One
of the positives of the Stormont election is that
in a number of areas there are republican alternative
candidates to the capitulationist politics of
New Sinn Fein. A second positive is that the republican
candidates are not running against each other
and splitting the vote.
However,
a large problem remains and that is the fact that
there is no united platform to maximise the potential
of an anti-imperialist vote. With all due respect,
for instance, to Francie Mackey and the 32-County
Sovereignty Movement (February
20 statement), more is required than simply
the 32CSM calling on people to vote for the anti-capitulationist
candidates. And the Republican Sinn Fein statement
run on this site (February
18) did not even mention that there were candidates
other than RSF ones.
Given
the scale of the Provo sell-out, surely those
organisations which say they continue to fight
for a free Ireland have some obligation to the
republican base to attempt to work together in
order to further that aim. This does not mean
merging organisationally or trying to unite around
an entire programme. But a serious observer might
think that anti-imperialist organisations could
at least have been able to unite around a minimum
programme for the Stormont elections and thereby
maximise the impact that an electoral challenge
could make. This would be in the interests of
all anti-imperialists - the stronger and more
coherent a base for anti-imperialism, the more
water each anti-imperialist fish has to swim in.
Conversely,
the inability of anti-imperialists to form some
kind of combined broad electoral front, or any
kind of general broad front, can only strengthen
the position of the Brits, their traditional cat’s
paw (the Unionists) and their new cat’s paw
(the Provos). A messy maze of republican candidates
may be better than no candidates, but it is not
likely to be much of a match for the slick and
well-financed Provo electoral machine. Nor is
it likely to help overcome the key problems which
face the traditional republican base in the north
– confusion, exhaustion and demoralisation.
While
the opportunity to pose a broad united anti-imperialist
electoral alternative to New Sinn Fein and the
traditional Stoop Down Low Party has been lost,
there is still time to put together a principled
electoral front for the 26-county general election.
Because of the much smaller republican and left
base in the south, this would be a much more modest
effort than the squandered opportunity in the
north, but it would at least be an infant step
forward.
It
could also be an opportunity to begin the task
of working towards building a new, 32-county broad
front of supporters of Irish national liberation
and socialism.
Of
course, the question now is: Is there an organisation
or group of individuals prepared to take a lead
along these lines?
