Sinn Féin’s dilemma on Gaza a symptom of the challenges ahead

The sudden shift in Sinn Féin’s position on the Israel-Gaza conflict in November was a reminder that the party faces significantly fewer political and diplomatic constraints in opposition than it would face in government.

Having argued sensibly, including at party leader level, that it would be wrong to expel the Israeli ambassador to Ireland, Sinn Féin abruptly embraced calls for her expulsion. The party’s ardfheis became a simplistically pro-Palestinian event. The dilemma for the party on its Middle East policy reflects the broader challenge it faces – namely, balancing its traditionally radical electoral appeal with the need to court moderate opinion and appear ready for the responsibilities of government.

We are, and should all be, deeply sympathetic to what the Palestinian people have suffered in the past and what they still suffer today. There is no question over whether sincere concern for their plight played some part in Sinn Féin’s sharply revised policy stance. But it is also the case that the responsibility of being in government would weigh more heavily on Sinn Féin than the relative self-indulgence permitted to any opposition party. The party’s leadership itself is aware of that, as its initial refusal to call for the Israeli ambassador’s expulsion even after other parties had done so demonstrates.

We are a small country and our potential diplomatic impact is limited. However, we can punch above our weight and our voice is a respected one

If Sinn Féin enters government after the next election, it will face three important new constraints that should point it further towards the political centre. These include foreign policy issues – specifically towards the present Government’s policy on Israel-Gaza which seeks to advance Palestinian rights, while at the same appropriately recognising Israel’s point of view and prioritising Irish diplomatic influence over the striking of attitudes.

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The first of those constraints is the reality of how Ireland can best, in practice, exercise international influence. We are a small country and our potential diplomatic impact is limited. However, we can punch above our weight and our voice is a respected one. On the Israel-Palestine issue it is the sageness of our voice, not its shrillness, that has an impact. If any future Government were to signal, including by expelling the Israeli ambassador, that we were wearing the Palestinian keffiah on the world stage, as Gerry Adams and others did at the Sinn Féin ardfheis, our Minister for Foreign Affairs could not plausibly undertake the type of constructive diplomacy in the region which Ireland has demonstrated over many decades – including the important messaging of the present Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin, since the recent conflict started. Our general influence in Washington would also be diminished, a point that should be of particular concern to Sinn Féin.

The second constraint would arise from how Ireland must go about its membership of the European Union with a view to maximising its influence and advancing its interests. Ireland’s limited but significant influence on the EU’s Middle East policy did not start when the issue hit the headlines in recent weeks. Ireland has been quietly helping to shape Europe’s policy for many decades by, for example, arguing forcefully for a two-state solution and for prioritising humanitarian aid for the Palestinians; the EU is and will remain the Palestinians’ largest donor.

We don’t dictate EU policy alone. Nor do others. We shape policy by respecting the points of view of other member states and through constructive compromise. On calls for a ceasefire, the centre of gravity of European opinion is moving towards our position, even if the unanimity requirement – which we ourselves insist on in other circumstances – can be frustrating. Stepping away from consensus building, as we know from the antics of the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, would diminish Ireland’s influence, not just on foreign policy but on other issues of importance to Ireland, including eventual EU support for Irish unity.

The third new element that Sinn Féin would face in government is the advice of the civil service. I have no doubt that the Irish civil service would be entirely committed to working in support of whatever government is chosen by the Irish electorate. The civil service would not therefore be a constraint in terms of implementing policies, which would rightly be determined at political level. However, it should be an important constraint, as it is for every government, in terms of advising on the pros and cons of every policy choice.

The challenge for Sinn Féin in government would be to listen, fully and with an open mind, to such objective advice and to avoid being unduly controlled by its own party structures, which appear to dictate much of its policy, including the decision to reverse the party’s position on the Israeli ambassador. It is for the government of the day ultimately to decide policy, but any approach to the Middle East that was not primarily and heavily influenced by the day-to-day input of Ireland’s diplomatic network, at home and abroad, its judgment and experience, would be on the wrong track.

The Sinn Féin party, I have no doubt, has many brilliant officials who would continue to exercise some influence on policy if the party entered government. However, it would be a significant mistake, for Sinn Féin and for Ireland, to imagine that they have the knowledge or experience to supersede or second guess the official advice being given to government ministers.

Sinn Féin, if it is in the next government, may well be able to step up from the relative comfort of opposition to the tighter constraints and responsibilities of government. But it would be a necessary step up.

Bobby McDonagh is a former ambassador of Ireland to London, Brussels and Rome