Northern Ireland politics in action

[waider]

Roundtable discussion on TV featuring a member of the DUP (militant unionists; the proponents of that old slogan, "Ulster Says No") and Gerry Adams, Sinn Féin (staunch republican, but drifting towards moderation).

The DUP guy goes off on a big speech about how they're not going to deal with Sinn Féin on account of Sinn Féin not being a democratic party - ties to the IRA and all that. The DUP's leader has, in fact, said that if his party members talk to Sinn Féin they'll be kicked out of the party.

Gerry Adams, on hearing this, perks up and says, "you're talking to us now".

DUP guy shuts up and hasn't said a word since.

Comments

[ikkyu2.livejournal.com]

Well, you have baby-murdering terrorists in your government, that's for sure. I always found that sort of odd. I guess it explains some of the anti-USA animosity I see in this space from time to time?

[waider.livejournal.com]

Dear Doctor Troll,

please at least try and get your facts straight. I live in the Republic Of Ireland (that's the Southern Bit, in case your geography is weak); the "baby-murdering terrorists" you speak of are part of the Northern Ireland Assembly, which is still at least legally and politically part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (they even take the trouble to supply you with a subtle hint in the name of the country), and the other baby-murdering terrorists are trying to keep it that way. Now please, quit posting when drunk, it makes you look like a jingoistic redneck with zero knowledge of the world outside your little protected sphere of high living.

Love,
Waider.

[eejitalmuppet.livejournal.com]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/uk_news/northern_ireland/3248484.stm

Alas, it seems to have been a good election for the extremists. This is something I've been half-expecting for years: it's a lot easier to campaign on the basis of the Good Friday Agreement being a large, steaming pile (without necessarily offering a viable alternative) than it is to say something like, "No, the agreement and Assembly aren't perfect but they're the best available option for peace, and we all need to keep working on painfully slow progress towards that peace."[1]

[1] I'm sure that the spin-doctors can improve the phrasing, but it's difficult to make a long-term process exciting.

[waider.livejournal.com]

Someone commented in the office that the reason the extremists (and let's be honest, the DUP are probably head of that list) made such gains was that moderate voters failed to turn out in sufficient force. Hard to tell, really, with a 63.84% turnout if that's true or not - it'd be interesting to ask the ones who didn't vote how they would have voted. If the comment has merit, itt's a curious echo of other recent elections.

[grumpy-sysadmin.livejournal.com]

Note, btw, that a 60%+ voter turnout sounds HUGE to those of us across the pond, who are used to seeing vaguely 20% for most elections...

[ikkyu2.livejournal.com]

Trolling yes, drunk no. On re-reading it's not as funny as it looked the first time. Sorry.

Completely seriously: I do fervently hope the current bumps in the road get traversed, and that quickly and without resort to bombs and other ugliness. Beyond that I guess I don't really have much of an opinion, nor do I suppose I ought to.