By the time you read this article, the Lisbon Treaty will likely have been voted upon – either accepted or rejected – and the post-mortem will surely have begun. Though the campaign has now drawn to a close, elements of it have left a sour taste in my mouth. A number of new political lobbying groups such as Cóir and Libertas have come to the fore over the last few weeks, and have made a real impact.
Many of the issues or concerns raised by these groups have grabbed the attention of the electorate, most notably taxation, neutrality, abortion and ‘foreign’ influence. But it is the stance taken by Sinn Féin that has particularly irritated me, mostly because I am still sore about the outcome of the last referendum we held in Ireland in 2004, on citizenship. Sinn Fein’s anti-Lisbon campaign, in my opinion, was politically opportunist and was aimed at satisfying the hard left-wing and conservative right-wing elements that make up their party’s main support base.
The national interest is simply not a priority. Back at the time of the citizenship referendum, which coincided with the local and European elections, Sinn Féin also took a ‘no’ stance, but decided against putting up any posters or making any public comment on the issue. Meanwhile, the Labour Party postered widely and campaigned vigorously against a ‘yes’ vote, unfortunately with little success. It was clear at the time that Sinn Féin’s stance was taken in line with their supposed left-wing ideology, but they refused to publicise their ‘no’ campaign for fear of offending their sizeable conservative right-wing voter base.
Sinn Féin would never make a principled stance on anything that would potentially threaten council or European seats. But this time around, Sinn Féin has found an issue that satisfies both the left and right-wing elements in their party and the country is littered with their posters. Regardless of the eventual outcome of the referendum, what already seems clear to me out of all this is that when it comes to Sinn Féin, political manoeuvring will always take priority over matters of policy and principle.
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin is a primary school principal in the Sheriff Street area of Dublin, a member of the Labour Party, and formerly Dublin’s Deputy Lord Mayor. His column appears every week in Metro Eireann.
