Ireland's Election 2020: The Shape of Things to Come?

Abstract

13 R Hütter, John Henry Newman on Truth and its Counterfeits: A Guide for Our Times (Washington: The Catholic University of America Press, 2020). 14 Companies, large and small-ish, have long provided placement facilities for universities – a vital form of experiential learning which provides mutual benefits. Universities add another dimension to internal resources, make their courses more attractive to graduates seeking employment, and provide research opportunities for members of their faculty. 15 H J Kim, A J Hong and H Song, ‘The Roles of Academic Engagement and Digital Readiness in Students’ Achievements in University E-Learning Environments’. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education (2019), 16; 21. 16 For a detailed analysis on this important issue, see A Case and A Deaton Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2020). While the detailed analysis relates to the US, it is of compelling relevance to the wider globalised model of capitalism. 17 A Solzhenitsyn, ‘A World Split Apart’. Harvard Commencement Address, 8 June 1978. 18 F X Rocca, ‘Pope Urges Filipino Families: Dream, Resist ‘Ideological Colonisation’. Catholic News Service. Accessed 12 May 2020, from: https://www.catholicnews. com/services/englishnews/2015/pope-urges-filipino-families-dream-resistideological -colonization.cfm In the US, this process, and its impact on democracy and fundamental freedoms within universities and society, has been criticised equally by leftist academics such as Columbia’s Mark Lilla and conservative commentators including, for example, Roger Kimball and Allan Bloom. See M Lilla, The Once and Future Liberal: After Identity Politics (London: Harper Collins, 2017); A Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind: How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today’s Students (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987). 19 A Solzhenitsyn, ‘One word of Truth...’, The Nobel Speech on Literature, 1970. Studies • volume 109 • number 435 266 Ray Kinsella Ireland’s Election 2020: The Shape of Things to Come? Anthony White There were a number of unique factors about the Irish general election of February 2020, which in time may cause it to be seen as one of the most significant in the history of the state. For the first time since 1923, the highest share of the votes was obtained by a party other than Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael (or the latter’s predecessor, Cumann na nGaedheal). What made Sinn Féin’s breakthrough more striking was that it was not anticipated by commentators, politicians nor indeed by Sinn Féin itself, which did not nominate sufficient candidates to allow it to maximise its harvest of seats. This article analyses the performance of all the major parties and groups in the election and how they fit with historical trends in previous elections. Sinn Féin The modern Sinn Féin dates from the 1970 split which led to the formation of the Provisional IRA/Sinn Féin and the Official IRA/Sinn Féin.1 The latter eventually became the Workers’ Party. Sinn Féin had an abstentionist policy with regard to elections in the Republic of Ireland until the mid-1980s. In its first three electoral outings in 1987, 1989 and 1992, it obtained less than 2% of the national vote. Caoimhín Ó Caoláin won the party’s first seat in Cavan-Monaghan in 1997. It won five seats in 2002 and four in 2007. 2011 brought a breakthrough, when 9.9% of the national poll gave it 14 seats. This increased to 23 seats with 13.9% of the 2016 poll. At the February 2020 election its vote share at 24.5% was the highest of any party. It won 37 seats, one less than Fianna Fáil and two more than Fine Gael. From a slow start the party has made spectacular advances in the last three general elections. The most striking aspect of Sinn Féin’s surge in 2020 is that it was unexpected. This was not surprising in one sense, in that the party had performed poorly in the local and European Parliament elections of June 2019. In the latter its vote share had dropped to 10.7% from 19.5% in 2014, costing it two of its three...