Tomás Ó Flatharta

Looking at Things from the Left

Archive for the ‘Irish Far-Right Fascists and Racists’ Category

Hungary 2026: An Autopsy of Sixteen Years of Illiberalism

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A few days before the Hungarian general election held on April 12 2026 the USA Vice president JD Vance flew into Budapest campaigning for the far-right prime minister Viktor Orbán. Vance, a high-profile member of the Catholic Church, picked the wrong place to boost a close ally. The self-described hillbilly bombed in Budapest.

Orbán was also strongly backed by the far-right president of Russia, Vladimir Putin. Hungary joins a growing list of countries where candidates closely aligned with the far-right twins Trump-Putin sink to a humiliating defeat.

Adam Novak explores the issues in the interview below published on the
Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières (ESSF) site:

Link :


Hungary 2026: An Autopsy of Sixteen Years of Illiberalism.

Among the fascinating details in the article below, we highlight two :

For Trump and Vance, it is the loss of the most useful ally within the European Council — the one who blocked collective decisions on Ukraine, including the 90-billion-euro loan to Kyiv that Orbán had vetoed. For Putin, it is the loss of the most accommodating European government on energy and sanctions. For European far-right parties, it is the signal that the model is not election-proof.

Vance delivered a speech on Christ and the Christian foundations of European civilisation before a comparatively secular Hungarian audience. He invoked workers’ rights without saying a word about the tech billionaires enriched under Trump. And he denounced Brussels bureaucrats for “making millions” whilst saying nothing of the oligarchy that Orbán himself built. The electoral effect of the visit is close to zero: Vance is little known in Hungary, and it was not Trump who came.

Hungary 2026: An Autopsy of Sixteen Years of Illiberalism.

After Orbán: Electoral Fractures and the Programmatic Void

The Hungarian legislative elections of 12 April 2026 brought to an end sixteen years of uninterrupted rule by Viktor Orbán. Péter Magyar’s Tisza (Respect and Freedom [Tisztelet és Szabadság]) party won a super-majority of 138 seats out of 199, inflicting on Fidesz a defeat explained by judicial scandals, saturation of the identitarian discourse, a generational fracture, and the concrete effects of the freeze on European funds.

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“A Confederacy of Gobshites – Ireland’s Government of Contempt”- by Éamonn Sweeney

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Once again, thanks to the editor of the Cedar Lounge Blog for drawing the attention of readers to very good Éamonn Sweeney left-wing analysis to the current Dublin government, which administers the 26 county bit of Ireland.

On this blog we describe the Mícheál Martin / Simon Harris government as FFFGBG – that is : a coalition of Fianna Fáil (FF), Fine Gael (FG), and Beggar-Gombeens (BG’s). The BG’s were assembled by the North Tipperary ex-FG minister Michael Lowry, who was thoroughly investigated by the Mahon Tribunal following credible allegations of financial corruption in the 1990’s. Fine Gael’s ethical standards are extremely low, but the party was obliged to expel Mr Lowry.

The BG’s got many perks for propping up the FFFG Martin-Harris duo – the biggest was the position of Dáil Ceann Comhairle (speaker) handed to the Wexford racist, and former FG member, Verona Murphy.

Some of the BG’s might be tempted to join their racist-fascist soul-brothers who lead the fuel blockade movement.

A coherent left-wing alternative is very badly needed.

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The Blockade Is the Message

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How a Fuel Price Spike Became a Fascist Audition

An effective heavy vehicle blockade campaign brought the 26 county bit of Ireland to a halt in the second week of April 2026.

Parties and individuals based on the left have offered significantly different opinions about these protests.

There is no doubt that far-right organisations are involved. This poses a big problem for all forces on the left – parties, trade unions, social movements that are pro-feminist and anti-racist, and so on.

It is essential to start with concrete analysis. Left-wing actors such as People Before Profit (PBP) say they support the blockaders :

“ There is “no question” that there are far-right people trying to intervene and be present in the protest…So some of these people (the far-right) are present and are trying to shape the protest, but one: the vast majority of people who are participating in the protest have nothing to do with the far right, whatsoever.
“And two: I really have a strong sense that ordinary working-class people in Dublin, people who live in Dublin South-West that I represent, have a lot of support for these protests,” Murphy said.

Paul Murphy TD, People Before Profit, Dublin South-West,
The left shouldn’t abandon fuel protesters, Paul Murphy says

The article below, and several other reliable sources, demonstrate that Paul Murphy’s analysis is based on wishful thinking rather than concrete analysis.

The far-right are not “trying to intervene and be present in the protest”. Far-right actors initiated this campaign.


This has serious implications for all forces on the Irish left.

Summing up: socialists have to recognise the hardships caused by high fuel prices (on top of all the other high prices). Blaming the right-wing government is fine. But – an extremely big But :

The Left must pledge : no co-operation with fuel-protester fascists and racists.

James Geoghegan is a spokesperson for the Fuel Protesters’ Campaign

The policy of the PBP and others on the left is “support the fuel protests”.

The only way you can implement this policy is practical collaboration with the far-right on the streets and elsewhere. That means putting the lives and welfare of your own members and supporters in danger.

The left can do much better – a useful starting point for for a more progressive policy is here, written by the SIPTU researcher, Michael Taft :


Searching the Evidence – Michael Taft

This immediate problem is down to Trump’s wars in Iran, Lebanon, and other parts of the Middle East.

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