Fianna Fail Wins Majority in the Irish Parliement; Will This Mean the End of the Monarchy?
(B.N.C News*, September 2nd, 2019)
How Did this Happen?
A few months ago, the Irish Parliement (called the
Oireachtas in Gaelic) held a vote of no confidence against the Fine Gael government. The Fine Gael party, the conservative, Pro-German party which has held the majority over the Parliement for most of Ireland's history, has recently been plagued by scandals and corruption. This was not helped by the increasing popularity of the right-wing Renua (literally "New Era") party. After the resignation of the last
Taioseach, or Prime Minister, the increasingly popular, liberal nationalist party Fianna Fail called for a vote of no confidence. An emergency election was postponed for several months by Fine Gael, but was finally held a few weeks ago. Fine Gael came off as "incompetent and corrupt" to many people, and the Fianna Fail-Labour coalition was extremely popular in the Northern and Western parts of the Country. The right-of-centre vote was split between the remnants of Fine Gael, the Ulster Party, and Renua.
What Will This Mean for Ireland?
Fianna Fail was formed after the Irish Civil War by Eamon De Valera in 1922. Its main goal was the peaceful transition of Ireland from a Monarchy to a Presidential Federal Republic. It has mainly worked towards this goal by trying to weaken the power of the King through constitutional amendments and laws. But now that Fianna Fail has a majority, and can probably swing the entire left vote, due to their economic policies, many expect them to demand a constitutional convention, where they will disband the monarchy once and for all. The Irish monarchy has been a controversial issue since its establishment, due to the king being from the old Prussian Von Hohenzollern family, as a condition of Germany's backing of the Irish Rebels during the war for Independence. The current king, Iaochim II, has refused to comment on the issue.
Another major issue is changing Ireland's flag. Taioseach Michael O'Brian* has stated that "The Flag of our nation should not be defaced with another country's symbol", but others have stated that the symbol in the Canton is not a symbol of German dominance, but of the German Volunteers who fought with the Irish partisans in the war of independence. A flag referendum is scheduled for next year.
Inset: The Flag of Ireland
The controversial flag of Ireland. The Green stripe is for the Irish Catholics, the Gold stripe is for the Irish Protestants, and the White stripe is for peace, liberty, and unity.
The Canton symbolizes the revolutionary movement that won Ireland her independence. The symbol is that of the German Volunteers, while the blue comes from the Blue Harp Flag.
What Does This Mean for Britain?
Several experts Have said that Ireland will "not attempt the political and economic nightmare of trying to leave the EFDG", but there will still probably be a souring of relations between Ireland and Germany for a while, especially if the king is removed. Some believe that Ireland might beef up its military, and possibly intervene in the crisis in Scotland. Yet others think that perhaps Ireland and Britain can come to an agreement, and maybe even become allies.
The future of Ireland remains uncertain, but it will certainly be something to watch for in years to come.
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Notes
* B.N.C= British National Channel
S.S.R.F= Scottish Socialist Republican Front. Basically the IRA, but Socialist, and in Scotland