Sinn Féin’s old habits

THE allegations of bullying in Sinn Féin show it is a party shackled to the past. Bullying is clearly rampant in the political wing of a former paramilitary organisation that has moved seamlessly from being a party with socialist principles, one where people are in charge, to resembling the worst of old, doctrinaire communism, where the party comes above all else. The young guns who joined Sinn Féin in response to the perceived conservatism of traditional parties now watch as the old guard firmly reminds them that the communist party principles of hard discipline haven’t gone away, you know. That is what happens when what once was an army becomes a party. The commitment to democracy never quite escapes the leadership’s adherence to the ways of old.