The two faces of Sinn Fein

The recent success of Sinn Fein in the Republic’s general election owed much to the party’s opposition to the EU/IMF bailout and the associated austerity programme.  In the immediate aftermath of the election Gerry Adams boasted that his party would put   “backbone into the Dail” and lead the opposition to the expected Fine Gael/Labour "coalition of cuts".

However, less than a week later Sinn Fein endorsed a budget for the north that reduces public spending by £1.5 billion by 2015. That represents a cumulative cut of £4bn over a four-year period.  While not on the scale of the austerity seen in the south the measures contained in the Executive’s budget will certainly mean a deterioration of public services, particularly in health and education, and potentially tens of thousands of public sector job losses.   The north will also be hit hard by proposed changes in the benefits system.   So the claim by the deputy First minister Martin McGuinness that the parties in Executive  “have done the opposite" to the programme being pursued in the south is a spurious one.

When the contradiction between Sinn Fein north and south was raised during the election campaign, the response of the party was to say that the two situations were not comparable.  Their argument was that the north’s political institutions did not have “fiscal autonomy” while in the Republic there was a “sovereign” government.   But again this is a rather spurious argument.  The sovereignty of the Irish state was always very limited, evidenced most clearly by the fact that it has never exercised control over all of Ireland’s national territory.  It is even more the case today with the functioning of the state dependent on finance from the EU and IMF.  This is not so different from the relationship that exists between the north and the British Treasury.

Sinn Fein has also sought to deflect attention by blaming cutbacks in the north on the Tories.   So during the UK general election last year they had a platform of opposing cuts, and in the post election period they said they were going to confront the UK government over cuts.  There was even speculation that Sinn Fein ministers would refuse to come forward with future spending plans.  However, this rhetoric did not amount to anything, and agreement was reached between Sinn Fein and the DUP on a draft budget that incorporated the spending cuts.  The only concession made by the UK government was to provide an extra £200m for policing and justice – a clear indication of where their priorities lie.

Sinn Fein justifies the cuts on the basis that opposing them would risk bringing down the political institutions.  That this is the overriding priority for the party shows the degree to which it has retreated from any kind of radicalism.  The self-proclaimed Irish republicans are now in a position where they won’t oppose cuts for fear of creating a crisis within the British constitution!   Rather than being a force for change in Ireland Sinn Fein are one of the key components of stability and the continuation of the status quo.  They have proven this in the north, and given the opportunity would prove it in the south.