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dublin |
politics / elections |
opinion/analysis
Monday June 01, 2009 23:05
by Joe Higgins - Socialist Party
info at joehiggins dot eu
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Comments (8 of 8)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8...getting behind ryan
Saving Private Ryan
She may not only have put the nail in Ryan's coffin but have boosted MacDonald ahead of Higgins as the knee jerk reaction of some will obviously be to do the opposite to what Harney wants them to! On the other hand there may well be a hope on the Governmnet's part that Mitchell supporters, thinking him safe, will vote for Ryan in order to stop the Shinners. All desperation at this stage anyway. Higgins needs to be up there this week as a contender otherwise he will get squeezed out as people opt for Ryan and whoever they think will beat him. Needs to do something to grab media attention next day or two in my opinion.
She wasn't worried about Joe Higgins though- the establishment like Joe because they think he is funny.
All Mary Harney's ire was aimed solidly at another candidate.
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/harney-battles-....html
There's been an attack on this candidate in the Independent Newspaper every day recently- there's one again today, and there'll be more tomorrow and the next day. It looks like the establishment are really scared of this candidate winning.
Can you guess who it is?
I can't believe you said that the establishment are not afraid of Joe Higgins. If that is the case then why did Brian Cowen devote so much time to attacking Joe Higgins and the Socialist Party yesterday. The establishment are not afraid of Sinn Fein. Sinn Fein have proved their "loyalty" to the establishment and capitalism through their involvement in the coalition in the North with the DUP. Sinn Fein will be coalition partners with Fianna Fail or Fine Gael in the future.
Mary Lou McDonald has been an MEP for the last five years I can't name one single thing she did that frightened the establishment or one single struggle she led to against the government or the employers. Joe Higgins is known precisely because of the struggles he has led and for his opposition to the establishment parties, not his sense of humour your comment is an insult to Joe Higgins.
Sinn Fein's support in the Dublin European constituency is falling, the Socialist Party's suypport is increasing. The best way to vote against this government is to vote for Joe Higgins and to elect a proven fighter for working class people.
I think you are missing the point. The 'establishment' are not worried about some global threat to their hegemony, they are worried about the European and local elections and the general election that will follow most likely within the next year. In that scenario, it is SF that is perceived as the main 'left' threat to FF, not the SP. If it came down to it they would prefer Joe to MacDonald. That scenario might well change but not for the present. Ruling class is rather good at dealing with immediate rather than distant threats!
I do agree however that Higgins support has been underestimated and that SF will take a hit locally that will be reflected in gains for other left candidates and a constriction of the potential MacDonald vote. It will depnend a lot on how big that local non SF left vote is to how close Higgins will get to winning the EU seat.
THE facts are the facts- the Independent is attacking Mary Lou like she's the anti-christ, but printing puff pieces about Joe Higgins and calling him Uncle Joe-
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/shades-of-dracu....html
"Joe grinned naughtily: "I had a good laugh writing that!" In fairness he has a reason for a bit of jollity; the most recent opinion poll showed him gaining two points to 9 pc, which puts him firmly in the scrap for the third seat, alongside Eoin and Sinn Fein's Mary Lou McDonald."
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/shades-of-dracu....html
They are talkinmg him up. Why?
They'd love to see people voting for Joe because every vote for the Socialist Party is not a vote for Sin Fein, who they see a real and credible threat.
Which is why Higgins will also get a substantial vote, particularly preferences, from voters who are far from socialist. Antipathy to SF has nothing to do with their politics, it's more a cultural thing similar to the hatred that middle class liberals in general have for FF, based on FF's historical roots and links with the 'peasantry' and the great unwashed. That may seem a quaint concept but it is still a powerful motivation in Irish politics. Shinners are anathema, not because they are raving lefties, which they are clearly not, but because of their fading associations with the IRA and ordinary people having the temerity to shoot drug dealers, beat up strike breakers and generally defy their betters. Poor old Shinners however have missed the plot and are still chasing the mythical middle class vote.
FF see SF as a threat purely in terms of the impact on the seats of individual TD's and councillors. Losing Ryan's Euro seat is a disaster for FF irrespective of whether it goes to MLM or Joe Higgins. FF have been doing deals with SF for donkeys years - most SF councillors are in pacts with FF on local councils - they know when push comes to shove that SF can be relied upon to do a deal.
There is a reason why Cowen attacked but SF and the Socialist Party in equal measure - they do not see SF as any more of a threat in these elections than the Socialist Party.