The late Christopher Hitchens once spoke about politics being division by definition, if there was no disagreement there’d be no politics.
With this in mind it’s worth pondering what type of political divisions are preferable.
Wouldn’t the left-centre-right political divisions of how best to address the economy, healthcare, housing etc… be far more desirable than the division over constitutional preference?
The last twenty-seven years in the North of Ireland has been a considerable upgrade on the previous periods of Direct Rule and Unionist dominance. The fragile peace has largely been maintained. While Nationalists and the ‘constitutionally agnostic’ now have ministerial roles.
For context, between 1922-1972, every single ‘Prime Minister of Northern Ireland’ and Government Minister was part of the UUP.
Yet, despite these improvements I’d argue we still have a basket-case system of Governance, and our best solution to this lies in ending partition once and for all.
On the surface, the Republic doesn’t appear to be brimming with political diversity either.
Since 1932 every single Taoiseach has belonged to either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael. Yet, if we look at how alternatives to the dominant political orthodoxies perform in each jurisdiction, the South easily provides greater political opportunities.
For example, while the North was in the middle of half a century of Unionist misrule, the South produced a more politically diverse Government than the six counties have yet to produce in the subsequent three-quarters of a century.
This was the first coalition Government in 1948, which featured five parties and an Independent. The diversity of political viewpoints included agrarianism and socialism.
This isn’t a fluke outcome either. It’s the result of a better designed system of Governance, in a less polarised society.
The North had a system then which effectively ensured Unionist dominance, whereas the Republic better facilitated alternative political parties into attaining prominent positions in Government.
It’s true that the two main parties have dominated the head of Government, but also over a third of Tánaiste’s have belonged to neither party.Perhaps, it’s unfair to compare the initial period of Unionist dominance with that of the Republic.
Yet, if we fast-forward to the post-GFA period from 1998 onwards, the range of political views represented in Government remains narrow.
Of the parties whose principal identity isn’t centred around constitutional preference e.g. Greens. Only Alliance have attained ministerial positions in Government.
Elections in the North continue to be dominated by the constitutional question, whereas the South has consistently produced coalitions featuring a diversity of positions.
In fact, since 1998, Greens, Progressive Democrats, Labour and Independents have all featured in the Irish cabinet, whereas Alliance are the only ‘constitutionally agnostic’ party to have featured in any ‘NI’ Executives.
Besides, even if the Northern electorate rallied behind a cause outside the Orange and Green divide, the power-sharing arrangement in its current form- whilst a necessary safeguard against Unionist dominance – guarantees at least one of the two main positions comes from either designation. The Northern System of Governance is a structural reinforcement of the sectarian divide where issues outside of constitutional preference are much less salient.
A useful comparison to illustrate this point is the performance of the Green party in each jurisdiction. In ‘NI’ Assembly elections Green Party ‘Northern Ireland’ votes range from 0.09-2.7% and seats from 0-2.
By comparison, in the Republic the Green Party vote share ranges from 1.8-7.1%, and seats between 0-12 in the period 1998-present. In addition to this they have been in Government multiple times.
Admittedly, there could be other explanations to explain the disparity in success for the Green Party between the jurisdictions, but I’d be willing to posit the dominance of the constitutional question reduces the priority of environmental concerns in Stormont.
Likewise, if we look at the recent trajectory of the 4ᵗʰ largest party (Social Democrats) for Republic of Ireland – in terms of popular vote – can we envisage a new party in the North with fresh ideas ascending in a similar way?
The Social Democrats first entered Irish general elections in 2016, where they secured 3 seats, before doubling this number in 2020 and obtaining 11 seats in 2024.Could a similar party advocating social and economic policies that we see amongst
Scandinavian countries replicate this success in the North? I suggest it’s unlikely, and besides considering our limited levels of fiscal autonomy would there even be any point?
The ‘constitutionally agnostic’ parties obtained around 10% of the vote in 1998, to just over 15% in the most recent assembly election. The overwhelming majority of this is concentrated in Alliance. This is growth, but it’s narrow in the sense that the range of political views outside the constitutional question and the progressive liberalism of Alliance are not significantly represented at all.
By comparison, most of the Irish electorate didn’t vote for the main political duopoly last year, with a much broader range of political viewpoints represented as well. Albeit on issues such as Hate Speech Laws and Immigration there’s a concerning level of ideological conformity across the elected representatives in the Dáil except for some Independents and Aontú.
One must wonder if your primary political orientation is centred around Environmentalism, Social Democracy etc… then surely it must be plain to see that Irish Unity provides a better platform for a broader range of political outlooks.
Yes, reunification won’t magically transform Unionists and Nationalists into environmentalists or liberals etc… Besides, how can we expect Nationalists not to prioritise reunification at the moment when Unionism’s ongoing hostility towards the Irish language demonstrates they’re not interested in creating a more respectful or equal society.
However, it would possibly dilute the influence of FFG (42.7% in ROI versus 31.5% in all of Ireland voted for them last year) and with the constitutional question answered one world hope we could gradually move in the direction of a better form of political division.
