Sinn Fein and how do they form a government dilemma

🤣 SF is who he said he would never go into power with not anyone else and I think he was brave enough to say exactly why and put his cards on the table at least people knew where they stood with him even if they didn’t agree.

Maybe this election could be a huge eye opener for SF.

What ever you think of SF, they are the most viable opposition party. The likes of FF/FG are now wed together and I don't know why they just don't become one party at this point.

Having such a weak opposition is terrible for our county.

I hope SF go back to the table and rethink what kind of party do they want to be? They have to pick a lane at this point even though it may upset part of their base

The PIRA/PSF was just a criminal gang, are you trying to say criminal gangs just finish up because people retire?
The links between PSF and organised crime are well known

The desperation to deny those links tells it own story

By the way who said it was elderly men? Bit sexist

I never denied any links to the IRA Clo.
Not once.

I was laughing at the absurdity of the concept, a disparate bunch of very opinionated people 'controlled' in everything they say and do from back rooms in Belfast.
I sometimes think the purveyors of this theory have never met a Shinner. I know plenty where I live and not one of them strike me as a person who could be 'controlled' unless they wanted to be.

It's a handy 'scare' accusation for the other parties and we see it whenever SF rise in the polls but then so are fairy tales, they too were designed to keep children in line.

Are you sure it is not you whose thinking is being 'controlled'?

Some accusation about the Gardai there.

If a political party has 'links' to organised crime and you or a journalist have evidence of this how come they are allowed to continue to operate as politicians and as a political party?
How come an International Agreement still stands if one of those signed up to it is 'linked to organised' crime?

I know you will run off here shouting about 100 posts or 'snide remarks' when that is not happening but those questions remain for you. You are using insinuation like a parent uses a fairy tale. Nothing snide about saying that.

30 years ago you could be shot dead by the 'lawful' forces just for being in SF.

That doesn't happen anymore because the war/conflict is thankfully over.

You want to continue to live back in those days when it suits you.

The idea that everything many diiferent party members are saying or doing is 'controlled' from a central point is absurd and doesn't even make logistical or practical sense.
Do ex IRA members have input into SF, certainly they do because that is what we as a people asked them to do in the GFA.
The GFA was not an á la carte menu. You cannot install glass ceilings and pretend to be a democrat.

Absolute bull unless other party’s are also not normal.
How many failed elections did Leo Varadkar have? Didn’t he take them from 35% in the polls to hovering around 20%?

Despite the friskiness of FG FF supporters here both of their leaders have presided over LE’s that saw the coalition party’s vote decline with the junior partner’s vote decimated and they also lost both their MEPs

SF’s long term plan will not be seeking your approval not sure why you are bothered about it.

They are not looking approval from inveterate critics with track records like some on here have. They will like other democrats put their plans in front of the electorate and seek to persuade.

How do you negotiate a programme for government when so called democrats close ranks and refuse to talk or negotiate?

Utter ‘suit yourself’ definitions of ‘failure’ employed too.

A voter for SF? Never hid the fact.

Dislike for the continual swapping of power between FG and FF - never hid the fact.
Astroturfs demands would be akin to me making the same of FG or FF.

If a FG or FF leader is making a mess and failing the party in garnering support, let them at it IMO

There might be a bit of boredom with FF/FG They have both been in power for a long time at this stage and an electorate wanting a general change is right and to be expected. I think the stark choice for Kane though is that, right now, there is no option B.

It could well be that SFs success in 2020 was based in genuine dissatisfaction and the hope that acting might be better. I did hear Pele saying “give them a chance”. The difference between them and now is that in 2020 we hadn’t seen a whole lot of who SF were and Pele weren’t really paying a lot of attention to their policies at that stage. That ask changed however I’ve they started to be seen as a viable party of opposition and potential next government senior partner.

Now people were scratching the surface and the party were getting regular exposure it was easily seen there were poor policies and there are lots of destructive aspects to the policies.

It’s a different world now than 2020 and nobody back then even the we’d be old where we are with wars abd resulting immigration. FF/FG have performed faulty well though all this and we’re still afloat as a country and doing fairly well. Nos people still would live a change but, for now, there isn’t a viable alternative as yet. There is so much that can go wrong at the moment that there is no appetite for voting in incompetents who will highly likely make things much worse for everybody.

The problem for Sinn Fein is that parties like PBP WILL actually rule out going into government with FF and FG. So will independents - who will have a get-out clause of supporting the government from outside in individual deals.

I think you just proved the other person's point.

Leo Varadkar took FG from 35% in the polls to 20.9% and he is gone before the next general election - normal political party

MLMD took SF from 37% in the polls to 11.9% and not only is she still there, but not a single SF representative is making any noise about it - not a normal political party.

He hung around long enough having brought them to 20%.

If MLMD has to go after the LE's and getting 2 maybe 3 MEPs elected what the hell was Leo doing after coming third in 2020?