IRELAND: A NEW OPPORTUNITY? – YouTube
Crushed for centuries as Britain’s oldest colony, with a section of its territory still partially occupied, Ireland today is undergoing a rapid transformation.
In the Irish republic, power is slipping away from the previously dominant Catholic hierarchy and the traditional rival capitalist parties, with support for Sinn Fein, previously the political voice of the IRA, shooting up from 24% to 36% – almost as much as the two traditional ruling parties combined. Even in the previously Protestant-ruled northern enclave, Sinn Fein has now emerged as the largest party in Stormont at recent elections for the Northern Ireland assembly.
Sinn Fein describes itself as “an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland”. But as a partner in the power-sharing coalition in the north, Sinn Fein was quite content to inflict vicious Tory cuts along with the ultra-right Paisleyite Democratic Unionists. Now Sinn Fein is likely to be the major force in the next coalition government in Dublin. Will it pose any real challenge to the rampant corruption and profiteering of the ruling class? How radical will it really be?
We welcome the opportunity to gain a clear insight from the lifelong trade union activist and socialist campaigner
Jimmy Kelly