Alex Christoforou
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
The Duran’s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss the stunning election results in Ireland, where Sinn Fein shocked the EU globalist order with a big win and a promise to deliver social change and economic hope.
Positioning itself as a left, nationalist party, with an international vision and a eurosketpic core, Sinn Fein is a party like no other in Europe, and is sending a message to Brussels, that the neoliberal days of dominance are over.
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Another nail in globalist coffin? Sinn Fein scores big win in Ireland by The Duran
The Duran Quick Take: Episode 465. The Duran’s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss the stunning election results in Ireland, where Sinn Fein shocked the EU globalist order with a big win and a promise to deliver social change and economic hope.
Amid the storm that lashed Ireland and Britain yesterday came political winds of change with the potential to transform both countries: Sinn Fein’s record-breaking election results.
Seasoned commentators ran out of clichés as the story unfolded from counts across the country: spectacular, unprecedented, unbelievable, unimaginable, incredible. Their surprise was echoed by the shocked spokespeople for the two parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, which have dominated Irish politics since it gained independence from Britain a century ago.
Those parties, founded out of the bitter and bloody split in the civil war of 1922-23, were forced into an uncomfortable alliance following the outcome of the 2016 general election. Their pact exposed them to the Irish electorate as two sides of the same coin. There was no discernible difference in their economic views, enabling Sinn Fein’s portrayal of them as Tweedledum and Tweedledee to catch the public imagination – particularly the young.
Not that the youth was alone in wondering why their government had done so little to deal with a housing crisis that was starkly obvious from the beggars and rough sleepers lining the streets of Ireland’s major towns and cities. Similarly, why was there no clear policy to redress the distressing state of the health service?
While the Fine Gael taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, and his deputy, Simon Coveney, spent months concentrating on Brexit negotiations, they appeared to neglect pressing domestic dramas.
Meanwhile, Fianna Fail’s leader Micheál Martin, having locked his party into a confidence and supply agreement with Fine Gael, was little more than a political hostage – and as a result, virtually vanished from the public stage.
Even so, after swapping power for the best part of 90 years, there was a complacency about the parties’ approach to the election. Each imagined that they could uncouple their entente uncordiale and then fight the election as if years of stagnant politics had never happened. They hoped voters wouldn’t notice.
As for Sinn Fein, it would be no problem. All that was necessary was to employ a tactic that has worked successfully in the past: keep reminding people of its links to the IRA. Sure, the peace process stretches back more than 20 years, but raising incidents from the Troubles would be guaranteed to trip up its leader, Mary Lou McDonald. But as the polls illustrated, the young were unworried about Sinn Fein’s past misdeeds. The bombs and bullets were in the past; the ballot box was the present.
Young Irish people wanted change, and their best hope of achieving it lay with Sinn Fein. They were impressed with its housing and health policies. More than that, they were happy to embrace its overtly leftist politics. Tax us, as long as you put the money to good use.
Suddenly, there was a viable alternative to the party that had appeared to side with the banks and speculators which precipitated the death of the Celtic Tiger (Fine Gael), and the party that had historically represented the rural petit-bourgeoisie (Fianna Fail). McDonald made her position clear by calling on the leaders of other left-wing parties to form a broad left coalition.
There is no doubt that McDonald’s own performance over the years, and most definitely throughout the election campaign, made a difference. She is an accomplished speaker; an orator in the tradition of Irish political leaders of centuries past. But she would be the first to point to the political skills of her senior colleagues, such as Pearse Doherty, Eoin O Broin and Louise O’Reilly.
It was also noticeable that Sinn Fein’s leader in Northern Ireland, Michelle O’Neill, attended counting centres. It was a very public reminder of the party’s central raison d’être: to reunite Ireland. By topping the poll in the Republic and already sharing power in the north, Sinn Fein’s ambition is to start the conversation that could lead to referenda on each side of the border.
That’s why this Irish election has a British dimension. Boris Johnson’s fudging of Brexit’s implications for the Irish border has opened the door to debate about the ramifications for Unionist-controlled business in the north. McDonald knows that it could tip moderate Unionist opinion towards acceptance of reunification.
However, one of the greatest stumbling blocks to winning a border poll among both Unionists and nationalists is concern about the state of the Republic’s health service, and a parallel fear of losing access to the NHS. There is no surety yet that Sinn Féin will win sufficient power in Dublin to effect real and lasting chance to health care. But that’s the challenge McDonald and her team face once the electoral euphoria passes.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
If now Ireland stops being a tax haven for the imperial corporate rich,
than we will know that Ireland is truly free.
Always great analysis from Alexander Mercouris.
Now we know Facebook controls Ireland.
Why not come out and say that Russia is behind Sinn Fein’s success? : it makes as much sense, and some have been hinting at it.
