The two worlds of Northern Ireland, Ctd

It's self-evident that the political class in Northern Ireland is entirely out of step with a people rapidly advancing in civilisation. As Mick Fealty said:

"The irony is that in general terms, sectarianism is on the slide, and mixed marriages are up and the wider population is beginning to adopt a more open view of how the world works than many of their most senior politicians." 

Politicians stand as fountainheads for the most extreme: talking singularly about the past, parades and victims. Yet, as Brian Rowan said of the parading stalemate of summer 2013, "The standoff is in one part of Belfast, and here and everywhere else, people have other worries - food, bills, jobs, education."

The effect of this cause is apathy and indifference which only sustains the bogus cause. A negative and hideous feedback loop. Taking a line from Alex Kane, moderate unionism and nationalism has been replaced with opt-out-couldn't-care-less-about-the-whole-thing-anymore unionism and nationalism. We need to break and replace the negative with a virtuous feedback loop.

This requires a two strand remedy and the dismantling of the older order. Northern Ireland needs a new generation of journalists and new politicians.

A New Generation of Journalists

Micheál Martin leader of Fianna Fáil said: "Fundamentally, a public discourse once solely focused on conflict has not evolved a new approach. There are only a handful of journalists who pay any attention to the wider cultural, social and economic dimensions of relations within Northern Ireland and between North and South."

A New Generation of Politicians

Alex Kane said: "Northern Ireland needs a new political generation, a new agenda and new political parties. It needs people who will work together to make Northern Ireland a success. It needs a generation of politicians who will refuse to accept that stalemate, mutual veto and same-old, same-old elections are the best we can hope for."

Previous posts on "The Two Worlds of Northern Ireland" series here, here, here, here, here and here.

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The two worlds of Northern Ireland - Which one are you of?

 Pete Shirlow said:

"The peace process appears to be moving at two speeds in which some communities remain caught in a perpetual cycle of poverty, sectarian asperity and intra-community devotion whilst others are shifting into less antagonistic positions. These shifts are paralleled by a decline in voting and political participation."

 
As Mick Fealty said:

"There are two Northern Irelands. There’s a new one that is still trying to give birth to a new way of seeing the wider world, Northern Ireland’s place in it and how each citizen might relate positively to one another. And there’s the old one, breed by at least one generation of murder, betrayal not to mention remote and dysfunctional government. Every now and then someone presses a tribal button and the door swings open on the abiding suspicion, alienation and loathing between neighbours." 

 

David McCann said:

"Anyone who visits Belfast realises very quickly that it is a divided city with its numerous peace walls, divided services and education. Yet at its core there has always been a population that has just wanted to get on with their lives. Go into the city centre in the evening you see pubs full to the rafters with people and thousands of tourists enjoying this culturally rich city.

David then makes a critical point:

"Sadly some of the city’s politicians would rather emphasise the former aspects of this city rather than the latter."

I would go further and say, as I did on eamonnmallie.com here, that while Northern Ireland is simultaneously progressive and regressive, the political representation is almost singularly regressive (typified by its permanent feudal, tribal, sectarian focus). In the face of that, you either compromise on what is most precious to you, your peace and prosperity, or you stand up, demand and vote for better representation.

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The answer to policy free politics

In the last post we discussed Northern Ireland's world of policy-free politics, which kind of very much makes the "NI21, where are your policies?" debate a misnomer, non-starter, outlier and non-terrestrial. But there's a problem with living in a world of policy-free politics. As Mick Fealty said: "if there's no policies there's no politics."

The solution? According to Mick Fealty:

"The ‘former moderate’ parties can tag along for the ride, or pull back try to develop their own alternative, policy based approach and try to build some form of politics that is a functional response to the material interests of real people."

For Mick, it's about "acting 'through' the middle". He said:

"Building the strength of those who currently occupy the middle actually misses the point. What’s required is the emergence substantive political actors who are committed not to being in the middle, but who are capable of acting decisively through the middle.

In short we need inveterate deal makers who can do deals that stick and who are obsessed with more than covering up for the failures and misadventures of the past, but are instead committed to enlarging the shadow of the future."

The UUP and SDLP have given up on becoming the radical, credible alternative to the DUP/SF sectarian carve-up. This is where NI21 comes in: a party that will take a policy based approach and that will make a functional response to the material interests of real people. For example: jobs, the economy, education, healthcare and so on.

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Northern Ireland - A world of policy free politics

Since its inception NI21 has found itself under a shower of inverted criticism as opponents cat call the party for its lack of policies. The doublespeak and hypocrisy is simply breathtaking. Ventriloquising Mick Fealty, editor of Slugger O'Toole, the old-order parties in Northern Ireland practice a special and unique branch of politics: that being, "policy-free politics." As Mick Fealty said:

"Policy is little in evidence anywhere in Stormont. Nor has there been any clearly articulated ambition to focus on solving real world problems through new policy formation at the political level. The non arrival of CSI and a long promised anti poverty strategy from OFMdFM is indicative.

In the absence of meaningful content, politics is reduced to a series of controversies over Orange parades, the flying of flags, the naming of play parks. Unnoticed, and largely unrermarked upon, the intimidation of minority communities continues on a low level and out of sight of the TV cameras."

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"The main act is a puppet show loosely themed around the politics of identity, which is both its greatest strength and a major vulnerability."

No policies equals no politics and deadlock at best, mismanagement and descent into conflict at worst.

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