Why don’t Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael merge?

Fianna Fáil’s eighth leader Micheál Martin opened his party’s 73rd ard fheis in Dublin last night with a speech on republicanism.

Such a grand subject offers nearly unlimited potential for cheerleading, uplifting, deeply romantic and almost timeless rhetoric.

In its truest sense, inclusive, bigotry-free and — dare we use the word — secular republicanism unites societies, ideas, creeds and energises the sense of common purpose active in nearly all successful communities. Colour-blind republicanism is a force for good and this society needs to revisit the empowering principles that make it such an authentic and effective modus operandi for modern societies.

Mr Martin may re-emphasise his party’s commitment to an older version of the dogma, not least his internal imperative of recovering ground lost to Sinn Féin. Nevertheless, how wonderful it would be if his focus on republicanism was wider, was on the restoration of all of Irish political life to a central, respected and inclusive role rather than just the rejuvenation of one party corrupted and despised because it was too long in power.

It is inevitable that somewhere on the fringes of the ard fheis some hardcore venerables, those who still insist Charlie Haughey “was the makings of the country”, will recall the decades of absolute power. Like half-destitute Russian aristocrats washed up in Geneva in the 1920s criticising the caviar or the servants, they long for a past that is, thankfully, with O’Leary in the grave. But still, all of the future is to play for.

One of the great questions in Irish politics is hardly ever asked, much less answered. This may be a perfect moment for at least one party to try to answer it, to try to understand why a century-old divide still shapes our politics and what those politics might achieve. Why do we still have Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael? Why do we have two centre right, Christian democratic, moderately conservative parties? What are the differences that make it impossible for Enda Kenny and Mr Martin to work together in one party?

Apart from some personal, Pavlovian and pathetically tribal animosities — seen again this week in the Seanad when a light-hearted jibe was taken out of all proportion — why are such obvious bedfellows still devoting a considerable proportion of their talents, energies and resources to defeating each other rather than uniting to achieve what is supposed to be the overriding objective — the best possible Ireland, the best possible society? It may be overly trivial to say the ambitions of each party’s officer class are an impediment but from the outside looking in what else might it be?

Mergers of like-minded political parties are not everyday but are far from uncommon and the sun still rises in countries where this has happened.

Both parties were happy to see Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution removed in the name of progress. Both welcomed Queen Elizabeth last summer in the name of a rapprochement with our nearest neighbour. Both support the EU fiscal compact. Could finally putting aside differences defined nearly a century ago be any more seismic than any of those milestones?

Neither party, in their current format, can easily dismiss the together-is-stronger argument but the fact it won’t even be discussed is another indication of why we’re in the mess we’re in. What a high price we pay for vanity masquerading as principle.