Republican News · Thursday 25 April 2002

Why the establishment parties fear the growth of Sinn Féin

BY SINN FÉIN VICE PRESIDENT PAT DOHERTY MP

With the general election only a matter of weeks away, the real significance of certain events leading up to my own election as MP for West Tyrone in last year's Westminster Election are now fully apparent.

During the election campaign, the people of the constituency witnessed an amazing phenomenon. They saw an endless procession of leading figures from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour, all "weighing in" to lend their support for my SDLP opponent in the nationalist camp, Brid Rodgers. The common denominator that brought these otherwise opposing political foes together on the streets and laneways of West Tyrone was not, I suspect, any great enthusiasm for the SDLP, but an abiding fear that Sinn Féin success in the Six Counties would be replicated in this year's general election in the 26 Counties.

Despite their best efforts and those of a biased media-driven campaign in support of the SDLP candidate (including the publishing of 'wide off the mark' opinion polls) the nationalist electorate of West Tyrone and the Six Counties told the "great and the good" where to go by giving an overwhelming endorsement to Sinn Féin.

With Sinn Féin now the largest nationalist party in the Six Counties and the fastest growing political party in Ireland as a whole, the extent of the level of panic among the establishment parties in the 26 Counties can best be judged by the unprecedented campaign of demonisation now being waged against the party by the political establishment, a campaign enthusiastically facilitated by a mainly compliant and obliging media.

Our political opponents fear Sinn Fein because they know that the growing support among the people of Ireland for the radical alternative we offer will shatter the cosy consensus among the establishment parties that has existed on this island for generations.

In the first instance, they fear that the growth of Sinn Féin will threaten the political culture of clientelism and patronage that is endemic in the body politic of the 26 Counties. Resources are routinely targeted at certain constituencies as political favours to certain TDs in return for continued support for a government party in the Dáil or to help shore up the position of an outgoing government TD in the mouth of an election, instead of being targeted at the people and areas of greatest need. The establishment parties look nervously northwards to communities where Sinn Féin enjoys overwhelming political support and to how Sinn Féin has helped these communities empower themselves to demand an equitable sharing of resources and social justice and equality.

Sinn Féin also threatens the cosy consensus on the constitutional question. While all the main establishment parties profess republican credentials, albeit to varying degrees, they have never shown and still show no sign of proactively pursuing this aim, as its achievement would have far reaching consequences for the narrow political interests of their own parties. Irish unity would almost certainly bring about a realignment in Irish politics, with parties of the left posing a fundamental challenge to the monopoly on power that the right wing establishment parties hold.

Sinn Féin is dedicated to securing Irish unity and our 32-county organisation and policy development shows that we are the only party on this island that has developed a comprehensive strategy geared towards realising this objective. Sinn Féin firmly believes that Irish unity is in the best political, social and economic interests of all the people of this island.

One only has to take a look at the work being carried out in the All-Ireland Ministerial Council and in the cross-border implementation bodies to realise the potential benefits of Irish unity. More and more people are realising that it makes sense to pool and make more efficient use of the resources available on this small island and the need to formulate policy on a national basis for the betterment of all the people on this island. It makes sense in terms of the economy; it makes sense in terms of transport and communications' infrastructure; it makes sense in terms of health provision; it makes sense in terms of education, as it does across the entire ambit of social and economic issues.

The continued pursuance of mutually exclusive economic social policies in the 6 and 26 Counties does not make sense and a unitary political structure is required to take full advantage of the opportunities that exist to transform the fortunes of all the people of this island for the better.

The establishment parties in the 26 counties attempt to counter the logic of Sinn Féin's political analysis with an argument about the incorrectness of trying to bring about Irish unity, because the majority of unionists oppose it. This is a strange argument, given that all of these same parties supposedly support the Good Friday Agreement, which clearly states that the British and Irish governments are obliged to legislate for a united Ireland if 50% plus one of the electorate north and south opts for it. In such a scenario, it is highly likely, if not probable, that the majority of unionists would still oppose unity.

Rather than trying to proactively persuade unionists that they can exert more influence in a United Ireland in which they would represent 20% of the population, and rather than entering into a debate with political unionism about how practical expression can be given to their sense of identity in the context of a united Ireland, the establishment parties in the 26 Counties hide behind a false argument to try to disguise their preference of maintaining the present constitutional status quo.

I am confident that the worst fears of the establishment parties are going to be realised and that the cosy consensus will receive a rude awakening with the election of more Sinn Féin TDs to Leinster House than is presently being forecast by the great and the good.

I have attended Sinn Féin election meetings in constituencies throughout the 26 Counties and have witnessed the same youthful vibrancy and enthusiasm that I saw in the Six counties prior to last year's historical Sinn Féin successes. I believe it's safe to say that last year's forays into West Tyrone by leading lights from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour will be judged, in hindsight, to have been a total waste of time.