Yes, the far right performed well in Europe’s elections. But wherever voters had a clear choice between economic democracy and right-wing xenophobia, they went left.
Europe: The Sky’s Not Falling
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Ireland
Conn Hallinan’s 2013 “Are You Serious?” Awards
Each year Conn Hallinan looks aghast at news stories and newsmakers that beggar belief.
The Irish Election: From Paramilitary to Presidential Nominee
Irish presidential candidate martin Martin McGuinness has even admitted on numerous occasions that he was a leading member of the IRA Army Council in Derry from 1970 until 1974.
Left Bares Its Claws in Irish Vote
If the Irish can come up with a strategy to resist shifting the financial crisis onto the backs of those least able to pay for it, that might be a blueprint for other countries ravaged by debt and economic malaise.
The Irish Elections and the Ghost of Padraic Pearse
Those in charge of the IMF and EU might do well to heed the words of the Irish poet and revolutionary.
60-Second Expert: Ireland
By embracing the wave of globalization sweeping the world in the 1990s, Ireland was able to nurture the fastest growing economy in Europe, dropping unemployment to 5% and raising per capita GDP to one of the highest in the world. But, as the recent collapse of the Irish economy demonstrates, this was not sustainable growth.
The Celtic Tiger Follows the Asian Tigers to Extinction
The financial collapse of Ireland, coming as the latest in a string of disasters, hardly shocks global public opinion. For people engaged in the development debate, however, it is resonant with meaning.
Ireland: The Great Famine 2.0
With both the potato famine and the current economic crisis, the devastation resulted from conscious policy choices by the powerful.
The Future of Irish Peace
Despite the striking political gains made in Northern Ireland since 1998’s Good Friday Agreement, its power-sharing government again verged on collapse in early February, due to a policing and justice dispute. In the end, marathon negotiations forged a deal to keep afloat the 12-member cabinet.
Postcard From…Dublin
The signs are everywhere, all over Ireland, but particularly here in Dublin. Some just say "Yes" or "No," but everyone knows what they mean. The newspapers are full of the debate. Both sides battle on the radio and television. For Ireland, it is déjà vu all over again. In June 2008, Irish voters rejected the Lisbon Treaty — which strengthens the foreign policy and military institutions of the European Union — by a clear margin of 53% to 46%. Next month, on October 2, Ireland will go to the polls a second time to vote on largely the same treaty.