McDonald Treat As Mary Lou Takes Lisbon With A Pinch Of Salt
By Christy Parker | Photos by Michael Hussey (YoughalOnline.com)
Mary Lou McDonald MEP signs the visitors book at the council chambers with Cllr. Michelle Hennessy and Town Clerk Liam Ryan with (standing) local Sinn Fein members: Sheila Whyte, Mark Morrison, Thelma Reilly, Linda and Mary Anne Regan.
Sinn Fein MEP Mary Lou McDonald ignored the parking space reserved outside the Town Council offices Hall for her Youghal visit and availed of the nearby car park instead. It may have been unintentionally symbolic but Ms. McDonald’s demeanour very much pronounced her a woman of the people as she greeted supporters in casual, chatty style. Not that there were many people about, common or otherwise, with just a handful of constituents accompanying SF Town councillors Sandra McLellan and Michelle Hennessy.
Wrapped in a pitch-black coat offset by a healthy complexion, the articulate Dublin Central politician was on the Cork leg of a nation wide mission to decry the impending Lisbon Treaty on which Ireland is the sole EU country holding a referendum. The EU says it won’t recognise a democratic ‘No’ if Ireland delivers one but that’s for another day, Senor. Meanwhile, Sinn Fein is the only Irish parliamentary party opposing a Treaty that Mary Lou says is “particularly bad.”
Q: So what’s wrong with it?
ML: We’ll lose our commissioner and half our voting weight at Council of Ministers and hence our influence on European institutions. Public services like health and education may become prone to marketing and competition, which is wrong. There’s no advance in terms of workers’ rights or the environment. It supports nuclear energy and the nuclear industry. Then there are unwelcome complications around Defence and Single Foreign Policy…
Q: Oh. But doesn’t EU Commission Vice-President Margo Wallstrom say indigenous nations can decide their own Defence strategies?
ML: Only in terms of troop commitment. The government may want to narrow it down to our ‘triple lock’ system but this Treaty is also about how you fashion foreign policy. ‘Triple lock’ hasn’t stopped belligerent American troops passing through Shannon airport. Lisbon will ask that we increase our military spending and sign up to a common foreign policy, i.e a foreign Minister and a European diplomatic corp. I don’t think Ireland’s foreign policy interests coincide with a British, French or German foreign policy.
Q: Name three changes you’d make to the Treaty?
ML: 1. I’d insert a clause recognising the rights and responsibilities of the new military neutrals, giving them equivalence in law with the NATO members. NATO is all over this Treaty without one mention of the military neutrals, except a torturous formation of words that marks us out as an oddity.
2. Insert a clause that defines and protects public services. I’d recognise the market and competition but draw limits and say in law that the market will not intrude into health or education. These are basic services that citizens have a right to expect and its inappropriate to turn a profit on them.
3. Discard the institutional changes in terms of the Commission. I think every member state has a right to have a commissioner. But there’s a dozen changes I’d make…
Q: Is it practical for every country to have a commissioner?
ML: It’s practical and necessary. It’s insane that the key agenda setter in Europe doesn’t have representation from each Member State. The trick in political influence is to be in early. If you intercept something 3/4 way through the programme, its very difficult to change it. That’s the value of being at that table.
Q: Do people really care?
ML: I think once people see how big and central the issues are they will take a bigger interest. I think overall Irish people very much have a desire to be part of Europe though its difficult to get them to engage with it.
Q: Do you think the Treaty is deliberately presented as complicated?
ML: Very possibly. I think a decision was taken among European leaders to let it creep up on people. A political cabal holds a view of where Europe should go but also know that their view differs with what people want. Political elites and power structures protect themselves. Some politicians believe they now better than the people. I see it around me.
Mary Lou McDonald MEP with local Sinn Fein councillors Sandra McLellan and Michelle Hennessy
SINN FEIN:
Q: What lessons have SF learned from the last general election trauma?
ML: We’ve learned a lot about the necessity to project our political message in a way that’s relevant, contemporary and accessible. We’ve learned to go back to basics in terms of what we’re good at -organising and community activism. We’ve also learned that things can turn very quickly and we need to have a much better capacity to read things.
