By moving beyond Adams the party can stretch into a post Troubles world potentially and really make itself a mainstream all Ireland party with all that may entail. Certainly Mary Lou Macdonald must stand as the obvious choice for leader. She is from a southern background, is a warmer and charismatic figure and plays well with the electorate in the south. It would make for an all female double North and South of the border too. What's more she is certainly not as tainted with the past as Mr Adams may have been.
Gerry Adams announced that he will be standing down as leader of Sinn Fein next year. This news is not wholly unexpected. Adams has put his political heart and soul into the party and is instantly recognisable across Ireland and across the world for his leadership of Sinn Fein from a party of dubious connections to one of peacemakers and government. What is clearly apparent though is that his past may play well with the party but it certainly does not play well with mainstream Irish politics. Sinn Fein have grown electorally to one of the strongest electoral forces on the island - yet they are still excluded from government in the Republic of Ireland by both main parties. This is to do with their past and with Gerry Adams role in that past.
By moving beyond Adams the party can stretch into a post Troubles world potentially and really make itself a mainstream all Ireland party with all that may entail. Certainly Mary Lou Macdonald must stand as the obvious choice for leader. She is from a southern background, is a warmer and charismatic figure and plays well with the electorate in the south. It would make for an all female double North and South of the border too. What's more she is certainly not as tainted with the past as Mr Adams may have been.
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This article is a little out of date now coming right after the trouncing of the March 2017 election in which the DUP sacrificed so much of their previous lead due to RHI primarily. It does a great job however in assessing the problems of Unionism and both the DUP and UUP - Some great nuggets of party information in here (again be aware that things have changed since this position- with DUP gains in Westminster election) CLICK BELOW FOR BELFAST TELEGRAPH LINK
FIRST ROUND TO THE REPUBLICANS..$1.4 TRILLION TAX CUT PASSED IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES16/11/2017 The House of Representatives have passed a set of tax cuts being reported as one of the greatest tax reforms / tax giveaways in History.
This is a flagship of President Trump and has saw him cajole his Republican party into order to get it passed with a comfortable majority. The bill will raise ta thresholds (the amount you need to earn before paying tax) Supporters say this will be a huge benefit to the economy and the middle class. Democrats have all voted against the bill. They suggest that there will be obvious losers in terms of funding for programmes and a huge mortgage for the nation as the national debt will soar to pay for it. This first round has been passed in the House - The Senate version may be a lot different- It is currently going through - The compromise- if reached may be interesting. Certainly this is a victory for Trump who could not afford to lose this - especially controlling both the House and Senate. |
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AuthorMr John Wishart - |