Sinn Féin in 2017
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Sinn Féin in 2017 Seamus O’Kane Appearing in these pages this time toxic reputation of Gerry Adams in the three years ago was Kieran Allen’s arti- eyes of a Southern electorate, his poor cle, ‘The Politics of Sinn Féin: Rhetoric performance in leaders’ debates, and an and Reality’1 which provided a clear anal- establishment media opposed to anything ysis of a party whose radical image did to the left of Thatcher (nevermind any- not match their actions. Merely updat- thing republican). ing this article would not be particularly The Assembly election in the North useful as it remains relevant. Indeed, if but a few months later saw a continuation one requires a broad overview of the party of what commentator Chris Donnelly had from a socialist perspective, one would be been describing as ‘nationalist malaise’3 advised to re-read it. It is worth noting, characterised by falling voter turnout and however, the significant gains made by a decline in support for nationalist parties the party since then, both in the North as their traditional support base switched and in the South. off from politics, changed their alle- The 2016 General Election saw Sinn giances, or became outright disillusioned. Féin return to the Dáil with 23 seats, at- Sinn Féin’s drop in support resulted in tracting many of the voters who had been the loss of four incumbents, and a net betrayed by the Labour Party and were loss of one MLA. One of these losses was politicised by the water charges struggle. due to a bizarre decision in Fermanagh This led to them overtaking Labour to be- and South Tyrone to run four candi- come the third largest party for the first dates where only three Sinn Féin seats time since Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin became existed, leading to the loss of incumbent the first Sinn Féin TD to take a Dáil seat Phil Flanagan. A more significant battle in 1997 after the party abandoned absten- took place in Foyle (Derry) where incum- tionism. Whilst this was a vast improve- bent Maeve McLoughlin lost out as an ment on their previous 14 seats, the party expected seat gain from an increasingly- performed below some expectations. All irrelevant SDLP went instead to People of the polls predicted a higher percent- Before Profit’s Eamonn McCann. Ar- age of Sinn Féin voters and a Red C poll guably, the biggest blow of the election even predicted them overtaking Fianna was in Sinn Féin’s heartland of West Fáil just a couple of weeks before the elec- Belfast where incumbent Rosie McCorley tion.2 Optimism in Donegal saw a crucial lost out to People Before Profit’s Gerry error in vote management as three Sinn Carroll. Carroll topped the poll with Féin candidates contested a constituency 8299 votes (22.9% of the vote), an expres- where only two Sinn Féin quotas existed. sion of discontent from an electorate who Two sitting TDs became one TD as in- had watched Sinn Féin sign the Stormont cumbent Pádraig Mac Lochlainn lost his House and Fresh Start Agreements which seat. Sinn Féin’s difficulties here were the committed to gutting the public sector 1Kieran Allen ‘The Politics of Sinn Féin: Rhetoric and Reality’ Irish Marxist Review Vol I, No. 11 2014, pp. 4-15 2Red C General Election Opinion Poll 13 February 2016 3Chris Donnelly ‘Nationalist Malaise: Facing the Facts’ Slugger O’Toole sluggerotoole.com/ 2015/05/10/nationalist-malaise-facing-the-facts/ 28 and accepting Tory welfare ‘reform’. the North’s 18 seats, their highest ever. They also took Foyle for the first time, Less than a year later, the RHI scan- previously an SDLP stronghold. dal triggered the resignation of a visibly- Now that I have outlined the recent ill Martin McGuinness as Sinn Féin’s mis- gains made by Sinn Féin, it is worth look- placed efforts to reconcile with an arro- ing at the issues which are most burn- gant and unrepentant DUP were rejected ing in the public consciousness in relation by the party’s grassroots. A scandal re- to the party. Reproductive rights have volving around the misuse of public funds become an unavoidable issue due to the and alleged corruption fell back into fa- mass movement in the South (and a grow- miliar territory as outright hostility from ing movement in the North). Coalitions Arlene Foster, particularly towards Irish are also on everyone’s mind as the Sinn speakers, made this another Orange and Féin leadership refuse to rule out a part- Green election. Sinn Féin’s promise of nership with Fianna Fáil. The National ‘no return to the status quo’ and its com- Question has also gained particular perti- mitment to ‘respect’, ‘equality’ and ‘in- nence after the UK’s EU referendum and tegrity’ won voters, including those pre- the loss of a Unionist majority in the As- viously dormant, to their side. Stormont sembly. reform for this election included a reduc- tion in seats from six per constituency