We are fast approaching the next Irish general election. Down in the polls at the moment, Kenny is determined to become the first ever Fine Gael leader in Irish history to win two consecutive terms in office. This will go nicely with his claim to have led the party to its biggest ever victory at the last election (in seat count anyway).
Often living in Northern Ireland we forget that we are not really a big issue in Southern politics (A point echoed by Micheal Martin in 2012). Few voters will make their choice on how the government is handling the Northern Ireland file.
Where we do appear to come in handy is for some jousting between parties in an effort to gain some ground before the election is held and this weekend is prime evidence of this.
Last night Taoiseach, Enda Kenny (who with David Cameron has to help solve our current problems) took aim at Sinn Fein last night. Reporting in The Journal.ie, Ronan Duffy highlights the key part of Kenny’s remarks;
21 years after the IRA ceasefire and 10 years after the decommissioning and the IRA announcement of cessation of paramilitary activity, it is past time that it should carry any capacity for threat…It is the responsibility of Sinn Féin, and in particular its leadership, to address these issues and to help restore the trust that has been lost.
Sinn Fein responded first with a tweet from Martin McGuinness;
Predictable unfair anti Sinn Fein speech from the Taoiseach in England.David Cameron phoned me on Thursday,still waiting for call from T.!!!
— Martin McGuinness (@M_McGuinness_SF) September 5, 2015
Then with a statement from Gerry Adams;
Enda Kenny’s latest attack on Sinn Féin represents another failure of political leadership by the Taoiseach.
Question for the comments section, has Enda made the calculation that it’s more important to take out Sinn Fein then attempt to save devolution? Or is he just telling it like it is?
Answers on a post card…..
David McCann holds a PhD in North-South relations from University of Ulster. You can follow him on twitter @dmcbfs
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