Seismic Cracks

national | politics / elections | opinion/analysis Tuesday August 09, 2005 17:05 by Sean Crudden - impero sean at impero dot iol dot ie Jenkinstown, Dundalk, Co Louth. 087 9739945

What is the Prevailing Political Ideal?

Is the prevailing Irish political philosophy today a community and christian one or is it right wing and anti-national?

"Increasing wealth for many has been accompanied by greater divisions and tensions in society."

Building Faith in Young People - a message from the Catholic Bishops of Ireland to mark the 20th World Youth Day event Cologne, Germany, 16 - 21 August 2005

"The experience of being bullied is widespread. This can happen on the basis of race, disability, gender, sexual orientation or social class."

Ibid.

The recent programs on RTE 1 about Charlie Haughey told us as much about the seams and divisions in Fianna Fáil as it did about the career, in politics, of Haughey himself. The image that persists, for me, is that of the old conservative "elite" or "aristocracy" in Fianna Fáil in parallel with the new elite typified by the emergent Progressive Democrats. Charlie Haughey, a meritocrat (like Bertie Ahern), was anathema to them all.

It seemed to me (not knowing much about it) that the divisions in Fianna Fáil had diminished and abated under the leadership of Bertie Ahern which was generally classless (like his cabinets were - in a different sense).

However the aether and the media generally are bristling these days with more than subliminal evidence of tensions in the Irish political arena. Some of these tensions have their origin in the geo-political sphere e.g. differing interpretations of the Bush/Blair axis. Others are more domestic e.g. political rivalry with Sinn Féin or disapproval of the emergent "indie" left.

I think that there may be alternative views within FF and The Labour Party but The Progressive Democrats are (almost) entirely on the right of these divisions. And everyone knows the history and traditions of Fine Gael.

It would not surprise me if seismic cracks begin to appear in the political landscape and rather speedily. The public could be asked to adjudicate on basic political direction in the dead of winter in a bitter, cold and confused general election.

For example Senator John Minahan is quoted in this morning’s Irish Times as saying about The Colombia Three that if they did not give themselves up they should be "arrested immediately." Is he just ultra vires and engaging in a little bit of barracking? Or is he a bully?