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Ireland’s Bailout Box Revolution Puts ’Pounds of Flesh’ Empire on Notice
28 February 2011
The result of the Irish election is being described as a "tsunami" for the Fianna Fail ruling party. That party, which has never had less than 68 seats in the Dail since 1932, has been left with only 17, with the counting almost completed at 8 PM Irish time. Even more telling are the results from the Dublin stronghold of Fianna Fail power, where former finance minister Brian Lenihan was the only Fianna Fail candidate out of 47 to be voted into office—and that just barely, on the fourth count of transfer ballots. The tsunami swept away the Green party altogether. None of its candidates was elected. Fine Gael and the Labour Party increased their votes substantially, and are expected to form a coalition government, although at the time of this writing, nothing has been discussed publicly about this. What this leaves is a remarkable opposition led by Sinn Fein, which, as of this writing, has tripled its numbers of TDs, and an unprecedented number of United Left Alliance and other Independents. The leader of the Socialist Party, Joe Higgins, who faced down Jose Barroso in the European Parliament, was elected, as were many other Independents who are in broad agreement with Sinn Fein’s "burn the bondholders, save the people" intention. Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams, whose voice wasn’t even permitted to be heard on the Irish broadcast media until 1993, won his election overwhelmingly. Adams told his supporters that the reason Sinn Fein had to fight for republican core principles is because the state is in a complete crisis. Sinn Fein, the United Left Alliance, and many of the Independents have called for a referendum on overthrowing the terms of the bailout, on the basis of a constitutional article that calls for a referendum under conditions of national crisis. Whatever the incoming government feels pressured to do by the markets, the IMF, and the EU, it will have to answer to the moral authority of a real opposition that has the mandate of the Irish people. |