Israel told US it is modeling Gaza attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki 22:35 Nov 05 0 comments UK Government manipulation of the BBC and social media over Covid 21:40 Sep 19 0 comments Good Riddance to Biden - Bye Bye Bidens 23:13 Apr 18 0 comments Exposed: Ireland’s Leading Far-right Politicians Unmasked… 20:58 Dec 07 0 comments The political power of Facebook 21:40 Oct 17 0 comments tuileadh >> |
Post Election challenges for the Left
national |
politics / elections |
opinion/analysis
Monday June 09, 2014 10:41 by Pat Waine
Sf shift to the right Huge gains for the Anti Austerity Left - Where now and what will Sinn Fein do with this power. Post elections Challenges for the Left |
View Comments Titles Only
save preference
Comments (2 of 2)
Jump To Comment: 1 2Sinn Fein have certainly done well and much of it has to do with their hard working activists on the ground and their Left wing rhertoric. It remains to be seen in the long run how strongly they stick to it, but if we use their presence in government in the North as a metric, where they have had to dish out austerity then it doesn't bode well. With a bit of luck though, the grassroots of the party seem Left leaning and they may restrain any of the higher level forces that would pull the party to the right.
I definitely think they will do well in the next general election and have a really good chance of getting into power possibly with Fianna Fail. Whoever or however they end up in government though, since the international financial elite -aka big Capital will be mandating austerity for many years to come as the rollback of the social gains of the last century continued unabated, then Sinn Fein will end up like Labour -where a stint in power will then see them subsequently decimated in any subsequent election.
I think Sinn Fein after the next election could change the Dail parliamentary game that has stalled the emergence of radical right/left politics in Ireland. Sinn Fein and the left parties could refuse to entertain going into government with FG or FF. This would force FG and FF to negotiate a coalition between their two mainstream parties, which share the same economic values anyway despite their civil war origins. For too long Irish voters have been under the mistaken impression that voting FG or FF was making a choice between opposites. FG and FF are not opposites; they are similar economic and social policies.