Tomás Ó Flatharta

Looking at Things from the Left

Posts Tagged ‘Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin Leaders are attending President Joe Biden’s Washington DC White House on Patrick’s Day, March 17 2024 – “drowning of the shamrock” decision has generated an avalanche of hostile left-wing criticism in Ireland

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A Patrick’s Day “Drowning of the Shamrock” celebration in Washington DC’s White House, including Irish politicians and the USA President, is a long-established tradition. President Joe Biden is an Irish-American who enjoyed a warm welcome “home” to Mayo and Louth in 2023. Biden’s Irish-American links are very strong and genuine – but many people who welcomed him to Ireland less than a year ago have broken with “Genocide Joe” because of USA political and military support of the Israeli murderous assault on the people of Gaza and Palestine.

An articulate response came from a Derry GAA All-Ireland winner, who is related by marriage to Mr Biden – Joe Brolly’s wife is Laurita Blewitt, a third cousin of Mr Biden.

Joe Biden, Laurita Blewitt and Joe Brolly

“President Biden has pledged 14 billion in state of the art weapons of war for Israel to continue to pummel this defenceless population. And 20 trucks of humanitarian aid for Gaza.
“I cannot think of anything sicker or more obscene bombing churches, hospitals, indiscriminate slaughter. Israel is a rogue state, completely out of control, as described by many leading Jewish academics and thinkers, acting beyond all norms of morality and anything that we could conceive of as decency and humanity.
“And when Joe Biden goes to Israel and hugs, quite rightly, the parents of those slaughtered children and human beings who lost their lives on 7th October, he doesn’t f***ing go to Palestine and do it and hug the children there and hug the mothers and fathers and tell them that he loves them.
“That alone would bring about a ceasefire. I stand with humanity he should be saying.”

https://tomasoflatharta.com/2023/10/24/irish-podcast-host-and-former-gaelic-footballer-joe-brolly-slams-president-joe-biden-over-usa-support-of-israel-a-rogue-state-completely-out-of-control/#more-7255

The leaders of Sinn Féin are going to the White House to shake hands with “Genocide Joe” on March 17 2024.

Here is one typical online response :

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Mary Lou McDonald and Pearse Doherty on ‘outreach programme’ to reassure big business, but executives fear wealth tax – IDA boss reveals Sinn Féin plans to woo US firms on corporate tax

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Industrial Development Authority (IDA) boss reveals Sinn Féin plans to woo US firms on corporate tax

A daft idea promoted by many political commentators is that if a political party with a left-wing voting base moves to the “centre” (which in this context is a weasel word for “right”) it can win control of a government more easily, and “reassure” the owners of capitalist states at home and abroad. Once the leadership of a political party absorbs this idea, all sorts of radical policies are thrown into the litter bin.

Unfortunately the leadership of the Sinn Féin party is falling into this trap – the left message is : you are in a hole, stop digging.

This Sunday Business Post story shows that significant sectors of the capitalist class understand this dynamic. 

Sources :

https://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article69361

The Sinn Féin Leadership Promotes Contradictory Messages

Mary Lou McDonald and Pearse Doherty on ‘outreach programme’ to reassure big business, but executives fear wealth tax

Sinn Féin has made it clear to top multinationals that it has no issue with Ireland’s corporate tax rate and will not raise it if elected, the new chairman of IDA Ireland has said.

However, Feargal O’Rourke has revealed that the party is determined to hike personal taxes on top earners, in a move that has prompted serious concerns among business leaders.

O’Rourke, the former head of PwC Ireland, said Sinn Féin has “been very much on an outreach programme” with big businesses since the last election to reassure them it will “not rock any boats” should it gain power.

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“Will Sinn Féin in 2024 still just be the “attack dog” of opposition, or will a vision of what it will look like in government be clearly articulated?” Una Mullally, Irish Times, asks a very relevant question

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In the early days of 2024 thoughts turn to the next general election in Ireland which will create the 34th Dáil Éireann no later than February 2025.

Before that, in May 2024, voters in the 26 county bit of Ireland elect local authority councillors and members of the European Parliament.

All reliable opinion surveys suggest Sinn Féin will be the biggest party after the next Dáil general election, and that the current FFFGGG (Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Greens, Gombeens) coalition may stay in office.

