Sinn Féin quietly jettisons controversial policies as power beckons

Sinn Féin has turbocharged its political fortunes in the Republic largely by dialling down its nationalist, republican rhetoric and dialling up its critique of Government policy on social issues like housing and health.

At the last general election, it fractured the two-party system that had prevailed since the foundation of the State, winning more first-preference votes than either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael.

The party’s high standing in the polls – it maintains a substantial 10-13 point lead over its two main rivals according to the most recent Irish Times/Ipsos opinion poll – undoubtedly stems from a wider appeal to younger voters, less alienated by the party’s former paramilitary links, and middle-ground voters who feel left behind in a booming economy or on the wrong side of the housing divide.

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Opponents claim it is unprincipled, a threat to enterprise and populist. The party also seems to be promising a solution to the housing problem and a more equitable health system without presenting policies that diverge greatly from the current suite.

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But this is merely part of the political merry-go-round. The Opposition highlights the Government’s failures while offering quick-fix solutions to potentially complex problems. In response, the Government smears them as economically illiterate.

Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil can hardly claim to have adhered to their principles over the years or not to have driven populist agendas while in opposition. Fine Gael seemed to stand on a platform of “burning the bondholders” back in 2011, promising to oppose some of the financial strictures being forced on Ireland by creditors only to perform a consummate volte-face when in power.

What’s actually happening politically is often difficult to pin down in real time or only emerges in retrospect.

However, the Irish electorate has never voted for radical politics. Sinn Féin’s rise politically has coincided with a tactical jettisoning of some of its more radical positions and, more recently, a cosying up to big business.

Sinn Féin’s long-standing pledge to impose a levy on high earners – its so-called “solidarity tax” – has also been diluted

This has gone on under the radar and behind the noise of everyday politics.

Not long ago, the party campaigned against the State’s trademark 12.5 per cent corporate tax rate, calling for it to be axed in favour of an increased 17.5 per cent rate, and claiming the low rate allowed multinationals to “siphon” billions out of the economy “which could have been used to tackle the State’s infrastructure deficit”.

Now the party vigorously defends the State’s low corporate tax rate: it even excoriated the Government for failing “spectacularly” to maintain it in the recent OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) reform negotiations.

Its current position is the same as the Government’s: namely that Ireland will work “inside the tent” of the OECD agreement, which will usher in a new 15 per cent minimum rate for big multinationals from next year. There is now a recognition within the party that bumper corporate tax receipts could pay for a lot of its social agenda.

And as it plunges deeper into middle-class voting channels, the party’s long-standing pledge to impose a levy on high earners – its so-called “solidarity tax” – has also been diluted.

The proposed tax began life as a 7 per cent levy on incomes above €100,000 before morphing into a 5 per cent levy on income over €140,000. The party’s alternative budget last year saw this reduced to a 3 per cent levy on income over €140,000.

The biggest smear Sinn Féin wants to dispel is that it is a threat to enterprise or to the globalised nature of the economy here, which is longhand for our reliance on multinationals.

In the wake of the financial crash, the party’s enterprise policy was almost entirely focused on the domestic indigenous economy and small business. It made no mention of the multinationals or FDI (foreign direct investment) that have been so central to the economic narrative here, other than criticising the government for engineering a two-tier economy in favour of “big business”.

However, its 2020 election manifesto referred, for perhaps the first time, to FDI, recognising its role and importance.

“While we recognise and value the many benefits and jobs FDI has brought, we need to rebalance our economy and ensure small businesses across Ireland receive the required assistance from central government to help them prosper and grow,” it said.

This softening of rhetoric towards big business and the recalibration of tax policies appears to be advancing in tandem with the party’s proximity to government

This has been followed up with a big business/investor charm offensive.

Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald recently travelled to Silicon Valley where she met senior executives in Google and Salesforce. She has also addressed business lobby Ibec while senior party figures have quietly been meeting business leaders.

The party’s finance spokesman Pearse Doherty recently told The Irish Times there was no contradiction between Sinn Féin’s reformist zeal and engagement with business.

“I believe we [will be] a radical government, although some of the ideas that we’re putting forward aren’t that radical – like building homes on public land, ensuring education at third level is free and increasing research and development investment,” he said.

“But nobody who wants to see a radical programme by Sinn Féin wants business to be punished. They need to have a job, they need to have a fair wage, and they want to see investment,” Doherty said.

This softening of rhetoric towards big business and the recalibration of tax policies appears to be advancing in tandem with the party’s proximity to government.