With
the results of the UK general election hardly dry
on the page, David Trimble was being championed
in much of the world's media as a fallen political
moderate whose rejection by the Upper Bann electorate
was something we should all regret.
I have looked hard for examples of Mr Trimble's
moderation the media speaks so highly of, but I
am having a job finding any sign of it. Nothing
in his Vanguard years caught my eye, nor when he
walked triumphantly down the road at Drumcree, arm
in arm with Mr Paisley, not long after having had
a cosy chat with the LVF murderer Billy Wright.
It seems to me if one looks at his voting record
in the UK parliament, whenever there was a vote
on an issue that deprived working people, Mr Trimble
was only to keen to step up to the bar and raise
his hand.
In effect David Trimble, like all Ulster Unionist
Party leaders before him, was the bagman in the
north of Ireland for the political establishment
in London. As to his support for the GFA for which
the media is now praising him, once London decided
in the 1990s to go down this road, Trimble's support
was assured and no one with power in London were
ever in any doubt about how he would act. As was
his custom when London asked him to jump, he simply
inquired how high.
After years toiling for the British establishment
in the northern wilds, Mr Trimble, like the nationalist
Gerry Fitt before him, will quickly be rewarded
with membership of the renowned gentleman's club
the British House of Lords. His home in northern
Ireland will be placed on the market and in not
an unsimilar manner to those touts within para-military
organiations who have out-lasted their usefulness
to their English masters, he will do a moonlight
flip; although for him in all probability a far
more salubrious accommodation awaits him in the
south of England.
As to the outcome of the elections in the north,
one can only welcome the result, for by voting en
masse for Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionist
Party, the people of the north displayed contempt
for those political parties who down the years have
been in complete hock to the English government.
Of course, as far as constitutional matters are
concerned there is a deep chasm between SF and the
DUP that is unlikely to be bridged, as they are
diametrically opposed, SF's core demand being the
political reunification of the island of Ireland
and the DUP's mission statement is to maintain the
link with the United Kingdom. However this unbridgeable
chasm should not necessarily stop the two parties
working together in the medium term. For in reality
SF, when they signed up for the GFA, accepted the
status quo in the north, having agreed to partition
until such a time as when the democratic will of
the people demands otherwise.
Thus if the Assembly could be got up and running
and ministers nominated all would be to play for.
On many issues the gap between SF and the DUP is
not as wide as some may think. Many of us have been
so busy being blinded by the two parties' constitutional
differences; we have hardly noticed where they stand
on things like schools, hospitals, transport, water
charges, etc. Plus, it should not be overlooked,
one of the main reasons for the growth of the two
parties has been the commitment of their activists
on the ground and the level of support they have
been able to provide their electorate with.
The DUP opposes the introduction of water charges,
so does SF; both parties oppose the Euro and the
introduction of the new EU constitution. They are
both, or so they claim, against racism and recognise
that Ireland is becoming a multi-racial society.
Both SF and the DUP support a substantial increase
in old age pensions, free travel for OAPs and better
health care for all. They also are in favour of
campaigns to alleviate the AIDS problem in Africa
and recognise that something must be done about
third world debt. They even have common ground on
smoking in public places.
Of course, I'm not saying there are not major differences
between the two parties because there are; although
it has to be said if the issue of the border was
taken away many of those who vote for these two
parties would in all probability have a great deal
in common —and not only politically— not
least both party leaders and a fair number of their
constituents can be found in church on a Sunday
morning.
If these two parties were to concentrate on what
they agree on, they have an opportunity to deliver
an upgrade in the level of services the people of
the north so badly need.
Of course the DUP, understandable from their perspective,
will not sit down with SF until PIRA is stood down,
nor incidentally as far as entering government is
concerned, will any party in the south of Ireland.
So at some time if they are to carry on their present
course, Mr Adams and his comrades will have to bite
this bullet and spit it out once and for all.
How they perform as part of the northern government
is the only real barometer Sinn Fein has to demonstrate
their trustworthiness to those wavering nationalist
voters in the south, who were swinging SF's way
prior to the party's annus horribilis at the start
of 2005. In the north, Sinn Fein have almost reached
what Mick Fealty called their glass ceiling; that
is, due to the sectarian manner in which Northern
Ireland's electorate vote, there is only so many
votes available to SF, the rest being divided up
amongst the Unionist parties, the Alliance and the
SDLP.
Thus if SF is to continue to grow electorally it
must look South to do so. For it to continue to
hoover up the votes of the southern electorate it
must break out of its core support base. This means
gaining the confidence of a section of the Irish
middle class and rural workers who are not part
of SF's natural constituency. It is not an impossible
task, as there is a core of liberal minded middle
class people who may be attracted to SF policies,
and who are certainly fed up with the two establishment
parties in the south. But their support depends
on trust, which it has to be admitted as far as
this section of the electorate is concerned has
taken a bit of a knock in the first months of this
year.
There are interesting times ahead for the two parties.
The main question is, can their leaderships keep
their egos in check and begin to deliver the services
the people deserve? If so, we will not have to suffer
any more "sackcloth and ashes" nonsense
from Mr Paisley or any more "they have not
gone away" bravado from Mr Adams.
