Paul Hosford: Can Sinn Féin really bring back the Mars Delight?

President Mary at the EPIC Museum, CHQ Building, Custom House Quay, Dublin. Calls by Ms McDonald for an energy company subvention may have been somewhat surprising but the calculation makes sense in a way.

In the last weeks of the 2020 General Election campaign, a video was posted by the comedian Darren Conway.

Mr Conway, one of a crop of sketch comedians that Ireland has been blessed with in recent years, asks another character, also played by himself, who they intend to vote for. 

When the character responds that they intend to stay in bed on polling day, the first Mr Conway tells them in no uncertain terms that they have to get up and vote, specifically for Sinn Féin.

Making his case, he outlines all the things that Sinn Féin will do if victorious — bringing back Mars Delight chocolate bars, returning Lucozade to its pre-sugar tax formula, and, perhaps most implausibly, the return to public life of Bertie Ahern.

While the whole thing is very obviously played for laughs, there is a perception among rival parties that there is some truth to the idea that Sinn Féin has become all things to all people, capable of solving all woes, from hospital waiting lists to the disappearance of the lighter, fluffier sibling of the Mars bar. 

While it is not necessarily an idea Sinn Féin works to cultivate, many in the party know it is an attitude that also does them no harm. 

This is evidenced in the polls, which consistently show Mary Lou McDonald's party far ahead of their nearest rivals.

Ms McDonald has leaned into the comedy of Mr Conway, appearing on his podcast and frequently playing along when he addresses her as "ma".

Detractors might ask, what serious party has time for comedy sketches? 

That attitude casts — often wrongly — Sinn Féin as a party that is good at managing image, but light on policy.

Preparing for government

Ms McDonald's summer activities, however, proved that she, above any member of her party, is preparing for government. 

In July, she travelled to Australia where, aside from speaking to ex-pats and emigrants, she met with Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong in Canberra and a number of Australian ministers. 

She also met with the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, to discuss the "importance of protecting the Good Friday Agreement". 

While in California, Ms McDonald met with leaders of tech firms and business and political leaders. Those are not the actions of a leader or a party not taking the next steps seriously.

Back in Dublin for the party think-in on Tuesday, Sinn Féin talked of transparency and openness. 

The fact that the opening speech took place in a room made entirely of glass in the middle of a shopping centre put a fine point on it, but the message was clear that this is a party that wants to lead the next government and needs the support of those for whom a question still hangs over what and who Sinn Féin actually stands for.

That appeal will be played out in the coming months as Sinn Féin aims to position itself as a party that is willing to be pragmatic as well as populist. 

Calls by Ms McDonald for an energy company subvention may have been somewhat surprising — it is not popular to give State money to very profitable companies — but the calculation makes sense in a way.

Ms McDonald and her team will have banked on most people not caring how runaway energy costs come down as they stare down the barrel of an expensive winter, especially if energy companies face a windfall tax.

It may be a one-off idea, but it may also represent the next evolution of Sinn Féin — even if Mars Delights remain out of reach.