to five. The increase in turnout of nearly Reproductive Rights ten percentage points4 disproportionately The Repeal movement in the South of Ire- benefited Sinn Féin and the casualties land appears, on paper, to have the broad from this seat reduction fell heavily on the support of Sinn Féin. They campaigned Unionist side. Sinn Féin lost a single seat in 1983 against the Eighth Amendment and the Assembly Election 2017 returned being inserted into the Constitution as with a Unionist minority for the first time it was too complex an issue to be en- in the history of the northern state. This shrined there. Their party policy now means that Sinn Féin now have 27 seats seeks to Repeal that amendment thirty- to the DUP’s 28, the closest they have four years later. The progressiveness of ever been to being the largest party and their stance and efforts to be identified taking the First Minister position. with the largest mass movement since the A Westminster election was called a water charges struggle are undermined by few months later as Theresa May strug- their ‘Repeal and Enact’ position which gled with a divided parliamentary party seeks to restrict abortions to the excep- in the wake of June 2016’s ‘Brexit’ EU tional circumstances of rape, incest and referendum. In the North of Ireland, this fatal foetal abnormalities.5 election was a polarising one with voters Sinn Féin have not always had this in their droves going to Sinn Féin and the position. It is not widely-known that DUP as the First Past the Post electoral Sinn Féin had a pro-choice stance in their system encouraged tactical voting. Both party’s constitution for one year. At their the UUP and SDLP were obliterated, los- 1985 Ard Fheis a motion passed which ing every single seat. Sinn Féin won 7 of read ‘women have the right to choose’. 4‘DUP largest party in NI Assembly but Sinn Féin make large gains’ BBC News bbc.com/news/ election-northern-ireland-2017-39147988 5Louise O’Reilly TD ‘Repeal and Enact the only option - Sinn Féin’ Sinn Féin sinnfein.ie/ contents/44316 29 However, as Maillot details in her book, to vote for the Protection of Life Dur- the Ard Comhairle voted against it as ing Pregnancy Act (2013) which allows a group and the passing of the motion for abortion where there is risk to the life was attributed to the vote taking place of a pregnant woman. After abstaining at the end of the conference when a num- on Clare Daly’s bill to allow for abortion ber of delegates, including some from ru- in cases of fatal foetal abnormalities in ral areas, had already departed. The 2015, they changed their policy to allow following year was the 1986 Ard Fheis, for abortion in exceptional circumstances historic for other reasons in republican including fatal foetal abnormalities but history, and the stance was amended to also rape and incest. They also made the read ‘we are opposed to the attitudes and decision to publicly campaign to Repeal forces in society that compel women to the Eighth Amendment. have abortions. We are opposed to abor- Sinn Féin representatives are now to tion as a means of birth control’. Even be seen sporting the Repeal jumpers to some of those who had advocated for the demonstrate their progressiveness. Per- pro-choice stance followed the consensus haps not Gerry Adams, but certainly that a pro-choice stance was divisive and Niall Ó Donnghaile, Lynn Boylan, and therefore damaging to the overall struggle Eoin Ó Broin are happy to link them- for national liberation. One such delegate selves to the Repeal movement. However, commented, ‘If it damages our struggle, despite Sinn Féin’s famous party disci- then it will have to wait’.6 The priorities pline, there remains division on this is- were clear: not quite De Valera’s ‘labour sue within the party. Peadar Toibín is must wait’ but rather ‘women must wait’. perhaps the most prominent anti-choice Tommy McKearney noted in 2011 member of Sinn Féin after being sus- that Sinn Féin practised a ‘populist pol- pended from the party for six months af- icy in regard to many issues’ which was ter voting against his party on the Pro- ‘typified’ by their stance on abortion as tection of Life During Pregnancy bill. the party ‘regularly assured the handful He also attends events such as the Rally of feminists in its ranks that it supported for Life. Even one of their members on a woman’s right to choose but ensured the Oireachtas committee considering the that no such policy would ever appear Eighth Amendment, Jonathan O’Brien, on its election manifestos’.7 The abor- has publicly stated that he himself is tion rights movement has moved on sig- not in favour of Repeal.9 He assures us nificantly since 2011 and while Sinn Féin that his personal beliefs will not affect have tried to maintain some ambiguity, his political decisions (indeed, he did not they have been forced to take a stance defy the Sinn Féin whip like his colleague publicly.