The post here looks at relevant statistics :

Irish Elections Projections

Sinn Féin does not rule out coalition with the right-wing parties, and – once we ignore silly point-scoring – we can see that Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Greens do not rule out coalition with Sinn Féin. Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin is explicit on this point :

Fianna Fáil Leader Micheál Martin opens the door to coalition with Sinn Féin

The prospect of such a government should send shivers down the spine of any self-respecting supporter of the radical left in Ireland.

Fianna Fáil (FF) and Fine Gael (FG), two tweedledum and tweedledee capitalist parties, have controlled every government running the southern 26 county bit of partitioned Ireland since a 1921 Treaty was signed with the former occupying power, Britain. A carnival of reaction followed on both sides of the Irish border.

Faced with a false choice between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, the only rational policy for the left was and is: no coalition, on principle, with any right-wing party. 

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Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin opens the door to coalition with Sinn Féin

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Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has said there would be “huge difficulties” with his party going into government with Sinn Féin, but did not rule out the possibility of such a coalition after the next election.

Irish Times December 26 2023

Fianna Fáil (FF) and Fine Gael (FG), two tweedledum and tweedledee capitalist parties, have controlled every government running the southern 26 county bit of partitioned Ireland since a 1921 Treaty was signed with the former occupying power, Britain. A carnival of reaction followed on both sides of the Irish border.

Faced with a false choice between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, the only rational policy for the left was and is : no coalition, on principle, with any right-wing party. 

The need for this policy is explained in this interview with Paul Murphy TD (People Before Profit, Dublin South-West) : To all of them we say: rule out coalition with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael – interview with Paul Murphy TD after the February 2020 Irish General Election

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The comments of Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald TD on Ukrainian refugees in Ireland are a mistake

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I note the statement by Mary Lou Mc Donald TD,leader of Sinn Fein with regards to her view that the position to grant special status to Ukrainians following the Russian invasion in 2022 was a mistake.

At the time her party supported the government position.  While party banners were not present, Mary Lou Mc Donald was present for protest outside the Russian Embassy in July to mark 18 months since the invasion. 

I think it unfortunate that the Sinn Fein leader has now expressed a sense of regret at the level  of support for Ukraine in Ireland. Sinn Féin and others have been loud in the support for Palestine rightly, but like so many have left their attention drift with regards to Ukraine.

Rather than reacting to the menacing activity of far right activity and call for a more robust policing and courts response to the fire attack at a hotel in Galway, the Sinn Fein leader’s comments will embolden the nativist elements.

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Independent Left’s Useful Analysis of the February 2020 Irish General Election

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The author is Conor Kostick

independentleft.ie/dublin-bay-north-election-results/

In Dublin Bay North, as elsewhere, at first it seemed as though the socialist voice of the working class was going to also be swept away by the growth of the Sinn Féin vote. The Green vote too, might have been a challenge for socialists (although it was more of a challenge for Labour and other middle-ground and middle class parties). But as the counts went on, the transfers from Sinn Féin were strongly to the left, much more so than had been anticipated, although there were some losses to the presence of radical socialists in the Dáil and as activists with the advantages that being a TD brings to helping organise campaigns. We were sorry to see Ruth Coppinger and Séamus Healy lose their seats but delighted that after a difficult looking start, on the whole, the socialist left held their ground. In fact, we should have gained a seat in Dublin Bay North and at the expense of Seán Haughey of Fianna Fáil, who before the election had been a twenty-to-one favourite.

Pearse Doherty TD Sinn Féin – A Lifer?

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Full marks to the Socialist Party irritant Mark P for winkling out important information –

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This came to our notice via a Cedar Lounge Revolution discussion :

“Pearse Doherty was unusually up front in expounding SF’s pro-life position on abortion:

Sinn Féin – Senator Pearse Doherty has given a written personal commitment to oppose any legislation that would make abortion available in Ireland and supports a law to protect the human embryo from deliberate destruction”

http://prolifecampaign.ie/?page_id=520

Note also the statement by independent left Thomas Pringle. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by tomasoflatharta

Dec 1, 2010 at 7:20 pm