Q: Does SF have a big problem with voters associating it with 30 years of Northern Ireland’s problems?
ML: Yes, because we’re an all-Ireland party and yes because there is a hangover from the conflict. But in the course of the election, though the results didn’t reflect it, I found the level of goodwill from people much more significant than I had expected.
Q: Will issues surrounding the Gerry McCabe, Jean McConville and Robert McCartney murders continue to affect your election performances?
ML: I think people of a certain mindset might try to exploit those tragic cases. The truth is, a lot of people suffered and people lost their lives. The truth is, none of that will go away, nor should we wish it to go away. We’ve been saying for some time that we need some sort of a truth recover process to feed into that sense of reconciliation.
Q: But are these issues compromising your position in the South?
ML: I don’t think so.
Q: You’re dragged into them nonetheless…
ML: Look, we’re coming out of an incredibly difficult cycle of violence over decades. Anyone who imagines emerging easily from that or that a peace process is un-problematic is wrong. But I don’t feel either or the party or me are damaged by these things.
Q: Isn’t being an All-Ireland party a two-edged sword because what happens on one side will affect the other?
ML: Absolutely. And we seem to be constantly fighting elections. Prior to last year’s election we were incredibly busy in negotiations with the British and DUP and the issue of policing. Then we faced into a Southern election. That’s a dilemma in being an All Ireland party. But Irish politics is in transition and Sinn Fein is in the process of becoming mainstream. I think that throws up challenges for other parties and for us.
Q: You brought baggage into the South; some associate SF support with beer-swelling, Celtic supporting, confrontational yobbos. Agree?
ML: Nationalists don’t all correspond to that image. I’m not saying we don’t have young guys in Celtic shirts but it’s not the typical image. Republicans and SF are a very diverse group. People say, ‘you’re not very typical of what we’d expect of SF’ and I say, ‘Why not? Are you so caught up in your own stereotypes? I’m not untypical; lots of women of my age and background support Sinn Fein.
Q: Do you think you get a fair media representation then?
ML: There is a very definite bias.
Q:Why?
ML: Lot of reasons. Censorship ended officially but for many people it carries on unofficially. For some elements, the status quo is a comfortable place and we’re seen as new kids on the block and irritants. We argue a different type of politics and I think a lot of people would prefer we weren’t doing it. But as the phrase goes, (smiles) ‘We haven’t gone away you know.”
Mary Lou McDonald MEP with Sinn Fein councillors Sandra McLellan and Michelle Hennessy and Sinn Fein members: Sheila Whyte, Mark Morrison, Thelma Reilly, Linda and Mary Anne Regan
IMMIGRATION:
Q: You have said that ‘people turn against each other people but it’s the system that causes it’. Explain that in terms of immigration.
ML: If we allow a racist outlook to develop here, we’ll cause a catastrophe that will diminish us all. Nobody will win. Secondly, in areas like equal pay, conditions, and public service, this government must get things right. When Irish workers can be displaced by exploited foreign labour, it’s setting up a nightmare collision. Equally so regarding access to school places, housing and so on. If the government doesn’t deal with the bread and butter issues, then its not serious about creating a harmonious, integrated Ireland.
Q: What are your views on the current immigration process?
ML: We need to modernise an archaic system. It’s difficult to get into Ireland even for work purposes! But if you have a booming economy people are going to come here and Irish people must understand we are a diverse society now. There is no turning the clock back. Obviously anyone looking at the phenomenon of such strong emigration from Africa needs to be concerned about it; not just because of Europe but because its bad for Africa. That’s one area where Europe can be very effective if we get the politics right.
Q: Finally, as an MEP and having an in-depth knowledge of the pan-European psyche…
ML: Yes?…
Q: Do you think Dustin has any chance?
ML: There are far less talented turkeys doing great in Europe.
(Ok, I made up the last bit)
Mary Lou McDonald MEP with local Sinn Fein councillors Sandra McLellan and Michelle Hennessy
Related Stories
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
* All comments are moderated before publishing.No comments yet.
Leave a comment