North Korea Increases Aid to Russia, Mos... Tue Nov 19, 2024 12:29 | Marko Marjanovi?
Trump Assembles a War Cabinet Sat Nov 16, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?
Slavgrinder Ramps Up Into Overdrive Tue Nov 12, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?
?Existential? Culling to Continue on Com... Mon Nov 11, 2024 10:28 | Marko Marjanovi?
US to Deploy Military Contractors to Ukr... Sun Nov 10, 2024 02:37 | Field Empty
Anti-Empire >>
A bird's eye view of the vineyard
Alternative Copy of thesaker.is site is available Thu May 25, 2023 14:38 | Ice-Saker-V6bKu3nz
Alternative site: https://thesaker.si/saker-a... Site was created using the downloads provided Regards Herb
The Saker blog is now frozen Tue Feb 28, 2023 23:55 | The Saker
Dear friends As I have previously announced, we are now “freezing” the blog.? We are also making archives of the blog available for free download in various formats (see below).?
What do you make of the Russia and China Partnership? Tue Feb 28, 2023 16:26 | The Saker
by Mr. Allen for the Saker blog Over the last few years, we hear leaders from both Russia and China pronouncing that they have formed a relationship where there are
Moveable Feast Cafe 2023/02/27 ? Open Thread Mon Feb 27, 2023 19:00 | cafe-uploader
2023/02/27 19:00:02Welcome to the ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’. The ‘Moveable Feast’ is an open thread where readers can post wide ranging observations, articles, rants, off topic and have animate discussions of
The stage is set for Hybrid World War III Mon Feb 27, 2023 15:50 | The Saker
Pepe Escobar for the Saker blog A powerful feeling rhythms your skin and drums up your soul as you?re immersed in a long walk under persistent snow flurries, pinpointed by
The Saker >>
The Economic Illiteracy of UK Energy Policy is a Sight to Behold Thu Jul 10, 2025 07:00 | Tilak Doshi
UK energy policy is run by economic illiterates. That's the only conclusion Dr Tilak Doshi can come to after Ed Miliband's deputy said there is "no material difference" between importing oil and drilling for it ourselves.
The post The Economic Illiteracy of UK Energy Policy is a Sight to Behold appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
News Round-Up Thu Jul 10, 2025 00:36 | Richard Eldred
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Benefits Pay ?2,500 More Than Full Time Job, Analysis Shows Wed Jul 09, 2025 19:30 | Will Jones
A life on sickness benefits will soon pay ?2,500 more a year than a full-time minimum wage job, according to analysis from the Centre for Social Justice. No wonder the country is going bankrupt.
The post Benefits Pay ?2,500 More Than Full Time Job, Analysis Shows appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Why I Might Vote Tory for the First Time Wed Jul 09, 2025 17:24 | Nick Dixon
With Nigel Farage insisting he's relaxed about the UK's demographic shift and white British heading to minority status, Nick Dixon is seriously considering voting Tory for the first time. Hear him out, he pleads.
The post Why I Might Vote Tory for the First Time appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Net Zero to Cost Taxpayers ?800 Billion, Warns OBR Wed Jul 09, 2025 15:00 | Will Jones
Britain?s move to a Net Zero economy will cost taxpayers more than ?800 billion over the next two decades, the UK?s fiscal watchdog has said. But even this is based on implausibly generous assumptions, say critics.
The post Net Zero to Cost Taxpayers ?800 Billion, Warns OBR appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Lockdown Skeptics >>
Voltaire, international edition
Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en
Disintegration of Western democracy begins in France Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:00 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en
The International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism by Amichai Chikli and Na... Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:31 | en
Voltaire Network >>
dublin |
politics / elections |
opinion/analysis
Monday June 01, 2009 23:05
by Joe Higgins - Socialist Party
info at joehiggins dot eu
printable version
Digg this
del.icio.us
Furl
Reddit
Technorati
Facebook
Gab
Twitter
View Comments Titles Only
save preference
Comments (8 of 8)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8...getting behind ryan
Saving Private Ryan
She may not only have put the nail in Ryan's coffin but have boosted MacDonald ahead of Higgins as the knee jerk reaction of some will obviously be to do the opposite to what Harney wants them to! On the other hand there may well be a hope on the Governmnet's part that Mitchell supporters, thinking him safe, will vote for Ryan in order to stop the Shinners. All desperation at this stage anyway. Higgins needs to be up there this week as a contender otherwise he will get squeezed out as people opt for Ryan and whoever they think will beat him. Needs to do something to grab media attention next day or two in my opinion.
