The LoveBoth website offers readers eight reasons to vote No in Ireland’s upcoming referendum.
In amongst the classics, there is one titled: “Don’t hand politicians a blank cheque.”
“We could not trust politicians to reform our failing health service,” the argument goes. “And yet we’re being asked to trust them with the lives of unborn babies.”
“Only a No Vote can prevent politicians having complete control over our abortion laws.”
However, based on the evidence from Fianna Fáil’s photoshoot on Thursday, the distaste is far from mutual. In fact, no fewer than 31 Fianna Fáil TDs and Senators gathered to have their photo taken behind the LoveBoth campaign’s posters and slogans.
Four more elected officials (TDs John McGuinness, Willie O Dea, Kevin O Keeffe and Senator Diarmuid Wilson) sent their support though they could not be present. Other major FF figures, such as deputy leader Dara Calleary and finance spokesman Michael McGrath, were also photographed.
The argument that we shouldn’t trust politicians on principle is ad hominem. It’s an attack on character rather than an appeal to the facts. There’s no inherent reason to mistrust politicians as a species — it’s just that so many of them lie, and fuck up, and ruin things, that it’s probably best to approach them with caution at all times.
In Ireland’s case, no two words should arouse more caution than “Fianna Fáil”. It’s not even ten years since bank guarantees, bail-outs and debt to the troika brought Ireland to its knees thanks to Fianna Fáil leadership. Soaring emigration, frozen public sector pay, increased taxes and public spending cuts all followed — all attributable to the mistakes of a party who had been in power for the 11 years leading up to the recession (as well as the first three years of its impact).
Sometimes I get shocked that they’re still around at all. Did I miss the grovelling apology? Did Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen or indeed Micheál Martin ever face up to the role they played in destroying Ireland’s economy, its jobs market, its housing market? Really it seemed like they just bided their time for a while like Voldemort before swooping back in to do weird stuff like prop up a government of their enemies and emphatically align themselves with the Catholic right. Though, to be generous, it took a lot of brass neck for them to continue at all.
The photoshoot also highlights just how fractious an issue the Eighth Amendment has become within Fianna Fáil over the past year. At its most recent Ard Fheis, the party voted to take a stance rejecting any change to the unborn’s right to life in the constitution. The party’s leader Micheál Martin then broke with this stance and delivered an impassioned speech in the Dáil, arguing strongly in favour of repeal. While Martin won plaudits for the speech in the press, it’s now very clear that he failed to change the hearts or minds of his own colleagues.
Fianna Fáil’s TDs and Senators will have a free vote in the upcoming referendum. All told, it seems that at least 60% of Fianna Fáil’s 58 parliamentary members are strongly in favour of a No vote come 25 May.
In the end, the photos have not been officially published. Because nothing says trustworthy like a suppressed photograph of politicians.
And either way, it’s Fianna Fáil’s buddies in LoveBoth who are warning us not to trust the politicians anyway. It’s a bad argument to begin with, but it’s an even worse argument when Fianna Fáil of all people are on your side.
LoveBoth’s website argues: “If the Eighth Amendment is removed, we will have no vote on future abortion laws. We will hand the power to politicians to make these decisions.”
This is the opposite of the truth.
The Eighth Amendment, which provides a right to life for a foetus from the moment of its conception with an exception only in cases where the mother’s life is in danger, prevents the government from effectively legislating in cases of fatal foetal abnormality, rape or incest. In 2013, then-Taoiseach Enda Kenny conceded that any attempt to allow for terminations in cases where the foetus would not survive would be unconstitutional — because of the Eighth Amendment.
Whether you are pro-Repeal or anti-Repeal, removing the Eighth Amendment can only make Ireland’s abortion laws or lack thereof more accountable to the public, not less accountable. If the amendment is removed, the electorate can vote for politicians based on the kind of abortion laws they support, whether their stance is extremely pro-life or extremely pro-choice.
By allowing politicians to campaign on the issue of abortion, every election becomes a vote on future abortion laws — just as every election is a vote on all other laws and policies. “Handing power to politicians to make decisions” is very literally a description of what democracy is — it just ignores the fact that the people can, and will, snatch the power back.
The Irish public will never write its political representatives a blank cheque. This was demonstrated in full force when Fianna Fáil were punished for the recession and allegations of corruption by losing over 50 seats in 2011 — a loss which secured their worst electoral performance in Irish history.
The No side has taken a leaf out of the Brexit-Trump playbook and argued that you can’t trust the establishment — while having at least 60% of Ireland’s most establishment party on its side. Of the 86 years since 1932, Fianna Fáil has been in power for 61 of them.
We’re not being asked to trust politicians with the lives of unborn babies. The campaign for repeal did not start with politicians. For more than 30 years the campaign for reproductive rights in Ireland fell on deaf ears no matter who was taking up more space in Dáil Éireann. Leo Varadkar and Micheál Martin have only come out in favour of repeal in the last six months. Voting against reproductive rights is not “sticking it to the man”.
If a Yes vote is announced on 26 May, it won’t mean that Ireland has decided to trust Leo Varadkar, or Simon Harris, or Fine Gael. It will mean that the people of Ireland have trusted their consciences. It will then be incumbent on politicians to enact the will of the people.
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