Inside Sinn Féin: party strategy for the next ten years

When Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams launched his party's manifesto before the 2007 general election he declared that the party was ready for government.

He said it offered the only real alternative to the Fianna Fáil-led government, and its political ambition was to unite Ireland. Nine years later, the message is unchanged and its goals unrealised but Sinn Féin has progressed significantly.

In the immediate aftermath of the 2007 poll, in which it won four seats, down from five in the previous Dáil, a number of decisions were taken by the party’s leadership.

Sinn Féin embarked on a recruitment drive to double its membership, refocused its efforts on “ordinary people” and re-rooted itself in local communities. The most significant decision was to shift the party’s electoral focus from Northern Ireland to the Republic.

Chairwoman of Sinn Féin Dawn Doyle said: "We probably took our eye off the ball in the South in the 2000s. The frantic pace of the peace process meant we were absolutely consumed and absorbed in it and maybe we were guilty of believing our own hype as well.

“Also a lot of the things we were saying in the 2004-2007 period did not necessarily chime with the public. We were talking about investing in public services; we were talking about a particular type of economic growth and calling for money to be stored in a rainy day fund.”

Wider politics

“What we were saying didn’t chime with the wider politics in the midst of a boom. We also hadn’t developed sufficient policies.”

In the intervening nine years, the party has grown dramatically. It remains in government in the North and has 23 TDs, seven Senators, four MEPs, more than 150 councillors and 28 MLAs in the Assembly. Its membership has trebled and its reach on social media eclipses any other Irish party. By any standard that is an extraordinary achievement.

But the real measure of Sinn Féin's success will come over the next decade, as it seeks to achieve its ambitions of Irish reunification and entering government on both sides of the Border. That will be made all the more difficult when Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams stand aside from their in leadership positions. The party's finance spokesman Pearse Doherty, tipped as a replacement for Mr Adams, insists this will not be a difficulty for Sinn Féin.

“Everyone in the party knows there will be a leadership transition. If you look back to 2007 the leadership was very Northern focused. That is the way the public would have viewed it.

"The rare opportunities you would be on TV would be talking about the peace process or power sharing and the identifiable faces of the party would be Martin, Gerry, Pat Doherty, Conor Murphy and Gerry Kelly.

“Now we have created a wider leadership and that has been successful. When you look at leadership it is not just about the president of Sinn Féin.”

The party has embarked on a series of meetings across the country over the past weeks to meet members and discuss a strategy for the next decade. Nearly 50 meetings have taken place with elected members, supporters and voters to reflect on the past 10 years and examine how it can progress.

Doyle said members have set the party a series of aims: double the membership by 2020, increase female participation and extend its social media influence. "We will be looking at a series of models. For example, people like Bernie Sanders and how to grow on social media beyond Twitter and Facebook.

“We need to as well focus on building alliances to demonstrate to people that an alternative Government could be delivered with different politics. It does not have to be a political carve-up with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.”

Concerns

Most of the discussion with members was occupied by Brexit but some raised concerns about party policy announcements. Others questioned why detailed proposals in housing and health were announced late in the general election campaign. There were questions over whether the party’s position on taxing those who earn over €100,000 was outlined properly. This is a direct reference, no doubt, to Adams’s inability to outline the measures on RTÉ’s

Today with Sean O’Rourke

radio programme during the general election campaign.

Members also pondered how Sinn Féin could attract and retain the support of public sector workers. Cork South-Central TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire also wants the party to nurture its youth wing.

“More and more young people are supporting Sinn Féin. We need to support that and build it up. There are parts of the country where we need to improve our representation.

“Obviously we have to keep a close eye on policy matters and review them as time goes on. But Sinn Féin has put forward credible, costed and detailed policy positions. The same can’t be said for others.”

Logistical challenge

One of the logistical challenges facing the party is how it can turn those retweeting them on Twitter and sharing their posts on Facebook into a tangible support base. As the party continues to grow, another obstacle is ensuring links between the community-based activism and the party leadership do not fray.

Dublin Fingal TD Louise O’Reilly said it is something members are concerned about.

“I am worried that we could lose touch with that support base. We have to be conscious of the party getting too big, too quickly and losing touch with the party’s roots . . . I would have to see that happen but I don’t think it is going to happen in fairness, we won’t allow it.”

Deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald is also conscious of this. “I would be concerned at any prospect of losing that sense of cohesion. The grassroots of the party defines us and it is important to keep that alive.”

Given the ongoing political volatility it seems unwise or premature to make predictions and plans. However, Sinn Féin’s ambitions are quite clear. McDonald explains: “We want a united Ireland and we want to be in government north and south of the Border.

“Ten years ago that may have seemed unbelievable but the party is continuing to get bigger and stronger.”

Doherty disagrees slightly. “I would argue the goal is not necessarily to be in government . . . If our goal was to be in government we could have brought that about this time round but it would have entailed aligning ourselves to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael and we would have to sacrifice our policies.

“I would argue it is about having real political power and then using that political power. There is no point having four or five Sinn Féin ministers if ministers continue on the agenda of the civil service.”

The party does not just have to convince the electorate to support it but it has to appeal itself to other political allies.

If Sinn Féin wants to be in Government in Dublin, it must endear itself to other left-wing TDs and smaller parties.

“We have demonstrated through the water charges campaign our ability to reach out and work with people who have common goals,” says McDonald. “Sinn Féin is a good organisation at reaching out. We will try a number of things but we will retain the essential essence of our politics.”

Abstain

It has not worked for them so far. When Adams was proposed as Taoiseach earlier this year, the seven TDs from People Before Profit and the Independents4Change group abstained from the vote. The three TDs from the Anti-Austerity Alliance voted against him.

A series of challenges remain including how to deal with those barriers that drive potential partners away.

There is also the questions over the party’s leadership and whether the departure of Adams and McGuinness will help or hinder the party.

How Sinn Féin endears itself to the wider electorate, dealing with the party’s legacy and shaking its cult-like perception are obstacles the party has to overcome. But what seemed impossible 10 years ago for Sinn Féin is within reach.