Sir, – In “Voters need less of the ‘attack dog’ from Sinn Féin” (Opinion & Analysis, January 1st), Una Mullally writes that the line with most impact in Mary Lou McDonald’s end-of-year interview with Pat Leahy (News, December 20th) was this: “Things take too long”. I agree.
Ms McDonald said: “The third issue that comes up all the time is how the public administration functions, the lack of pace, the lack of ambition . . . Things take too long.”
What Una Mullally doesn’t remark on is that Mary Lou quickly realised that she had offered a hostage to fortune and played an excellent recovery: “And in saying this, by the way, let me just acknowledge the huge talent and capacity that we have within our public service. I am in no way wishing to diminish that for a second.”
As ever, it is the system that is at fault. Her abrupt change of tack was prompted by the realisation that 300,000 public servants have votes. The system does not. – Yours, etc,
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PAT O’BRIEN,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – Sinn Féin’s careful construction of a broad-based coalition of political support, with often disparate membership, is now endangered by the rise of the anti-immigrant movement in Ireland. Mary Lou McDonald’s readjustment of party policy on immigration before Christmas to entice recently deserted supporters back to the fold is a high-stakes manoeuvre.
That cohort of Sinn Féin support whose world view that hitherto found the party’s policies congenial – urban, middle-class graduates, unable to buy homes, culturally edgy and irredeemably liberal on social issues – will not countenance any such pandering to anti-immigrant sentiment.
Whether Sinn Féin will calculate that the preservation within its base of those not so well-disposed to immigration will be worth the loss of the Una Mullallys of this world must surely be the most fascinating political question of the new year. – Yours, etc,
NEIL CRONIN,
Mallow,
Co Cork.
