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Sinn Fein: Parties
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While other guerrilla movements of the left have withered or failed to make the electoral transition, Sinn Fein keeps growing, despite the chilling impact of the war on terrorism and the close British-US alliance. Although its total vote in the Republic's proportional system is at 7 percent, its leader, Gerry Adams, has equaled and at times even topped the popularity of Prime Minister Ahern. And unlike any other party, Sinn Fein now has seats in Parliament in London, the Assembly in Stormont and the southern Irish Dail, or Parliament. The Bush Administration has been unhappy with this Irish exceptionalism to the generally conservative trend in the wake of the war on terrorism.
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With outgoing centre-right Prime Minister Bertie Ahern hotly tipped to retain his job, the possible rise of Sinn Fein has become the main talking point in an otherwise dull campaign. Opposition parties have claimed that Mr Ahern would be willing to accept support from Sinn Fein - and by extension its "private army", the IRA - if his centre-right populist party falls short of a majority. Mr Ahern has denied this.
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Sinn Fein's vote clearly suggested that party members were willing to swallow their bitter feelings and cooperate with police for the sake of peace. But many ... said that the province's Catholic minority will begin to trust the police only if officers gave them fair and legal treatment.
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A former IRA member who is now a prominent critic of Sinn Fein, Anthony McIntyre, said he doubted that dissidents were seriously scheming to kill any of the party's leaders. He said anybody who tried would face a certain IRA death sentence in return.
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Sinn Fein is scheduled to formally enter the negotiations on Tuesday, but two pro-British parties have already vowed to boycott the process. A roundtable meeting of participants is scheduled for September 15.
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Paisley made no immediate public comments concerning the Sinn Fein vote. In the past, he has said he would cooperate with Sinn Fein only if the party endorsed the police and demonstrated support for law and order. Paisley has been deeply skeptical of previous peace overtures, including the IRA's 2005 declaration that it had laid down its weapons permanently and renounced violence in favor of political solutions.
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