Sinn Féin has decided it must do things differently if it is to engage successfully with the electorate in this State. A poor performance in the general election, when its Dáil team was cut from six to five, came as a huge shock to the all-island party that had swept to power in Northern Ireland. And the fact that Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams was the public face of the setback in the Republic, because of his poor grasp of economic matters during public debates, was of particular concern.
There is an obvious need to refresh and invigorate the party after its electoral results fell so far short of its expectations in the general election. Transforming a party of protest into a party of government will not be easy, particularly when the pressure for change is so obviously external. Sinn Féin has made the adjustment in Northern Ireland where it now leads a powersharing Executive with the Democratic Unionist Party. And the lessons it is learning there, in terms of promoting industry and investment as a necessary foil to social change and development, are being directed southwards.
There was much talk at Sinn Féin's weekend conference in Dublin about a need to become comfortable with words like "prosperity" and "economic opportunity"; to be seen as a party that promoted small and medium-sized businesses and encouraged wealth creation. This shift towards the political centre in the South is to be encouraged through a series of meetings with local chambers of commerce, business people and the social partners.
Change was also evident in the party's attitude towards Europe. With a referendum on the EU reform treaty due next year, Mr Adams committed Sinn Féin to campaigning for a "No" vote while, at the same time, accepting that Ireland's place is within the European Union. Such a halfway-house policy was echoed in the debate on migration, where some local concerns that the party favoured an open-door policy were laid to rest. A need to manage migration was emphasised along with proper funding for integration projects and the decent treatment of immigrants.
Doing things differently is easier said than done, particularly within a party structured like Sinn Féin where discipline and obedience are favoured above imagination and innovation. A form of democratic centralism, with Belfast at the apex of the command structure, still monitors and directs developments in the Republic. The situation is further complicated by inherited baggage. Few would doubt the sincerity of Martin Ferris when he calls for co-operation with the Garda Síochána in putting an end to the activities of illegal drug-pushers. The same cannot be said, however, of Sinn Féin's denial that Paul Quinn was beaten to death by IRA members in south Armagh. A show of such brutal force, designed to sustain local republican control, is intolerable. It will take more than minor policy adjustments to make Sinn Féin's electoral message acceptable.