Bertie's Double standards for SF

Chaos-Engine

I was laughing my heart out yesterday when i was watching the RTE election 2002 coverage...
It reported on the fact that Bertie stated that FF would NEVER form a government with Sinn Féin even if they needed the support in a coalition. Bertie said that SF haven't yet proved themselfs to democracy and that FF wouldn't associate with a paramilitary party....

The next RTE report was "Trimble invited to Leinster house to discuss Sinn Féin"... Bertie spent the evening reassuring David Trimble that SF are commited to the peace process and that current IRA decommissioning proves that to be so. Bertie also stated his believe to Trimble that the SF members in Columbia probably weren't ordered to attend by the IRA....

Now come on.... Talk about double standards... If Trimble only knew. ANy one want to tell him. I would love to see Bertie been hung out to dry

Elmo

Does Trimble not watch RTE news? (He like to be in the know about what the Republican, monocultural, patetic (wont be said in speach, remember do not say this in the speach, no one reads speach give by politicans you can get away with everything else bad you have to say about the republic but not that dont say it) bog people)

Yes i have to agree, i think all parties should be given the chance to be in government if they are elected officals.

I suppose SF will get into talks with FG now, ha ha ha aha haha haa ha, just fell off my chair.

SF will vote for FF no matter what anyway, I wouldn't worry about SF bertie, your their only man.

Bateman

>>>>>SF will vote for FF no matter what anyway, I wouldn't worry about SF bertie, your their only man

Or maybe the other way around?! If FF have top form a coalition with SF they will.

swiss

I suppose SF will get into talks with FG now, ha ha ha aha haha haa ha, just fell off my chair.

*snigger*

Why should FF tell Trimble to trust SF when they clearly do not themselves? Well, the answer as I see it is that SF are a far more important political force up in the North than they are in the Republic of Ireland. This means that the political destabilisation up in the north would be severe should they be ousted from the power sharing Executive.

The same cannot be said of the south. Down here, SF is not "defending" us against any threat of the "brits". They are a fringe party, which have something like 4-5% national support. They like to go around beating up criminals to garner popular support, undermining our justice and police system, and pointing to their reckless actions as proof that they are a party willing to rock the establishment.

Originally posted by Bateman:

If FF have top form a coalition with SF they will.

Under what conditions do FF have to form a coalition with anyone? I would like to think that should a situation ever arise where SF hold the balance of power in the Dáil neither FF or FG would be willing to coalesce with them, even if it means the prospect of letting the opposition into power.

[edit]The censor didn't like my snigger [/edit]

Bateman

Why should FF tell Trimble to trust SF when they clearly do not themselves

Maybe for the good of the peace process. I think people in the 26 counties are underestimating the support SF has as a àrty of change. I know this sounds corny, and although they are probably being a bit over-confident, they are going to make substantial gains, I don't think people can deny that.

Elmo

No one would actully say that FG and Noonan would not trust SF in government because that just taken for granted that FG and FF and SF would never go into government with each other.

If any party was to hold the blance of power in the next dail, they should be consulted about the next dail that is democracy.

It is not very democratic when people go around saying any thing other then this.

The next government no matter who the are will not go into government with SF no party then in the republic needs to head up to the north and tell Trimble that he should trust them, until they do.

Twomey

The funny part is the flip flops SF has done themselves over their role in Coalition - wasn't so long ago that they would have never ever sat in Coalition, now they have somehow mangaged to turn the debate around not from whether they would or not (of course they would) but whether the government would sit with them and how undemocratic it is of the government (which they used to not even recognise) to not want to sit with them. Such revolutionaires they are!

Some of you may like this article: Bertie Talking Bollix

Well,
I think the reason for the different attitudes towards SF in ROI and SF in NI for Bertie is that , here in the 26 counties, the most likely seat that a SF candidate would take would be a Fianna fáil one.
It would be better if attacks on any party were on their policies and not on anything else.
Bertie would be better off taking issue with any of Sinn Féin's policies that he doesn't agree with . It would be better from a tactical point of view not to be over playing the Private army thing, as I see it, as it is very counterproductive up north.
mm

hallelujahjorda

Doesn't anyone see the vast divide between the politics of SF and FF. SF are now the most far left party in Ireland. . . if you read and compare the SF manifesto with the FF one, you'd see that regardless of the situation in the North, or of Berties unwillingness to go into government with them . . these two parties could never maintain a stable coalition.

For instance, SF would like to eliminate grants to companies who don't recognise trade unions . . . . the current government prides itself on a successful economy, brought about by attracting massive foreign investment . . .who wants to tell Intel that if they don't recognise trade unions they can pack their bags:(

Elmo

They dont have to pack their bags they just wont receive money if they dont recognise the trade unions.

sceptre

Originally posted by hallelujahjorda
. . . if you read and compare the SF manifesto with the FF one, you'd see that regardless of the situation in the North, or of Berties unwillingness to go into government with them . . these two parties could never maintain a stable coalition.

Hah - I've been saying this for quite some time now. A proper stable coalition between FF and SF can't happen. Think Charlie McCreevy's economic advisers are going to hop into bed with marxists?

Having said that, it's only 20 years since FF were propped up by the Workers Party - who were members of SF until 10 minutes before

Aspro

Hah - I've been saying this for quite some time now. A proper stable coalition between FF and SF can't happen. Think Charlie McCreevy's economic advisers are going to hop into bed with marxists?

Sinn Fein are not Marxists. They are a right-wing populist party who use left wing rhetoric to maintain their working class base in the North and to build their party in the Republic. Marxism isn't about what you say - it's about what you do.
In positions of authority i.e. in the assembly and on local councils (and in their financing of the party) Sinn Fein have proven that they are no different to the establishment parties - not opposing hospital closures (unless it's in a nationalist area), going against the workers in industrial disputes (term-time workers dispute) and their appeasement of Irish-American big business to raise money (most donations received by an Irish political party).

Their quest is for power and for an unattainable concept of a united Ireland. In practice they have long ago done away with any semblance of socialism in their politics.

That's why they now have no problem with the idea of coalition with the big parties.

hallelujahjorda

And if we stop giving grants to all of these foreign investors who don't recognise trade unions we'll slowly see a drop in foreign investment, and a proportionate rise in unemployment . . .

Aspro

And when they decide they can make bigger profits with a cheaper labour force they'll move out anyway causing all the recent unemployment we've seen. Overdependence on foreign investment is a haphazard strategy that leaves us at the mercy of the market.

More job losses

Overdependence on multinationals