A change in the air?........

[macliam]

I was interested in a report on the BBC this morning, that Mary Lou McDonald, president of Sinn Féin had congratulated the Queen on her jubilee. This comes at the end of an attempted ambush of SF over a dispute about planting a rose tree at Stormont to celebrate the event. This, like an earlier dispute over the banning of a monument to 100 years of the NI state, have been spun as being a slight from SF to the loyalist community, whereas the tree dispute was over the application of existing rules and the "monument" was presented as a fait accompli by the DUP without any discussion or agreement on the design or siting. McDonald's latest comment came as she gave her opinion on the decision to plant the rose tree as planned.

She said "I think it is important that we are respectful of the identity of our citizens who are British. I think that is entirely appropriate and I welcome that decision."
"For those who will celebrate the jubilee, I wish them well and a good jubilee and for those of us that don't I believe we are now big enough, bold enough, generous enough to acknowledge the identity of others."
"Can I also extend to the British Queen a word of congratulations because 70 years is quite some record. That is what you call a lifetime of service."

There has been surprise at the message, just as there was much comment on the famous meetings between Martin McGuinness and the Queen, but whilst the congratulations are warm, they are also distant..... note the use of "British Queen". However, the recognition of "our citizens who are British", not "who think of themselves as" or "who claim to be" is a great move forward and a demonstration that the Republicans have moved beyond the rejection of anything that countered their view. This flies in the face of a DUP who seem to be acting like a scorned lover over NI in general and Stormont in particular, by pulling the whole temple down around them over the agreed NI Protocol, seemingly threatening "If I can't have you, nobody will!!!"

It's interesting that both the president and deputy president of Sinn Féin are now women.... and that the DUP have refused to say whether they would fulfil the deputy role in Stormont should SF gain a majority on the upcoming elections. It appears that SF are attempting to reach out from a position of strength, whereas the DUP are fighting a desperate rearguard action.....

I'd be interested in anyone else's view....

[pabenny]

I have no current or historic connection with Ireland, so it all has the air of distant relatives squabbling over historic grievances that mean nothing to me.

I find some of the politics of Northern Ireland incomprehensible – not the policies as such, but the intransigence, the brinkmanship, of the parties. The way they would shut down the legislature for months rather than compromise.

With Sinn Fein in the ascendant, I guess they can afford to be a little more mangnanimous over the Jubilee, in a way that wasn’t possible at the silver jubilee in 1977.

[macliam]

I have no current or historic connection with Ireland, so it all has the air of distant relatives squabbling over historic grievances that mean nothing to me.

I find some of the politics of Northern Ireland incomprehensible – not the policies as such, but the intransigence, the brinkmanship, of the parties. The way they would shut down the legislature for months rather than compromise.

With Sinn Fein in the ascendant, I guess they can afford to be a little more mangnanimous over the Jubilee, in a way that wasn’t possible at the silver jubilee in 1977.

I understand your comment - and I think you're not alone. Unfortunately, we are where we are because Westminster allowed the unionists to run NI as a fiefdom for the first 50 years of its existence, then supported them through 30 years of conflict - to a shocking extent in some circumstances, but have had a more "hands off" policy for the last 20 years. So the problem is that, whilst you think you have "no current or historic connection with Ireland", the state you live in cannot say the same..... and like most ailments, ignoring it won't make it better......

I am Irish, though in the UK off and on for over 50 years. I am a republican, though because of family history, no friend to the Republican movement in NI. I see Sinn Féin and the DUP as opposite ends of the tribal spectrum of politics there.... but also, worryingly as the left of centre and right of centre alternatives.

I understand the position of unionists in the north, they are losing power and have nowhere to go. They are losing of control of the statelet that was gerrymandered to give them a majority by Westminster and their policies to disenfranchise anyone who could challenge their dominion have been consigned to the rubbish bin of history. Where do they go from there? I understand the nationalists, who find it hard to see any way to trust a state that forcibly stopped their parents from living a "normal" life and who have a rosy view of reunification as the answer to their prayers. I think both are wrong, but I understand why they think as they do.

So, for me, to see Sinn Féin in the ascendant, both sides of the border, is a concern. I applaud their position on the political spectrum, but certainly not some of their past or present positions vis-a-vis independence or reunion. I applaud them in the Republic for offering a leftist alternative to the cosy duopoly of Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, both stuck dancing around a totem-pole that goes back to the Civil War, but I can't say I support them, due to past issues. However, whether this latest statement is a political play for the elections, or is a genuine change of heart, I see it as further movement along a path to political adolescence - and anyone in NI reaching out across the divide gets my support.