A mistaken venture into major change
I publish here parts of a letter sent to Lucinda Creighton. She wrote in response to my sending her my paper, ‘Same-Sex Marriage in the Irish Constitution’. And I write to Simon Coveney, whose decision to lead the Fine Gael campaign on behalf of the marriage referendum — given his other substantial duties of State — has astonished me.
I told Lucinda: “Thank you for your letter in response to my document, ‘Same-Sex Marriage in the Irish Constitution’. I sent it to you to read, which you have not done. This makes your claim that you appreciate my concerns, and respect my opinion, questionable. You refer to the “significant importance” of the issues raised by the referendum and give guidance how citizens should vote. You confirm that your own “deep” discussions with friends and family decided you, well in advance of the campaign, how you would vote. What did they know of the Constitution? How did “family” help you? Why did you not mention it? You say: “I do not believe there has been a fair, balanced or tolerant debate.” How did you make up your mind? You conclude: “If there is anything I can do to be of assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.”
There is, Lucinda. You can open your mind again, reconsider your position and the document I sent. It contains deep, stinging criticisms of the Government, and it outlines fundamental Government intentions that will seriously and irreversibly damage marriage in Ireland. You were part of that Government. You should now be a critic from outside.
You are the newest leader in Irish politics. You have a difficult road ahead. I have written for more than half a century about countless leaders of Irish political parties. I know a thing or two about the merits and defects of politicians, past and present, and I have been truthful and outspoken about all of them.
I shall now be the same about you, in this and in any future articles. I send it to you first to let you reconsider some of the nonsense in your initial response and to adjust your sights to the national audience you should be addressing. Leave “talking with friends and family in great detail over the last while” and turn to the world that elected you. There is still a month in hand to study further.
Your politics depict you as a moralist, concerned with “the spiritual person”, probably valuing marriage and integrity in human life. Indeed, back in 2011 you supported civil partnership and opposed same-sex marriage. You believed then “marriage is primarily about children, the main purpose being to propagate and create” (you said this in a tweet on February 18, 2011).
This ran counter to the Fine Gael position. You later changed your position to theirs, then left them and started your own party.
This has not gone as well as it might. A party whose first principle is “building an economy for entrepreneurs” or “giving politics back to the people” is setting loose standards. Then you added: “We want to reboot Ireland and we want those who are as passionate about this country as we are to join us on this mission.” Quite a number of people withdrew support. If you simply sign up for the uncritical consensus on major issues which is suffocating political life, how will that change anything? We will no doubt have more to exchange on this in the days ahead.
I bring in another person whose acts have been similar to yours, Simon Coveney. In my judgment, his political course, although safer than yours, is eccentric.
He has also changed his view on same-sex marriage, from not believing in it to believing in it. There is no indication that he has given any more serious study to the consequences for Irish society that you appear to have done. I suspect that this is a political decision announced before his appointment to lead the referendum campaign.
I believe this campaign is already in a hopeless mess. It offers no intellectual rationale beyond a strained belief in the unreal idea that this is about “equality”, which it is not. The campaign is a frontal assault on marriage thus challenging things that both you, Lucinda, and you, Simon — indeed the vast majority of Irish people — once believed and now, to suit ambition or their wish to belong to the current vogue, have betrayed in favour of something that is a threat to Irish life greater almost than any previously experienced.
The truth is that the referendum campaign has been in a growing state of confusion due to a number of quite extraordinary factors. Firstly, Frances Fitzgerald has not only had to shoulder the job of “seeing the referendum through”, a major task in itself, but also of answering for it on behalf of every single member of the Government. She has had to redefine legislation and rework language.
I have written to Government ministers and some have replied; others, through their private secretaries, have simply said that I should address myself to the justice minister, behind whom they hide.
She is overburdened, unresponsive. Doing an impossible job, she is trying to deal with a huge and growing volume of complex and well-informed doubts. There should have been a meticulous and detailed examination of all the huge issues. Instead, the campaign has become a mistaken venture into major political change orchestrated through the most curious and inept convention the country has ever seen.
For a minister with the burden currently borne by Simon Coveney — of Agriculture, Food, Marine, and Defence — to take on leadership of the referendum yes campaign is quite absurd.
He should run it in his private political capacity — that is, without benefit of departmental staff, ministerial car, and the rest of it. That is what the law should dictate. Otherwise, taxpayers are paying for one side of the referendum campaign. This principle governs political party expenses.
Mr Coveney gets his staff and car for State duties, not reckless political adventures.
Mr Coveney’s adventure is a gamble. He is overconfident. He did not believe in it. Now he does. I call that ‘political belief’. Over 50 years writing about politics, I have grown to be utterly dismissive of that sort of belief.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