She wasn't worried about Joe Higgins though- the establishment like Joe because they think he is funny.
All Mary Harney's ire was aimed solidly at another candidate.
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/harney-battles-....html
There's been an attack on this candidate in the Independent Newspaper every day recently- there's one again today, and there'll be more tomorrow and the next day. It looks like the establishment are really scared of this candidate winning.
Can you guess who it is?
I can't believe you said that the establishment are not afraid of Joe Higgins. If that is the case then why did Brian Cowen devote so much time to attacking Joe Higgins and the Socialist Party yesterday. The establishment are not afraid of Sinn Fein. Sinn Fein have proved their "loyalty" to the establishment and capitalism through their involvement in the coalition in the North with the DUP. Sinn Fein will be coalition partners with Fianna Fail or Fine Gael in the future.
Mary Lou McDonald has been an MEP for the last five years I can't name one single thing she did that frightened the establishment or one single struggle she led to against the government or the employers. Joe Higgins is known precisely because of the struggles he has led and for his opposition to the establishment parties, not his sense of humour your comment is an insult to Joe Higgins.
Sinn Fein's support in the Dublin European constituency is falling, the Socialist Party's suypport is increasing. The best way to vote against this government is to vote for Joe Higgins and to elect a proven fighter for working class people.
I think you are missing the point. The 'establishment' are not worried about some global threat to their hegemony, they are worried about the European and local elections and the general election that will follow most likely within the next year. In that scenario, it is SF that is perceived as the main 'left' threat to FF, not the SP. If it came down to it they would prefer Joe to MacDonald. That scenario might well change but not for the present. Ruling class is rather good at dealing with immediate rather than distant threats!
I do agree however that Higgins support has been underestimated and that SF will take a hit locally that will be reflected in gains for other left candidates and a constriction of the potential MacDonald vote. It will depnend a lot on how big that local non SF left vote is to how close Higgins will get to winning the EU seat.
THE facts are the facts- the Independent is attacking Mary Lou like she's the anti-christ, but printing puff pieces about Joe Higgins and calling him Uncle Joe-
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/shades-of-dracu....html
"Joe grinned naughtily: "I had a good laugh writing that!" In fairness he has a reason for a bit of jollity; the most recent opinion poll showed him gaining two points to 9 pc, which puts him firmly in the scrap for the third seat, alongside Eoin and Sinn Fein's Mary Lou McDonald."
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/shades-of-dracu....html
They are talkinmg him up. Why?
They'd love to see people voting for Joe because every vote for the Socialist Party is not a vote for Sin Fein, who they see a real and credible threat.
Which is why Higgins will also get a substantial vote, particularly preferences, from voters who are far from socialist. Antipathy to SF has nothing to do with their politics, it's more a cultural thing similar to the hatred that middle class liberals in general have for FF, based on FF's historical roots and links with the 'peasantry' and the great unwashed. That may seem a quaint concept but it is still a powerful motivation in Irish politics. Shinners are anathema, not because they are raving lefties, which they are clearly not, but because of their fading associations with the IRA and ordinary people having the temerity to shoot drug dealers, beat up strike breakers and generally defy their betters. Poor old Shinners however have missed the plot and are still chasing the mythical middle class vote.
FF see SF as a threat purely in terms of the impact on the seats of individual TD's and councillors. Losing Ryan's Euro seat is a disaster for FF irrespective of whether it goes to MLM or Joe Higgins. FF have been doing deals with SF for donkeys years - most SF councillors are in pacts with FF on local councils - they know when push comes to shove that SF can be relied upon to do a deal.
There is a reason why Cowen attacked but SF and the Socialist Party in equal measure - they do not see SF as any more of a threat in these elections than the Socialist Party.