As capitalism is predicated on inequality, so all parties in a capitalo-democratic system find they must take at least one step to the right to facilitate a general Law-and-Order Liberalism, which the present writer fears can only give way to a final march to the right, and it will, for many, be final. Recall that even in a modern and nice place like Ireland, people die of poverty every day. Capitalism in its fascist mode is more obvious in its murderousness, but do not think, reader, that Macdara exaggerates in seeing the deathfulness, the love of harm—the need for harm—that the capitalist state cultivates.

In Ireland, the biggest hope of those who want an alternative to the Partitionist Party is Sinn Féin. Never believe anyone who translates the name as we ourselves or ourselves alone; this demonstrates not only an inability to use a foclóir, but also a slavish béarlachas in believing that what is two words in Irish (being us and self) must be two in English. This latter mistranslation also, of course, evidences an insistence on viewing Irish nationalism as exclusionary even when presented with a plainly inclusionary name. Other than this promising name, and the fact that they have never been in Government, and therefore disappointed us—we can discount their participation in whatever the administration in the Occupied Territories is called—Sinn Féin have little else to recommend them. As much he likes them, Macdara has no trust in them, and fully expects to add the party to the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael-Labour-Green Party name once they have had time in power to prove themselves appropriate managers of Capitalism with Irish Characteristics (replacing the Labour element, as that branch of the Partionist Party will have ceased to exist around the time Sinn Féin will need to be added in).

It seems possible that Sinn Féin’s team are the most disciplined vote-managers in the capitalo-democratic world, something for which they are despised by other political parties, for whom it is a kind of cheating to have all these mindless people just turning up and voting. Let us look by way of an example at the 2022 Mid Ulster vote, in which Michelle O’Neill was elected on the first count with a tiny Surplus sufficient to get her two constituency colleagues—both women—elected on the second count. For anyone unfamiliar with our system, this means that Sinn Féin, having calculated the likely quota, were able to ask their voters to vote 1,2,3 in particular orders, probably in different parts of the constituency, and their voters did it. The party was almost completely correct in its maths, coming close to getting all three candidates elected (in a five seat constituency) on the first count. This relation of party to supporters is clearly one of incredible trust; they are tied to their voters in a way that is untrue of almost any party anywhere that Macdara can think of. And this in a constituency where one might expect that the Party, its Electorate, or the Leader herself, might want to give a much greater level of support to the Leader than her running-mates. But no; discipline above all. Compare this approach to, say, a former Labour Party leader who was happy to squat on a vote share of over 20% in his Dublin constituency, leaving his running-mate on half that amount, a serial non-TD, as it happens, who therefore was (once again) unelected. Hard to say in this case if it was laziness, stupidity, or an inability to engage in campaigning that—combined with this man’s greed—could have such a (for the party) poor result; perhaps it is needless to add that Macdara is still amused by how things turned out.

Regarding Sinn Féin’s habit of running people like women, youngsters, and minorities: this is also felt to be cheating, not to mention their habit of supporting things like same-sex marriage and reproductive rights. This is, in fact, all evidence of their dangerous desire to get into Power, where they will do something, something disfiguring, which may be the removal of the Border, or may be, as some imply darkly, the raising of taxes. For the partionist, Unification is not something that can be imagined—it is only a fear, an important structural fear, yes, but nothing more substantive—the real fear always being that a Government might govern in any kind of active way. The Death Drive of the capitalist state, felt rather than understood by the Partionist Party, does not admit of any attempt to arrest our forced collective progress towards the Right.