Opinion

Anton Savage: Sinn Féin’s lofty promises may not survive taint of Realpolitik once in power

The party’s move into power-sharing means it will face questions about how it handles issues while actually in government

Anton Savage. ‘Sinn Féin has spent the last two years in the Irish political equivalent of the governor’s mansion – power-adjacent. In the public eye, but shielded from public ire. It is a position no main Irish opposition party has ever enjoyed’

One assumes Sinn Féin prayed for a return to the Stormont assembly the way St Augustine prayed for chastity – ‘God, make us a devolved government, but not just yet.’

Like chastity, power-sharing is something everyone must respect and wish for, but for Mary Lou’s party, it’s not all positive.

Sinn Féin has spent 24 months in the enviable position of being entirely unaccountable for its assertions. This is not to say its assertions are ...