Just to note a few things. What the IRA was and IRA is are very different. Within the last 24 hours of typing this Sinn Feinn MLA’s Michelle O’Neill and Gerry Kelly were give death threats by disident republicans. If this is as reported there is no loyalty between what has passed and what we have now. Secondly Sinn Feinn are as two faced as any party and aren’t as loyal to old battle cries. Granted it may show a progressive view and I’m all for that, but given their views on the likes of abortion, something that has rankled… Read more »
I’ll try to explain how I view things politically, maybe you can find something you can use in this. First off, there shouldn’t be any doubt in anyone’s mind that we have been living, since the Reagan/Thatcher era, in a society that has slowly and progressively been eroding the power of the nation state in favour of a one world corporate ruled power structure. This is a fact, the only way you cannot be aware of this is if you deliberately ignore the evidence. This is the most direct threat to our collective rights as human beings to self-determination, and… Read more »
Beware the paradigms and their shift. You make a good argument, but there are serious holes in it. I don’t agree with nations and nationalities per se, but agree a prescribed living space for like minded individuals is preferable if largely for administrative and logistical (read defensive) reasons. The problem is that the globalist are following something very reminiscent of the Nazi (go away Godwin) doctrine of differing classes within an otherwise homogeneous nation. To follow the existing nation paradigm risks a swing to a greater ethno argument in support of globalism or worse another world war (again an excuse… Read more »
As a Canadian, I absolutely reject the false argument that national sovereignty is an inherently ethnocentric concept. There is simply no inherent connection between the two and the community I view myself as part of is the living example of that. In fact, the concept of ethnic diversity is central to what it is to be Canadian. FWIW, I am of Scottish ethnicity, my Grandfather came here in the 1920s’ my wife is Vietnamese and came here in the 1990’s, my immediate social circle is made up of ethnicities of Scottish, British, Vietnamese, French, Taiwanese, Chinese, Pakistani, Saudi, Iraqi and… Read more »
One other thing I will mention, the party that I voted for in the last election was painted by the largely American controlled, mainstream neo-liberal, globalist media as “racist” on the basis that they spoke openly about “national sovereignty”. I contacted the guy that was running as their MP in my riding, and he actually agreed to come by my place and talk to me. He showed up at my door with two friends of his, and we started talking, about globalism, national sovereignty, covert US interference in the Inter-mountain pipeline, NAFTA, freedom of speech, and what it is to… Read more »
As I said, beware the paradigm. I agree with what you’re saying, but many aren’t as bright nor is their view without merit. The fact many will define things along arbitrary lines is partly why we have nations at all and equally the conflicts we do. Look at the Kurds and many African conflicts. The Kurds, ethnically, share a lot in common with the those in Syria, Iran, et al, but culturally identify as something unique. Similarly many Africans share the same ethic roots as their neighbours but aren’t the same people. Final example is Ireland. I don’t need to… Read more »
the point I am trying to make is you do not have to be “culturally homogenous” to be proud of your nation, the opposite can be true, not being a homogenous society can be a vital part of your national identify and a source of national pride. Nationalism does not have to be tribalism, in fact, its easier for tribalism to exist outside a nationalist paradigm, and neo-liberalism pushes tribalism VERY hard. They actively encourage boundaries between groups, and splintering “identity groups” into ever smaller and more antagonistic factions, at the same time as encouraging a culture wide sociopathic mindset.… Read more »
One thing I have noticed, is a hardening of boundaries between groups based on gender identity and sexual orientation. This is being engineered by neo-liberalism. But between ethnic communities, the boundaries are virtually non-existent, and easily breached by even the most banal of friendly interaction. I find it is actually easier to foster meaningful interaction with strangers outside my ethnicity than with those within. A large part of this is probably due to Canada’s “merit based” immigration policy, so most of the people I am dealing with are well educated in their home countries, but even the refugees I have… Read more »
Look back through history, there have always been nations and cities that were at cultural crossroads, these places have always been the richest, both in terms of trade, intellectual exchange, and the fostering of the arts and sciences. And they didn’t do it by subverting their national identity, but by embracing cultural multiplicity as PART of that identity. This is not a new concept, in fact it is as old as the history of civilization. I would not live anywhere else but western Canada, and the multi-culturalism here is a central reason why. How we get people to shift from… Read more »
Cudwieser, if you are still checking in here, Matthew Ehret has done a piece with dovetails perfectly with what I have said in the post immediately above this one.
https://theduran.mystagingwebsite.com/the-forgotten-judeo-muslim-christian-alliance-and-chinas-silk-road/
saw that;, but still need to read it. I’m just in from saving the world, so a bit tired but I’ll get on it 🙂
We’ve had a government in Ireland that not only refused to collect €13 billion in taxes owed to it by Apple, but has actually taken legal action in Europe NOT TO COLLECT it. You couldn’t make it up. This is the kind of anti people, pro corporation government we have been inflicted with here for the last four years.
VERY INFORMATIVE THANKS FELLAS FOR OPEINING UP THE WORLD OUTSIDE THE US.
Yes, I agree. The videos with analysis by Alexander Mercouris and Alex Christoforou are excellent, one of a kind.