The late Christopher Hitchens once spoke about politics being division by definition, if there was no disagreement there’d be no politics.
With this in mind it’s worth pondering what type of political divisions are preferable.
Wouldn’t the left-centre-right political divisions of how best to address the economy, healthcare, housing etc… be far more desirable than the division over constitutional preference?
The last twenty-seven years in the North of Ireland has been a considerable upgrade on the previous periods of Direct Rule and Unionist dominance. The fragile peace has largely been maintained. While Nationalists and the ‘constitutionally agnostic’ now have ministerial roles.
For context, between 1922-1972, every single ‘Prime Minister of Northern Ireland’ and Government Minister was part of the UUP.
Yet, despite these improvements I’d argue we still have a basket-case system of Governance, and our best solution to this lies in ending partition once and for all.
On the surface, the Republic doesn’t appear to be brimming with political diversity either.
Since 1932 every single Taoiseach has belonged to either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael. Yet, if we look at how alternatives to the dominant political orthodoxies perform in each jurisdiction, the South easily provides greater political opportunities.
For example, while the North was in the middle of half a century of Unionist misrule, the South produced a more politically diverse Government than the six counties have yet to produce in the subsequent three-quarters of a century.
This was the first coalition Government in 1948, which featured five parties and an Independent. The diversity of political viewpoints included agrarianism and socialism.
This isn’t a fluke outcome either. It’s the result of a better designed system of Governance, in a less polarised society.
The North had a system then which effectively ensured Unionist dominance, whereas the Republic better facilitated alternative political parties into attaining prominent positions in Government.
It’s true that the two main parties have dominated the head of Government, but also over a third of Tánaiste’s have belonged to neither party.Perhaps, it’s unfair to compare the initial period of Unionist dominance with that of the Republic.
Yet, if we fast-forward to the post-GFA period from 1998 onwards, the range of political views represented in Government remains narrow.
Of the parties whose principal identity isn’t centred around constitutional preference e.g. Greens. Only Alliance have attained ministerial positions in Government.
Elections in the North continue to be dominated by the constitutional question, whereas the South has consistently produced coalitions featuring a diversity of positions.
In fact, since 1998, Greens, Progressive Democrats, Labour and Independents have all featured in the Irish cabinet, whereas Alliance are the only ‘constitutionally agnostic’ party to have featured in any ‘NI’ Executives.
Besides, even if the Northern electorate rallied behind a cause outside the Orange and Green divide, the power-sharing arrangement in its current form- whilst a necessary safeguard against Unionist dominance – guarantees at least one of the two main positions comes from either designation. The Northern System of Governance is a structural reinforcement of the sectarian divide where issues outside of constitutional preference are much less salient.
A useful comparison to illustrate this point is the performance of the Green party in each jurisdiction. In ‘NI’ Assembly elections Green Party ‘Northern Ireland’ votes range from 0.09-2.7% and seats from 0-2.
By comparison, in the Republic the Green Party vote share ranges from 1.8-7.1%, and seats between 0-12 in the period 1998-present. In addition to this they have been in Government multiple times.
Admittedly, there could be other explanations to explain the disparity in success for the Green Party between the jurisdictions, but I’d be willing to posit the dominance of the constitutional question reduces the priority of environmental concerns in Stormont.
Likewise, if we look at the recent trajectory of the 4ᵗʰ largest party (Social Democrats) for Republic of Ireland – in terms of popular vote – can we envisage a new party in the North with fresh ideas ascending in a similar way?
The Social Democrats first entered Irish general elections in 2016, where they secured 3 seats, before doubling this number in 2020 and obtaining 11 seats in 2024.Could a similar party advocating social and economic policies that we see amongst
Scandinavian countries replicate this success in the North? I suggest it’s unlikely, and besides considering our limited levels of fiscal autonomy would there even be any point?
The ‘constitutionally agnostic’ parties obtained around 10% of the vote in 1998, to just over 15% in the most recent assembly election. The overwhelming majority of this is concentrated in Alliance. This is growth, but it’s narrow in the sense that the range of political views outside the constitutional question and the progressive liberalism of Alliance are not significantly represented at all.
By comparison, most of the Irish electorate didn’t vote for the main political duopoly last year, with a much broader range of political viewpoints represented as well. Albeit on issues such as Hate Speech Laws and Immigration there’s a concerning level of ideological conformity across the elected representatives in the Dáil except for some Independents and Aontú.
One must wonder if your primary political orientation is centred around Environmentalism, Social Democracy etc… then surely it must be plain to see that Irish Unity provides a better platform for a broader range of political outlooks.
Yes, reunification won’t magically transform Unionists and Nationalists into environmentalists or liberals etc… Besides, how can we expect Nationalists not to prioritise reunification at the moment when Unionism’s ongoing hostility towards the Irish language demonstrates they’re not interested in creating a more respectful or equal society.
However, it would possibly dilute the influence of FFG (42.7% in ROI versus 31.5% in all of Ireland voted for them last year) and with the constitutional question answered one world hope we could gradually move in the direction of a better form of political division.