Dear Irish people who self-identify as right–wing (they/them). It has come to my attention that some of you require a quick explanation on how politics in general works. I feel I have been around the block a bit the last 15 years. I watch the news cycle pretty closely, I’ve visited Downing Street a couple of times and know the inside of most TV studios in Dublin and London. So a quick word of advice to right–wing people; take the win when it comes. Especially if it is not that big of a win.
When it comes to the Presidential election in Ireland we right-wingers failed to get our preferred candidate on the ballot. I had plenty of criticism for the three musketeers, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Simon Harris and anti–democrat Senator McDowell but when all is said and done that failure is ultimately on us.
I, like many others, spoiled my vote to send a message to FF and FG. I like many others said conservatives voting for Heather Humphreys was weapons grade stupid. Hundreds of thousands of people did spoil their vote and for a brief period of time the message seems to have been received into the noggins of at least two of the three musketeers and they have started talking tough on immigration.
Tánaiste Simon Harris said the immigration numbers were “too high”. Others in government such as Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe backed him up.
And the reaction from some on the right, was that of a debutante slighted at the ball.
She gathered up her fan and dress and flounced out on one of her suitors declaring too little too late. This suitor had barely even proposed, might I add.
The left meanwhile were busy clutching their pearls. My old favourite, Labour’s Aodhán Ó Ríordáin MEP, needed his fainting couch, declaring, “these remarks from the Tánaiste are disgraceful and extremely dangerous. Political leaders have a responsibility to choose their words carefully. When the Tánaiste says ‘numbers are too high’, it sends a message that the Government itself is buying into divisive rhetoric. It is reckless, harmful, and beneath the office he holds.”
The Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon also needed some smelling salts, accusing Mr Harris of “going down the Nigel Farage route.” He also said the comments “have the potential to be inflammatory” in the wake of a violent anti-immigration protest in Citywest in Dublin.
Never, ever to be knowingly outdone, head girl Una Mullally came out on Monday to say something on the whole affair. I can’t quite understand what she said but it had the usual: there are far – right people out there, conspiracy theorists, yes you can be concerned about immigration and not be far – right but we know deep down you are.
What I have described above is known in the trade as push back. Pressure is applied to politicians should they get out of line to warn them not to do it again or to get them to perform a u–turn. There is nothing more spectacularly satisfying in politics than the u–turn which is frequent in British politics.
A quick summary: a politician says something, sees what the reaction is and then will consider whether it is all worth the pushback and fallout. If right–wing people also turn on him, the calculation is, why bother?
My point is, politics is the art of persuasion. Should you persuade someone to your point of view by moving the ‘Overton window’ then you take the win. Then you must persuade a politician to accept the new middle ground (which is always moving) and move towards it. Should they do it, then you take the win. You don’t go moaning that it is too little too late, and they didn’t share their sweets with you up to about 5 minutes ago so now you have no interest in what they have to say. That isn’t politics; that is idiocy.
You then must hold that politician to account, try to get the rhetoric turned into policy and point out the blowback, the inevitable hysteria by the left is just that, hysteria.
As John Connor said to the Terminator – are we learning yet?
Take Brexit, which all right-thinking Irish Times types hate. When I was in Blighty I knew people who thought Prime Minister Cameron would never give a referendum on leaving the EU. Eventually Cameron did so, mostly due to the lifetime’s work of Nigel Farage. Then they thought they would never win the referendum. Then Vote Leave won, due in no small part to Dominic Cummings. Then they said well it won’t be a proper Brexit and after all the heartache, all the division and the fallout, the endless debates and late night interviews and more interviews on BBC Radio Tyneside, Brexit was done.
Politics is about building coalitions and persuasion. To get even just one policy through you have to build a coalition, persuade some politician somewhere that this policy is in the national interest and more importantly will get them votes and win them elections.
While this is happening these politicians, who remember only really care about the next election apart from a very few conviction politicians, are getting squeezed from the left and the media who are in a permanent state of hysterics and are throwing around labels like Nazi or fascist or conspiracy theory or that this policy is Farage (not an insult) or Trumpian (we wish) or Thatcherite (if only.) And then as surely as night follows day someone will slap out that STUPID overused quote from the most overused poem by one of the Yates, that the centre cannot hold. What they really mean is that the voters are getting above themselves, they are getting notions that the folks down the Irish Times or the Guardian or whatever don’t like and even worse politicians might actually listen to them.
Then to the right of these politicians you have the right-wing nincompoops. The purists. These are the right–wing people I am talking to right now. They aren’t happy either even though Simon Harris or David Cameron etc has said something you agree with. This is what I get: Oh, I’m not going to work on this issue with x because she was on the other side of some referendum 10 years ago.
Then there is the policy isn’t perfect and so and so is a sellout/shill/grifter/turncoat or I can’t support Simon Harris even though he is doing exactly what I have wanted him to do for 5 years ago because there are more twitter likes in slagging him off than supporting him. Or I can’t be doing with Micheál Martin even though he is reducing the funding the NGOs we have pushed for because, come to think of it, he once said something unkind to my second aunt twice removed on my mother’s side or he was mean to me at school or I don’t like his shoes.
Get a hold of yourselves. Politics is hard. That’s why so few people do it. And these days getting any policy through the media, the push back from the left, the ridiculous purity tests on the right, the parties, the independents, the consultants, the government lawyers and Attorney – General and finally all the way through the Oireachtas or indeed the House of Commons is nigh on impossible. This is why everyone complains that nothing gets done either in Ireland or indeed the UK.
And then should that policy that you have called on for 10 years somehow, wade through all that crap and become law and be signed by our Dear President or gain Royal Assent in Britain there are still an army of lawyers with their judicial reviews waiting to take that bad boy down and get it declared unconstitutional or a breach of the Human Rights Act 1998.
Dear sweet Lord above, I need to squeeze onto the fainting couch with the left–wing lads, I’m so exhausted. That’s how tired I am just thinking about it.
Enough from the right-wing nincompoops. You take the win when it comes.