Funferal

Election joy, referendum woe

We had some good results in Galway (for the Labour Party), doubling our seats on the city council from 2 to 4 (of 15), and gaining a seat on the county council. We are now the largest party in the city council – thanks in part to the falls of the three parties that had dominated the council. There had been 4 parties – now there are 6, and an independent.
Although some are presuming this means Labour control of the council (and therefore the mayoralty), the actual situation is far more complex. With the three centre/right-wing parties holding 8 seats, they could maintain control – though such an alliance would be unwieldy. Sinn Féin are (re)positioning themselves as ‘left’ but many cannot (for good reason) forget their paramilitary links, so an alliance (by us or others) with them would be difficult. Finally, although many would see an alliance with the single Green Party councillor as easy, this would only work if the total numbers are actually there.
Unfortunately, all the good news came at the same time as the passing of the referendum on citizenship by a heavy margin (4:1). This was a proposal to change the basis of Irish citizenship, so that those born in the country, of non-national parents, are not entitled to citizenship. I’ve called it xenophobic and racist here before, and will again. However one comment I heard gave a ‘cogent’ argument for the other side: “it can’t be racist, because then you’d be saying that over two thirds of those who voted are racist.” Ah, well, that’s OK so.