BEYOND ANOTHER BROKEN TWO-PARTY-SYSTEM

In Ireland, elections were held on Saturday 8 February 2020 for representatives of the House of Deputies; and surprisingly, Sinn Fein, the revolutionary party historically affiliated to the I.R.A. (Irish Republican Army), won the election with 24.5% of the vote, ahead of the two parties that have dominated the country's politics over the last few years, such as Fine Gael (right wing, conservative and Christian Democrat party) with 20.9% of support; and Fianna Fáil (republican and conservative party between the centre and centre right) with 22.2% of the vote. There was a 62.9% turnout, 2.2% less than in 2016.

The I.R.A. was born from the conflict that still exists for the independence of Northern Ireland, whose capital is Belfast, one of the cities most affected by this latent conflict. It arose in 1921, when Great Britain granted sovereignty to Ireland, but reserved the part of the North, which remains under British rule. People who lived and still live in this territory understand this situation as an occupation by a foreign force, opposed to the claim of their autonomy and away from the control of the United Kingdom.

Since 1921, the I.R.A. has been formed by various paramilitary organizations. Under the umbrella of these acronyms, its objective is the independence of the counties that make

Since 1921, the I.R.A. has been formed by various paramilitary organizations. Under the umbrella of these acronyms, its objective is the independence of the counties that make
Since 1921, the I.R.A. has been formed by various paramilitary organizations. Under the umbrella of these acronyms, its objective is the independence of the counties that make up Northern Ireland -under British domination- and to form, together with Ireland, a single country. The problem was the fact that the United Kingdom, far from facilitating or calming the situation, sent troops to the territory of Northern Ireland and on January 30, 1972, killed 14 people as a response to the tension between Republicans and Unionists. This incident further fuelled the conflict, in which the I.R.A. was committing attacks against civilians, military and authorities of the British and Northern Irish government.


From 1972, Great Britain abolished the Belfast government and opted for direct rule in Northern Ireland, with politicians in favour of maintaining the union with Great Britain.On Good Friday 1998, the Belfast Agreement was signed, supposedly putting an end to the conflict in Northern Ireland. Since then, the I.R.A. has suffered some splits among its files: some paramilitary groups continued to take up arms, and others opted for a path of dialogue and disarmament. A new autonomy was achieved for Northern Ireland, following the 1998 agreement, but was suspended by London in 2002, which alleged the I.R.A.'s failure to disarm.

On 28 July 2005, the I.R.A. issued a communiqué (press release is more common), in which it declared itself in favour of a definitive ceasefire, disarmament and the pursuit of its objectives through peaceful means.
In 2007 autonomy was returned to the Government of Belfast, and British forces left Northern Ireland, after more than 38 years of occupation.The reality is that paramilitary forces of the I.R.A. - such as the Real I.R.A., or the New I.R.A. - have admitted their responsibility in recent attacks: the last one, in April 2019, in which a journalist was murdered and the New I.R.A. admitted its responsibility.It is not surprising that Sinn Féin, always a supporter of the I.R.A. and with former members of the I.R.A., being a left-wing Republican party, managed to win these Irish elections, with its main objective of achieving total unification between Northern Ireland and Ireland, thus becoming a single and sovereign country in the whole island. On 8 February 2020 Sinn Féin inflicted an unprecedented defeat on both parties of Ireland's historic two-party system, and caused a severe crisis within the right-wing ranks. On the very day it won the election, Sinn Féin reiterated its affinity with the I.R.A., a fact it has never denied.

Many sources point, as a cause of the electoral turnaround, to the fact that Irish society has become fed up with the two-party system, whose predominance in previous governments and parliamentary majorities has meant that the wealth generated in recent years has ended up in the hands of only a few and that the working class has not noticed any improvement in its purchasing power since it emerged from the crisis with flying colours
Many sources point, as a cause of the electoral turnaround, to the fact that Irish society has become fed up with the two-party system, whose predominance in previous governments and parliamentary majorities has meant that the wealth generated in recent years has ended up in the hands of only a few and that the working class has not noticed any improvement in its purchasing power since it emerged from the crisis with flying coloursMany sources point, as a cause of the electoral turnaround, to the fact that Irish society has become fed up with the two-party system, whose predominance in previous governments and parliamentary majorities has meant that the wealth generated in recent years has ended up in the hands of only a few and that the working class has not noticed any improvement in its purchasing power since it emerged from the crisis with flying colours, despite Ireland being placed among the 10 richest countries in the world. This contradiction has led many people to support radical left force, Sinn Féin.


Long negotiations are planned for the formation of the new government, but Sinn Féin will now undoubtedly play a decisive role in the Irish Parliament - and who knows, perhaps even in the government. What the historically predominant parties had not counting on happening has happened and is a present reality. As a result, they are going to have to find a way to effectively deal with this new political panorama if they do not want to lose, to a greater extent, the confidence of Irish society.

We will be following what happens very closely, but it is undoubtedly a very relevant and emotionally charged change, with possible repercussions on many things. Thus, it may be that the United Kingdom will have to rethink the sovereignty it maintains over Northern Ireland. The national sovereignty of three countries is at stake; this tells us about the historic break in the two-party system that has been predominant in Ireland. We will see what the current political landscape holds for Ireland, Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom.