Disrupt and conquer tactics of Sinn Féin are on full view

THE credulous and the utterly naive believe that Sinn Féin can be persuaded in from the extremes by a spell in government that’ll smarten them up and turn them into good little middle-of-road, centre politicians where compromise is customary and common sense prevails. Well, people who believe that are in for a rude awakening if Mary Lou McDonald and her strutting comrades, puffed up with pride and hubris since last Saturday’s outstanding success at the polls, ever find their way into Government Buildings.

Two things about Sinn Féin – apart altogether from their dodgy, blood-stained past as apologists for the ruthless and utterly-efficient Provisional IRA murder machine that engaged in tribal conflict and mass slaughter – separate them out from all other, more familiar, political parties.

One is that Sinn Féin are experts in taking firm control of the narrative in order to win public confidence.

Two is that they are classic disrupters, like Donald Trump in the US and right-wing English-nationalist Brexiteers in the UK.

In the run-up to the General Election, they operated with a rigid focus, born of conflict and years of practice, which convinced a significant proportion of the electorate that they alone could deliver solutions to problems created by Official Ireland elites like Leo Varadkar and Micheál Martin.

SINN Féin managed to cut through the fog of excuses and complexities with the simple Boris Johnson-style message: ‘We’ll get things done.’ And then, when RTÉ decided to televise a three-way leaders’ debate, McDonald spoke over the heads of Varadkar and Martin and appealed directly to the hearts of tens of thousands of weary, disappointed and, frankly, angry voters who believe their lives are, increasingly without meaning in their day-in, day-out struggle to survive.

Sinn Féin’s clarity was a case study in how to get the message across.

And so it has continued since they achieved 24.5% of the vote last Saturday. Now, the narrative is that they WON the election – ignoring the stark reality that 75.5% of voters opted for candidates other than Sinn Féin.

Further, the spin is that the people have chosen to put Sinn Féin into government, again failing to recognise that South of the border, there is no power-sharing institutional requirements whatsoever.

The only entitlement to form a government in this state comes from commanding a majority in the Dáil. That means a minimum of 80 seats (out of the 160 deputies, including the Ceann Comhairle) and the last time I checked Sinn Féin had just 37.

It took a timely and rigorous intervention from Big Jim O’Callaghan – who said he wouldn’t serve in a Sinn Féin/Fianna Fáil government – before a shocked Micheál Martin finally regained his composure and ruled out any deal with Mary Lou McDonald.

Even then the Sinn Féin narrative held firm – keeping them out of government would be, according to Deputy McDonald, a slap in the face to the people who voted for change.

Eoin Ó Broin said Micheál Martin was ‘irresponsible’ to refuse to bring Sinn Féin into government.

The disrupter, Trumpian, impatient-for-change character in the Sinn Féin personality was on full display during a BBC Newsnight interview with Mary Lou McDonald in the immediate aftermath of the election.

Like the unpredictable US President who likes throwing political hand grenades in all directions, the Sinn Féin leader talked about the need to prepare for Irish unity and then went on to say that she wanted to recruit Member States of the EU to support the ending of partition, citing their backing for German reunification as a precedent.

The potential damage that could do to Ireland’s reputation in Europe is incalculable.

During the election, Sinn Féin were confronted with concerns about any statutory move to freeze rents, on account of explicit property rights detailed in the Constitution. And, in another example of disrupter psychology, the party reacted with alacrity – and without any consideration of unintended consequences – by saying they’d simply change the Constitution.

AND the question is: if they reach for a referendum solution on rents and property with such speed, what other major, fundamental rights and liberties would they also set aside with similar dispatch? Sinn Féin are on a mission to end partition in the short-term and that will only intensify and become even more dangerous if they ever enter government here.

Waterford poll-topper (20,569 votes) David Cullinane’s ‘Up the ’RA, Tiocfaidh Ár Lá’ is, the starkest reminder of the intent that lies at the heart of the Sinn Féin movement.

It explains why 75.5% of voters opted for others – why most people are simply afraid of them.

Sinn Féin is not a political party that devotes all its efforts to housing, homelessness, health and other key areas of public policy that define the quality of our lives.

Unity in double-quick time – whatever the risks, whatever the cost – is its driving force, its primary reason for being. That’s what makes it so dangerous.