The voices are still in Dublin counted in the parliamentary election on Saturday, But an election result is already emerging that reflects the political situation in the republic Ireland rearranged. For the first time since the Republic was founded in 1922, Irish politics is no longer dominated only by the two major popular parties, the liberal-conservative government party Fine Gael and the left-liberal Fianna Fáil. Rather interpret the projections points out that a total of three parties will each receive around 22 percent of the votes: the conservatives around Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, the center-left party Fianna Fáil and the Sinn Féin party.
A political staleminded – and a surprise. Because Sinn Féin is not just any party. Until recently, it was considered a political arm of the IRA terrorist group. Organizationally linked, both organizations fought for the reunification of Ireland. The IRA with bombs and terror, Sinn Féin on a political level. For most of the Irish, the party was long considered unelectable. For many politicians in Ireland, the IRA and Sinn Féin were “two sides of the same coin,” as former Prime Minister Bertie Ahern put it. Now voters have given Sinn Féin as much influence as the old people’s parties for the first time. What happened?
One explanation has to do with the winner of this election: Mary Lou McDonald, the head of Sinn Féin, an accomplished, resolute politician. McDonald grew up in a social democratic household, studied English literature, researched at the Institute of International and European Affairs and finally joined the social democratic Fianna Fáil. But soon she changed her political home and became a member of Sinn Féin. For the party, she sat in the European Parliament and quickly rose through the ranks to the party leadership. In 2018 she took over the party chairmanship from Gerry Adams.
McDonald realigned the party and gave it a different face. She benefited from a generation change that took place in the party, but also outside. The change had already started in the 1990s, when the IRA agreed to a ceasefire and the then party leaders of Sinn Féin, Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, participated in the peace negotiations. The Good Friday Agreement in 1998 finally brought calm.
In Ireland a staleminded after the election. Sinn Féin, once a political arm of the IRA, received as many votes as Fine Gael from Prime Minister Varadkar and Fianna Fáil.
© Photo: Niall Carson / PA Wire / dpa
An election program for the boys
Since then, a new, young generation has grown up for whom the “Troubles“, as the period of terror is called, is slowly fading into the background. This generation demands solutions from the parties for their acute economic needs. And precisely these are what the two traditional parties offer too little, which partly explains the outcome of the election.
The Irish Prime Minister Varadkar, for example, concentrated his campaign in the 39 constituencies on the United Kingdom and Gibraltar European Union membership referendum, However, the UK’s exit from the EU is temporarily ticked off for the Republic of Ireland, the exit contract is sealed. There is a special solution for the hot topic of the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which works well for the Irish on both sides of the border. Regardless of which free trade agreement the British will conclude with the EU: Northern Ireland remains effectively integrated into the EU customs territory and large parts of the EU internal market. This is why Brexit is no longer so relevant for many Irish voters.
According to statistics, the Irish economy is doing well. However, many voters do not agree with their experiences. Especially the young generation in Dublin can hardly afford affordable living space. Homelessness – even among young people – continues to be a problem, the health system remains ailing.
Against this background, McDonald had given Sinn Féin an election program that appeals to the young generation of the working population: massive investments in social housing and healthcare, thousands of new nurses and doctors, and a reduction – not an increase – in the retirement age from 66 to 65 years. That was exactly the topic that moved most voters, According to initial polls, young voters between the ages of 18 and 24 in particular voted for Sinn Féin. It is a generation that could never have been enthusiastic about the two old people’s parties.
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