If ever a political leader has worked hard to dismember his own country, it is the Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy. Provoking a crisis, pinning all on a regional election and refusing all concessions was a reckless gamble that stood no chance of achieving a consensus. A narrow majority for remainng in Spain would have more…
Joint action by the two governments is overdue but joint authority is a red herring
In the Irish Times today, Mick’s favourite columnist Newton Emerson asks what sort of joint authority is being cooked up in the Republic. This begs a familiar question increasingly in vogue as the Stormont stalemate lengthens. Emerson discerns elements of joint authority thinking in recent statements by Varadkar and Coveney. He raps Coveney for suggesting more…
“there is no corresponding organisation to monitor the work of the Ombudsman…”
It’s not just the Republic who has problems with ‘who guards the guards’. There are two worrying stories on the same day concerning the activities of the Police Ombudsman’s office. One concerns a criminal case which the Judge is reported to have said: …failings in the investigation “resulted in it being impossible for the defendants more…
Slugger TV; Reviewing the year in politics
My panel this month was Brendan Hughes (Irish News), Kellie Turtle (Feminist Commentator) & our own Alan Meban. We reviewed the year in politics looking at the most over-reported and under reported stories of the year, as well as the politicians to watch. Slugger TV will be returning in January 2018. Our thanks to NVTV more…
Ireland and Europe: how Rugby could provide a very positive story in 2018…
The European club championships have now closed down until the new year. Rounds 3 & 4, played over the weekends of 9th and the 16th December, saw all 4 Irish provinces win for the 2nd weekend in a row. Leinster, Munster and Ulster (listed in alphabetical order) are all now well placed in their groups more…
Sean Gallagher successfully sues RTE to protect reputation and “the integrity of the democratic process…”
So RTE has found out the hard way that social media is a dangerous place. It was known as the bogus tweet at the time, now it’s plain old #FakeNews. On Monday, October 24th 2011, as the last week of the Presidential election began, Harry McGee notes that …weekend opinion polls gave the former Dragons’ more…
Brexit strains between London and Dublin are harming Northern Ireland
At the end of the year, instead of adding pressure for the restoration of Stormont, Brexit has banished it to the sidelines. The border issue remains. Without an overall Brexit deal, the default of Northern Ireland remaining in alignment with the single market and customs union cannot easily be reconciled with the continuing integrity of more…
“Perhaps we can begin with social parity.”
Writing in the Guardian, Richard Angell, LGBT officer of the Labour Irish Society and director of Progress, has an interesting suggestion Owen Smith is right to say that if the parties of Northern Ireland cannot get their act together and restore power-sharing government then direct rule, however undesirable, must be used to make progress on LGBT and reproductive rights. But more…
Time for Fianna Fáil to end its northern election taboo?
The Sunday Business Post reported yesterday that Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin is “delaying his decision on whether to run candidates in the North” amid concerns in the party about the impact of Brexit. It’s nearly four years since the party called for active and serious participating and engagement in the political process in the North more…
Coveney says there is a need to repair relations with the DUP
Government needs to repair relationship with the DUP – Tánaiste @simoncoveney tells #twip pic.twitter.com/KGnv3gxOqj — The Week in Politics (@rtetwip) December 17, 2017 This comes after the Fianna Fail Leader, Michael Martin raised some concerns about the Irish governments strategy in an interview with JOE.ie; The problem with, what Martin calls the government’s “megaphone diplomacy” more…
The Unfreemaning of Bob Geldof from the City of Dublin…
Fascinating conversation in council last week on whether Bob Geldof should lose his Freedom the City status, because, well, he handed to them, so they calculated that they have no choice but to accept it and strike him from the record. Formally, you can see the Lord Mayor and the CEO are being procedurally correct. more…
“The prospect written between the lines of this week’s letter is of Sinn Féin sidelining itself….”
I Newton Emerson points out the irony of that letter Chris blogged the other day, signed by 200 members of nationalist civil society. “We appeal urgently to you Taoiseach,” it concludes, “and to the Irish Government, to reassure us of your commitment to stand for equality and a human-rights based society and your determination to more…
Westminster asserts its power over the executive and Whitehall
To all those who think Westminster is irrelevant, last night’s development could prove significant, if not actually decisive… Boom!! Government defeated… Brexit is in the hands of our Parliament, not Executive whim. pic.twitter.com/z4JqQJABig — Mike Galsworthy #FBPE (@mikegalsworthy) December 13, 2017 It certainly won’t bring the government down, but it WILL give the DUP and more…
Give a Christmas donation and help keep Slugger lit into 2018…
They say Christmas is a time for giving and what better cause than to fire some cash towards your favourite politics site? As we never tire of telling you Slugger does not get any funding so we rely on readers like you to keep the good ship afloat. None of the team gets paid, but more…
No point in talking about north south bridges if you lack the courage (or capital) to build them…
Brilliant from Gerard Howlin, who points out that the only party which has not protested against a new north-south interconnector is the DUP. Even Sinn Fein (whom he doesn’t mention by name) have been all over the southern protests like a rash: No physical infrastructure epitomises partition more than electricity. Our road system predates 1922. They more…
Ireland’s only “eternal peace flame” extinguished because of “environmental factors”…
Is the Cosmos trying to tell us something? Technical problems that have extinguished Ireland’s only eternal peace flame have been described as “deeply disappointing.” The flame, housed in Londonderry city centre’s Peace Garden, has not burned since late October. It was first lit in 2013 as part of the Bright, Brand New Day peace initiative. Its more…
Homeopathy and the NHS…
So the NHS may finally be clearing its shelves of homeopathic practice and remedies. To address the current funding crisis, the NHS has announced that a number of remedies which are either ineffective, frankly dangerous or both will no longer be available. Homeopathy is one of them and rightly so. No doubt some, perhaps Prince more…
Trump’s Election Victory One year on…
A year ago, I took a little flak in a Slugger article for suggesting Trump’s surprise victory in the 2016 election might not have been won fairly and squarely. It was pointed out that Trump scored a decisive victory by the Electoral College rules, and it is fair to say, (as he did), he would more…
Time to look past this ‘dodgy’ Brexit to the material reality of how politics actually works
One of the remarkable things about Friday’s conclusion to the Phase 1 talks is just how happy everyone seems to have been. Either some or all parties are going to be disappointed as we go forward, or we are on for the blandest version of what Guido used to call a non-Brexit. What actually happened is that more…
Decision time for Dáil Committee on abortion reform
The Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment is set to recommend a straight repeal of Article 40.3.3 when it considers its final report on Wednesday. The Committee has 21 members and 12 are already on the record as saying that the removal of the clause should be recommended by the group. There might also be more…