Irish Examiner view: Sinn Féin faces into election north of the border
Sinn Féin vice president Michelle O'Neill, left, and Sinn Féin's president Mary Lou McDonald will be very lucky if the party gains an extra seat in the British general election.
While all the talk in and around Leinster House following the electoral successes of both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil was around whether Taoiseach Simon Harris should go to the well again and call an early election, the under-performing Sinn Féin is focused on another campaign altogether.
With the British general election just three weeks away, it has become vital for the party and its leadership to right the collective Sinn Féin ship quickly and, with 14 candidates standing in the North, a good performance at the ballot box is seen as essential for several reasons.
A perceived disconnect between Dublin and its northern activists has led to mounting concern within the party and, while Stormont economy minister Conor Murphy has been among those to back Mary Lou McDonald, backroom tensions are high.
There is a feeling among northern Sinn Féin members that Dublin has gone too far in trying to bring the party into the mainstream in its efforts to persuade the southern electorate that a united Ireland is achievable. In doing so, it is feared the leadership is alienating many of the people who put them into power in the North.
Ms McDonald’s assertion that Sinn Féin was “nailed on” to make gains in the Westminster election has also been seen as divorced from the reality that the party will be very lucky to take one extra seat in the July 4 vote.
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It is probable that it will retain the seven seats it already has, but there is little more than a slim chance of gaining another. That the party failed to act to stem falling support in the pre-election polls in the South and made a disastrous decision to stand too many candidates, has posed further questions about the leadership.
Even so, Sinn Féin demonstrated in the past that it has the capacity to turn bad local/European election performances into a strong general election showing. Another flaccid outing in the Westminster election will make such a recovery all the more difficult.
We are now a nation that prefers to consume its news online first, ahead of the traditional mediums of newspapers, radio, and television.
The annual Reuters Digital News Report Ireland, published yesterday by Coimisiún na Meán, revealed that online news is now the main source of news for people living in Ireland, and that more people are willing to pay for it. The report showed that the has grown its subscriber base, now attracting 10% of news subscribers in Ireland.
Of course, we Irish are traditionally avid consumers of news and, at 88%, the study showed a huge majority to be interested in day-to-day events internationally and nationally.
This compares with 82% in Britain and 84% in the US, and holds up well when compared with the European average of 85%. There is, however, a huge discrepancy between the levels of interest in news between age groups, with the 18-24 age group only coming in at 30%, while those in the 65+ bracket registering at 73%.
It is interesting that while trust in news is down slightly, those accessing online news do not see social media outlets as being their preferred choice, suggesting that Irish people are choosy about what and whom they prefer to believe.
Indicating a high level of awareness around the spread of fake news online, 71% of people surveyed believed they had seen false or misleading information online in the past week.
However, while this awareness has not led to a huge rise in the number of online subscribers to news websites, the trend is going upwards, albeit at a slower pace than the decline in print revenue.
In Ireland, 17% of people are now paying for their news, an increase of two points on last year. Interestingly, Irish consumers are behind the US in this regard, but ahead of British and European averages.
In a time when democracy is under greater threat across the globe than at any time previously, trust in our news outlets is vital, but it is also hugely important that people see the need to pay for news they can believe in.
A matter of days after his being sworn in as India’s prime minister for a third term, Narendra Modi has taken steps to prosecute novelist (and one of his harshest critics) Arundhati Roy under terrorism legislation.
In a move which observers feared after his re-election, Mr Modi’s decision to invoke India’s controversial anti-terrorism laws against Ms Roy is seen by his supporters as a show of strength against political opponents he has said are corrupt.
Although he was forced to form a coalition government in the wake of the general election, when his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saw its seat count significantly reduced, Mr Modi seems intent on doubling down on his attacks on any opponent.
This includes the Booker Prize-winning author Ms Roy, and the government is coming after her for comments she made about the troubled Kashmir province 14 years ago. She has been portrayed as a traitor by party officials who accused her of trying to demoralise the army and compared her to convicted terrorists.
The announcement that Ms Roy could be prosecuted under India’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was made last week despite a previous failed criminal case against her.
Mr Modi and his allies have previously used this legislation to prosecute student activists in Delhi, journalists in Kashmir, and Jesuit priest Stan Swamy, who died in custody in 2021 while facing terrorism charges.
UN human rights special rapporteur Mary Lawlor has criticised Indian authorities for using the law to “criminalise human rights defenders”.
That Ms Roy has been vocal on any number of topics, including the Indian administration of Kashmir, the building of dams, and US foreign policy, as well as being one of Mr Modi’s most strident opponents, has incurred the wrath of the prime minister.
However, if anyone thought their modus operandi of trying to criminalise opposition voices had been tempered by the election setback, they should think again. A leopard rarely changes its spots.
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