning, then hardening into reported fact on the lunch time news on Rte… Now the issue there is whether he was a senior figure in the party or not… Well, he was the chosen candidate to run in the Dublin Central by election… That brings the party’s total down to six councillors in Dublin (it still says seven on RTE and Elections …

“I don’t want to make a career out of politics..”

Pete Baker on June 9, 2009, 2:31 am

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Some of the contributors to our comment zone have been pointing optimistically towards Toiréasa Ferris’ performance as an exception to Sinn Féin’s otherwise moribund polling in the Irish local and European elections (+0.1%) [Wise the voters are.. – Ed]. But the candidate herself has made some interesting comments in reaction to her elimination. Despite trailing independent candidate Kathy Sinnott by only 688, her team decided not to call for a recount. Carrying her 14-month-old daughter Liadain Ni Chellaig and supported …

“They know how to use their vote wisely..”

Pete Baker on June 8, 2009, 11:45 pm

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If you’ve been watching the post-count interviews you’ll probably have heard newly-elected Conservative and Unionist MEP Jim Nicholson gleefully recounting how journalists had dismissively referred to him as “the guinea pig”. Except.. it wasn’t a journalist who first used that description.. it was Jim himself, back at the start of December 2008, in this interview with Jim Fitzpatrick – Mark Devenport preferred “crash test dummy”.. ANYhoo.. In the course of the conversation Jim Nicholson predicted the “internecine squabble between the …

Mary Lou slips in anti government shoot out for last Dublin seat…

Mick Fealty on June 8, 2009, 2:02 pm

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The Dublin count took it’s slow grinding route and a Socialist was elected to a European Parliament that has swung significantly to the right… Joe Higgins got his nose in front at the beginning and with each successive transfer of votes, slowly lengthened the gap until the sixth count he was 5k ahead. In the end he took just under a half of the Sinn Fein transfers, but it was enough to take him well past Fianna Fail’s Eoin Ryan…. …

The European race for Dublin…

Mick Fealty on June 7, 2009, 11:24 am

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It’s easy to forget that the picture we have for both Euro polls, north and south, are based on a guestimate of how face down ballots are read by party workers. In Northern Ireland, we’re pretty certain who poll topper will be, and who’s likely to slip badly. But judging who actually gets two and three is a little tougher, since besides difficulties of sampling without the proactive help of staff, there’s the selection bias of each party’s estimates. We …

Gamechanging moments 2: Unionism realigns…

Mick Fealty on June 6, 2009, 3:29 am

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Now truth is we will not know for sure how things line up for unionists until Monday, but the unprecended coverage of the detail of the verification process (brought to you mostly by Slugger (and When Slugger Cowpes) we know there is crisis looming at the heel of these results. The DUP puts themselves ahead of Nicholson 20 to 16. The UUs put themselves just ahead of the DUP on 18 to 17. Health warnings come with both. There is, …

“The Northern Ireland input is still being considered by the Deputy First Minister.”

Pete Baker on June 5, 2009, 7:06 pm

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Not just the basis of our political system, in its operation too. The BBC report that our devolved administration has “failed to contribute to a major European report on minority languages” because, after a reported ten month delay, “The First Minister and the Deputy First Minister cannot agree on the report about what is actually happening here in respect of the European charter”. Apparently the NIO threw together a few pages instead. From the report In a statement Stormont’s Department …

Decent turn out at the polls this morning…

Mick Fealty on June 4, 2009, 5:53 pm

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Having spoken to a few people on the ground this morning, I am not going to significantly change my view that the three main parties last time out (2004) will bring home the bacon this time. Hopes that the SDLP will come through the middle may be dented by the good weather and the fact that turnout in unionist areas this morning was steady (no real signs yet of a big switch off). People in both the main Unionist parties …

Election: a litmus test of Unionist futures?

Mick Fealty on June 2, 2009, 2:15 pm

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Interesting line of argument from Alex Kane in the News Letter: The question which this election may answer, albeit partially, is whether or not the Conservatives themselves can deliver. They have been here since 1989 and have failed to make an electoral breakthrough. I sense that the UUP core vote is holding and Nicholson may even be attracting back some of the former voters who wandered to the DUP between 1998 and 2007. But since Jim Nicholson is a jointly …

Fine Gael prepared to work with Sinn Fein (to unseat Eoin Ryan)?

Mick Fealty on June 1, 2009, 3:19 pm

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I didn’t see it at the time, but there was the strangest line yesterday’s Irish Mail on Sunday from Fine Gael’s director of elections Frank Flannery, saying his party was prepared to work with Sinn Féin at some future point. Paul O’Brien in the Examiner reckons he has unearthed a viable rationale: Judging by Dermot Ahern’s remarks, Fianna Fáil believes Mr Flannery’s comments are aimed at persuading Fine Gael supporters to give their transfers, or second preferences, to Sinn Féin. …

Is Mrs Dodds the DUP’s Sarah Palin?

Mick Fealty on June 1, 2009, 1:16 pm

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For weeks I’ve been hearing complaints from the minor parties that neither Sinn Fein nor the DUP were willing to let their candidates appear on television with those of the minor parties. It’s the kind of powerlock you can use, if you are one of the big boys, er girls… But it never crossed my mind until last Thursday’s comparatively poor performance by Diane Dodds (leaving an impressive Jim Allister the last word was poor negotiation on the DUP’s part) …

“Hardly a ringing endorsement..”

Pete Baker on May 31, 2009, 11:17 pm

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During the Politics Show debacle debate the informed audience were asked to vote on a number of questions. The most interesting being how would they mark the Northern Ireland Executive’s economic perfomance. Out of a possible 10 the average rating was a generous 3.6. But given the time wasted on other matters only the SDLP’s Alban Maginness and the Alliance Party’s Ian Parsley were able to respond. So it goes. Pete Baker

“Do you need percentages?”

Pete Baker on May 31, 2009, 6:52 pm

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On the Politics Show European campaign special, the DUP candidate, Diane Dodds, managed to unite all three incumbents, the chairman of the meeting, Jim Fitzpatrick, and the audience.. and all with one letter from Defra.. Pete Baker

Irish Times polling figures

Pete Baker on May 30, 2009, 8:40 pm

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In the Irish Times Stephen Collins looks at the results of what seems to have been some fairly rigorous polling. [“The poll was conducted from Tuesday to Thursday of this week among a representative sample of 2,000 voters. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 500 people in each of the four Euro constituencies. The margin of error is 2 per cent.”] Overall party performances here. And Cian has more EU details at Irish Election. But of particular interest may be the …