According to Dr Eoin O’Malley, Sinn Fein’s voter base in the Republic tends to be more right wing than the party’s leftist agenda would suggest. The conclusions are drawn from an examination of the National Election Study Data, by the ESRI. It’s already been subject to a lengthy discussion at Politics.ie.Fionnan Sheahan in the Independent:
It is a radical nationalist and populist party but is “at odds with its supporters except on the national question”, the lecturer from the School of Law and Government at DCU says. “The more likely you are to vote for Sinn Fein, the more intolerant you are,” he said.
The paper, ‘Ultra-nationalists: Sinn Fein and redefining the extreme right’, will be delivered at the Political Studies Association conference in UCC this weekend.
The party’s militaristic patriotism, its rigorous targeting of marginalised constituencies and a populist approach to electoral politics may be some of the contributory factors for this finding. there in Cork when
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
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