08th Jul 2008
Cowen quashes FF merger with SDLP
The BBC’s Dublin Correspondent Shane Harrison has posted an reflective article on the BBC websitesaying Brain Cowen has now put on the backboiler any suggestion that Fianna Fail will organise north of the border in the short term. This comes only days after SDLP Leader Mark Durkan said his party was not for sale, a move seen by many as distancing the the northern party from an early realignment with a southern one.
According to the BBC:
Taoiseach Brian Cowen has said there is no imminent possibility of his Fianna Fáil party organising in Northern Ireland.
His remarks are seen by many as putting the idea on the backburner, but the idea was never really on the front-burner.
Even before Mr Cowen took over from Bertie Ahern as Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader, there was speculation he was less keen than his predecessor on the idea of his party organising in Northern Ireland.
This assumed that Mr Ahern was the main man pushing for Fianna Fáil, which translates as the Soldiers of Destiny, marching north.
But I suspect it was never the case.
In a BBC interview shortly after he announced his intention to quit as Taoiseach but before he left office, he advised his party “to be careful” about not making any major decision on Northern Ireland without “reflecting a good bit” on standing for elections and considering its relationship with the SDLP.
He said that while he was “glad” Fianna Fáil was recruiting in Northern Ireland there was “no rush” on organising north of the border.
These comments were echoed by Mr Cowen on a recent visit to Belfast.
Great news. I’ll ignore the fact that Fianna Fail translates as “Soldiers of Ireland” though