Sinn Féin's decision to not contest presidential election is a weak move
by Dr. Richard Martin
The decision of Sinn Féin not to contest the presidential election in order to support independent candidate Catherine Connolly is a weak move.
They are part of the establishment and refusing to field a candidate is indecisive.
By not having the courage to take part in the presidential race, one wonders do they have the courage to lead the next government?
When I look at SF (and the other parties), I don’t see too many personalities. People want to connect with their politicians. The craic. The divilment.
Is there a person behind the mask? Everything feels rehearsed and orchestrated. It doesn’t feel natural or spontaneous.
It’s fear. In the social media age, there’s camera phones everywhere. Politicians are consumed with paranoia. If I say this. If I do this. It’s all over social media and my career is destroyed.
North of the border, the SF heavyweights like Gerry Kelly have a charm and media savvy that is lacking within the southern SF political set. He will say what’s on his mind.
Of course, RCW and Mairead Farrell possess those abilities but most of their colleagues do very little to inspire.
When Irish politicians across all party divides speak in political jargon and do their level best not to get ‘caught out’, the electorate then wonders – well then, what is it that they’re trying to hide?
Being evasive and shifty allows populist candidates to emerge and gain currency.
What made Donald Trump the American President? He just said what was on his mind. No filter. He tapped into the silent fury across the American Midwest. There was no polish or finesse.
A vote for Trump is a vote against Washington.
A vote for Trump is a protest vote. A vote for Trump is a vote against big pharma.
The MAGA vote is anti-establishment. He became the voice of American rage. The political establishment had lost touch.
In the lead up to the 2016 presidential election he was challenged about comments he made about women in a debate.
The host, Megyn Kelly, moderated the debate and her first comment was: “Mr. Trump, one of the things people love about you is that you speak your mind and you don’t use a politician’s filter.
“However, that is not without its downsides. In particular, when it comes to women. You’ve called women you don’t like fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals.”
The audience laughed as she delivered the question. He smirked and cut her short with the retort: “Only Rosie O’Donnell”. The place erupted. Being crude, rude, brash and offensive became his signature move. Working class America were sold.
Where Obama was careful, politic and intelligent, Trump was the polar opposite.
Of course, it’s alright putting Trump in the White House, but it’s clearly obvious that he’s totally out of his depth.
For starters, he doesn’t possess the intellectual ability nor the emotional temperament for the job. Nixon, Clinton and company were cut from a different cloth.
The inevitable outcome is that he will destroy his own country. All things must pass and all empires must face the setting sun.
The world order will change. China are the coming power. It was confirmed by US intelligence agencies (CIA, FBI, NSA) in a joint assessment that the Russians interfered in the 2016 election and helped Trump win. Their report stated that Russia interfered to ‘undermine public faith in the US democratic process’.
The Russians backed Trump to damage America. The collapse of the Soviet Union still wounds Putin. He was a KGB agent stationed in East Germany at the time of the collapse. It was in his eyes the ‘greatest geopolitical catastrophe’ of the 20th century.
It’s revenge. Putin is motivated by revenge and restoring Russia as the dominant world power.
The Russians lost 20 million people in WW2. They sacrificed everything in defeating Nazi Germany. Interfering in the American elections, putting Trump in the White House, Brexit, the Ukrainian invasion, the drones over Poland and all the future Russian intrigues are all part of one overarching policy. Western destabilisation.
The maxim of dividing your enemies is apt. The USA is in a state of turmoil, where a split in the union is not completely inconceivable. Under Trump it has become protectionist and unfriendly towards its western allies. Britain is no longer part of the EU.
The surge in Ukrainian refugees has created unrest in EU member states. The equivalent of the city of Limerick arrived in Ireland after the Russian invasion in 2022 and that’s excluding IPAS refugees. And all of this happened in the middle of an existential and rental crisis. Currently, 20% of children in this state live below the poverty line. That’s not acceptable.
We can put our heads in the sand and look at videos of Trump and laugh, but it’s not a joke. It affects us. Russian aggression and war is destabilising all of western civilisation, including our own island.
Fringe far right populist candidates and actors have gained prominence in this country in the past few years as a result. They offer nothing only racism and conspiracy theories. Antivaxx. Fluoride is another a big one.
Slowly and deliberately, western democracy is being unravelled. Our politicians lives are being threatened. Along with their families. Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold. Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world. The world is changing. The certainty of world peace post WW2 is no longer so certain.
If Russia invades Poland what do the EU and NATO do then?
Some people say the presidential election isn’t important. It is. All elections are important. Complacency has allowed the Russian threat to grow.
We should never allow what has happened in other countries happen here. Respect the contest and fight the contest to the bitter end.
Our president is there to represent us on the world stage and the last thing a proud nation like Ireland needs is a circus act like Trump in the Áras or the Dáil.
Jim Gavin is the man.