SINN FÉIN president Gerry Adams encouraged supporters to celebrate the party's ground-breaking achievements in Northern Ireland at the weekend, while placing those developments in the context of the long-term goal of a united Ireland. The approach allowed him to minimise the unexpected setback in the general election in this State and treat the party's development as a work in progress.
It has been an extraordinary year for Sinn Féin. The situation in Northern Ireland was transformed when, following a successful Assembly election, the party formally endorsed the Police Service of Northern Ireland and entered a power-sharing executive headed jointly by the Rev Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness. Four Sinn Féin ministers were appointed; an economic programme for government was agreed and devolution gathered pace. Members took their places on policing boards and North/South structures began to function.
By any political yardstick, these were momentous developments. But they were spoiled by a political miscalculation. The leadership expected voters in the Republic to behave as they had in the North. The May general election saw Sinn Féin presenting itself as "sharing power in the North and ready for government in the South." It was hugely ambitious. But the campaign developed into a presidential-style battle between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. If Sinn Féin would enter government with Fianna Fáil, why vote for the smaller party? Rather than gain five Dáil seats, as expected, it lost one. The party's Northern engine had become decoupled from its Southern carriages.
Since then, a great deal of thought and effort has gone into addressing that dislocation. Obvious signs were the prominence of Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin and Mary Lou McDonald during the ardfheis while Senator Pearse Doherty launched a "Save the West" campaign during a televised warm-up for Mr Adams. Martin Ferris spoke of building a mass movement in support of Irish unity by utilising preparations for the one-hundredth anniversary of the 1916 Rising. But challenges facing the party emphasise the structural rift, rather than conceal it. A campaign of opposition to the Lisbon Treaty will be conducted in this State. And the struggle to secure the transfer of policing and judicial powers from Westminster will take place in Northern Ireland.
Sinn Féin opposes the Lisbon Treaty for traditional reasons. And while that stance is unlikely to broaden the party's appeal to the business community, it will lift its profile. The transfer of policing and judicial powers, planned for next May, has already caused political tension. DUP elements are strongly opposed. Dr Paisley has maintained there is insufficient community support for the development at this time. Mr Adams disagrees and regards the issue as one of confidence building. He identified the "nay sayers" as those who opposed power sharing and now want to get rid of Dr Paisley. Missed deadlines are expected in Northern Ireland. What matters is that the new political structures work. Sinn Féin is deeply committed to that process.