Sinn Féin, as the main promoter of the ‘No’ vote in the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, finds itself in the extraordinary position of being able to save not just Ireland but the entire European Union from the dangers of further integration if the ‘No’ vote triumphs. If rejected in Ireland the entire treaty will have to be trashed unless Fianna Fáil finds some ingenious and underhand way to implement it. Thus a party that was not so long ago a political pariah finds itself wielding extraordinary influence. It is a peculiar feature of Irish politics that a left wing party should take the role of opposing Europe, and a reminder of the inadequacy of both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael as successors to the great republican and nationalist parties of the past. In an ironic parallel another Irish party finds itself saving Gordon Brown’s government and thus holding the levers of power at Westminster; the DUPs nine MPs who swung the vote on 42 day detention in the Government’s favour. This has been a week for the Irish to flex their political muscles to decide the fates of others…
2 Comments
June 17, 2008 at 8:58 am
I cannot agree with the proposition that it is “peculiar” for a party of the left to be anti-European.
The EU is certainly opposed by the extreme right across Europe (and also by a small number of more mainstream right-wing parties like the British Conservatives). This is either for nationalistic reasons or through commitment to neoliberal economic doctrine. But the EU is also opposed by parties of the left who worry about its commitment to (moderate) capitalism, its ability to stop member states from pursuing full-bloodedly socialist policies, and its potential to become a military bloc.
As recently as the 1980s, the (then very left-wing – eheu fugaces!) Labour Party was avowedly anti-European, as were the likes of Tony Benn in the 1975 referendum. Today, look at Die Linke in Germany, the British Green Party, and the parts of the left that voted No in France in 2005.
Personally, I tend to think that any institution that simultaneously manages to annoy Tony Benn, Norman Tebbit and Jean-Marie Le Pen can’t be all bad.
June 18, 2008 at 11:15 pm
All mainstream political parties have a basket of policies. On single issues of Yes and No its inevitable that there will be a strange coalition on each side.
Certainly yesterdays Irish Times reported the glee of the Daily Telegraphs man in Brussels, “mischievously” suggesting Ireland could re-apply to join the Commonwealth. Indeed An Taoiseach Cowan referred specifically to M Le Pens happiness at the result.
While Sinn Féin itself might want to portray itself as the leading opponent of the YES vote, I think it more likely the result was achieved in spite of SF rather than because of them.
The NO vote was based on a curious mixture of reasons. Neutrality, fear of increased integration, possibly an anti immigration element, abortion (a red herring) or leaving God out of the Treaty or a reaction against MEP expenses and/or the corruption scandals dogging Dublin.
It is the expressed wish of the Irish people and rather than dismiss it as a fraction of Europes population holding up progress should be seen in the context of the only democratic expressed view on Lisbon.
No doubt the Euro elite will want an early second vote. A merchant banker on RTEs Question and Answers (Monday last) suggested holding a gun to the head of Irelands voters…a particuarly callous remark evoking Lloyd George. Oddly another vote because nobody in power liked the first vote is exactly the same thing Europe found so reprehensible about Mugabes Zimbabwe.
The likelihood is that the Irish government and the staffers in Brussels will be apologising for the democratic expression of the Irish voters. But they must represent it HONESTLY.
The next stage for the NO campaign will be to energise their European neighbours in Britain, Ceska and the rest to mobilise so that Ireland is not perceived as isolated.
The DUP alliance with Gordon Brown is also in a sense a silent victory for Sinn Féin. The economic package probably to alleviate water charges benefits all and gets SF off a hook without actually trading anything.
More critical would be any delay agreed on Policing between Brown and DUP..