This Crisis Shows That Sinn Féin Was Right

From the Irish Times a charge by Mary Lou McDonald that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are striving to lock Sinn Fein out of power while co-opting its policies.

In February we had a general election that produced the most seismic result in the history of the State; shattering the traditional duopoly of the so-called “big two” parties and reshaping the Irish political landscape.

For the first time ever, neither Fianna Fáil nor Fine Gael won the largest share of the popular vote, and for the first time ever the combined forces of political conservatism failed to win a majority of Dáil seats.

Parties that advocated a different vision of how the State might work – in terms of how we provide adequate, affordable housing for our citizens, how our health system functions, how we provide for people’s retirement and how we redistribute wealth – made big gains on the basis of a mandate for real change.

That is what people voted for, and notwithstanding the current crisis brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, the people have cast their verdict and before long the election result must count for something.

The continuation in office of a caretaker government for an indefinite period is neither desirable, practical or constitutionally tenable. More than ever, given the crisis we are in, the country needs a stable government to see us through what is to come and to deliver what people voted for.

Continue reading the Irish Times.