Gerry goes south of the border, down Dundalk way

Picking up on Sky and BBC that Gerry Adams will step down from the NI Assembly and, eventually, Westminster in order to run for a seat in the Irish parliament.  Mark McGregor and Michael Shilliday also pick up on this over on Slugger O'Toole.

He has indicated that he hopes to stand in the next Irish General Election (likely to be called by Brian Cowan for 2011).  He hopes to be a candidate in the Louth constituency. Arthur Morgan has been the incumbent Sinn Fein TD in Louth for the past 8 years.  However, he has publicly indicated that he will not be standing in the next Irish General Election in order to go back into business.  At least it is not to write a book.

Gerry said his Stormont replacement would be chosen within the week, and that he would remain as MP for West Belfast until the Irish general election is called.

Mr Adams said in his speech at Edentubber that his decision to stand was a "significant initiative by the Sinn Fein leadership."  he continued,

It is a measure of our determination to provide a real alternative to the consensus for cuts being pushed by the other parties.  Ireland needs political change. We need change in the Dáil. We need more voices that will stand up against the consensus for cuts – more voices that will stand up for ordinary people.  We need new politics. We need a political realignment. 

BBC Mark Simpson's analysis is telling.

As the peace process has settled down in recent years, Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams has often looked bored. There is no longer a new political crisis every week in Belfast. As a result, Mr Adams has a reduced workload and a much lower profile.  That may not be the main reason he has decided to run for the Irish parliament, but it may well be a factor. While his right-hand man Martin McGuinness has, as deputy first minister, become the face of Sinn Fein at Stormont, Mr Adams has had a peripheral role.  He spends a lot of time south of the border, but as an unelected politician he is effectively shouting from the sidelines.  At 62, he has decided to try to re-invent himself. If elected he would try to lead a surge in support for Sinn Fein in the south.  If he loses, it could spell the end of his long political career.

Sinn Fein currently  has five MPs four TDs in the Irish parliament.  If Gerry Adams retains the seat then it could cement his all Ireland political career, if he fails then his career will indeed be over.  Either event will make an interesting centrepiece at the the Sinn Fein Ard Fheis next year, which for the first time, will be in Northern Ireland at the Waterfront Hall.

Mind you the potential Dail General Election has also provided a surprise in Ulster-Scots circles as i have also just heard that Dr Billy McWilliams intends to stand in Donegal for the the Dail elections.  Fair Fae Ye Billy, Fair Fae Ye.

Groundhog Day 2: Policing & Justice in NI

You may or may not realise it but Tuesday, 2nd February 2010 is in fact Groundhog Day.

At least according to the ever accurate and academically sound Wikipedia.

We are in the last run of the talks at Hillsborough which is supposed to give us the finalisation of Devolution to Northern Ireland.  Gregory Campbell (DUP MLA and MP) is suggesting the possibility of a referendum to quantify public confidence in the process.  Gerry Adams thought the idea was 'cool' as it would involve the likes of the Garvaghy Road residents telling the DUP that they can go ahead and devolve P&J. Ooooh, saucer of milk?

I think the real issue underlying Groundhog Day at Hillsborough is electoral cover for DUP & Sinn Fein.  They can not be seen to be giving in to each other too soon.  Though i think the hardest discussions have already happened before Christmas.  A referendum would give them all the cover they need to progress.  However, one thing to keep in mind is the number of people who voted for the Agreement in the referendum in 1998 and slipped back to mow their gardens like horticultural ninjas when it came to actually voting for the parties.

We await with a bit more baited breath to see what happens on Groundhog Day.  

Though it would have been more poignant for the deal to have been 'done' on Holocaust Day, as a significant move for continued peace, than Groundhog Day, which sums up our politics here quite well.

'Let him who has no sin, cast the first stone'

There have been a number of scandals rocking the political world in Northern Ireland and the UK in general.

Who will forget the 2009 kick in the teeth MPs got over the expenses issue. Gordon Brown is constantly getting smacked in the face by his own party members.

Closer to home, and in addition to the above, we have had the alleged child abuse case surrounding the Adams family and whether or not Liam was more involved in Sinn Fein than his brother has been telling everyone. Then the Robinsongate/Irisgate hit big time.

As Natahaniel Hawthorne wrote in his novel 'The Scarlet Letter',

"no man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true."

My mum always said 'always tell the truth, its easier to remember'.

These episodes in our political echelons have shown the common man that elected representatives are also human. They are not Nietzschian Ubermensch, where to be in politics, and de facto in the public domain, one must see oneself in the vein of "man is something which ought to be overcome". A politician has to be more than just an ordinary man of the street - they have to be more.

This is reflected in the different codes of conduct for elected representatives, and these codes contain the personal attributes every elected representative must embody.

We must all answer for what we do. Actions have consequences. but do we expect too much of our elected representatives?

For all that is coming out about Iris and the inherent conjoined liability with Peter, why are we so shocked? Why are we transfixed with the difficult questions still to be asked and answered in the case of Liam Adams?

We can all look to people within our own families and see plotlines being acted out that would never make Coronation Street or Eastenders as they would be branded too far fetched. Should we be so heavy handed with our criticism? Can our politicians not legitimately turn back on us and say

"If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge? "

The most cynical view is that politics is ruthless. There are no friends, only interests. So every politican must lift themselves up from the masses and become more than what they are. yes, they must still talk to the masses. But they must be untouchable, an exemplar of intelligence, cunning, uprightness, moral fibre and fortitude. there must be no weakness, nor any sign of weakness. One politician's downfall is viewed as an opportunity by another.

The troubles of Iris has pulled Peter into the eye of the storm. He has been transported into the likes of 'The man who would be King' and has been shown to the multitude to be able to bleed. Like avaricious hyenas, the media, the public, and all the political parties close in because they have smelt blood. This may help Gerry Adams for a week, but once the carcases have been picked over it will once again be his turn, especially with so many Sinn Fein elected representatives resigning from the party.

Is it fair? Maybe. Maybe not.

So, who can cast the first stone? While everyone philosophises the end result, in my own opinion, is that no one cares. Here are stories that can instigate a change in the political world of Northern Ireland, scores can be settled and attention can be diverted away from personal failings of others. What is more, they are being played out in the print media, broadcasts media, on Twitter, on blogs, Facebook and more social media platforms than you can shake a stick at, like at no time previously. Barak Obama maybe has more to be credited for than previously thought in encouraging us plebeians to participate in political discussion.