Fintan embraces the Chucks - almost

Fintan O’Toole’s mea culpa for not standing in the forthcoming elections which can be seen here –
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2011/0129/1224288524065.html
is extremely interesting about one particular thing that it does say (about Sinn Féin) and one thing that, in common with the whole of the left in Ireland, it fails to consider.

Firstly, O’Toole’s article is interesting for any journalist or blogger because he gives the reasons why no such commentator can afford to ally themselves to a political party. It is no secret that my political predilection would tend towards Sinn Féin and the republican socialist position. However, the thought of standing for political office for any such constituency fills me with dread because, at a stroke, I would lose all my independence as a respected critic and journalist. Worse, this loss of credibility would be retrospective, so that any film or article I ever created would become tainted with a hint of bias. Fintan was right to say no.

There's more good stuff - tucked away in Fintan's article is another even more interesting little gem,which readers may miss if they blink. This represents one of the most significant shifts in his political position since he began his new phase as a campaigning journalist. For, in correctly arguing for a negotiated default of Ireland's bank debt he points out that the only groups actively arguing for this are “Sinn Fein and United Left”.
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