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Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 6h

Catherine Connolly, mask off, as she savours Brexit and the opportunity it presented to destroy the EU.

The frontrunner to be the next president of Ireland is unfit for office, with links to anti-peace, pro-Brexit group Éirigí, and Russian propagandists Clare Daly & Mick Wallace.

#SmearTheBejaysus

Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 7h

Catherine's statement on the Second Anniversary of Russia's Invasion of Ukraine, yet Connolly dedicates WAY more time to Israel, and to bashing our efforts to beef up our defences against Russian aggression.

She says we must use our voice, ad nauseam, but Putin has consistently rejected diplomacy.

Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 7h

THREE SECONDS is all it takes for Catherine Connolly to deflect from the most dangerous war of aggression on our continent since WW2.

She pivots as fast as possible away from the current debate topic, usually to Gaza, military industrial complex, etc.

Russian aggression is off limits for Connolly.

Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 8h

As always Catherine Connolly distorted the topic of Russian aggression to smear the EU, calling it a "military alliance", and pivot to another topic (Yemen).

She hasn't changed. She just finds different ways to undermine our efforts to beef up our defences and to pivot away from Russian aggression.

Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 8h

As always Catherine Connolly distorted the topic of Russian aggression to smear the EU, calling it a "military alliance", and pivot to another topic (Yemen).

She hasn't changed. She just finds different ways to undermine our efforts to beef up our defences and to pivot away from Russian aggression.

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Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 8h

As always Catherine Connolly distorted the topic of Russian aggression to smear the EU, calling it a "military alliance", and pivot to another topic (Yemen).

She hasn't changed. She just finds different ways to undermine our efforts to beef up our defences and to pivot away from Russian aggression.

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Reposted by Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰

Damian Stack @damianstack.bsky.social · 9h

Again this morning Catherine Connolly refused to say she if she would or wouldn't appoint Mick Wallace and Clare Daly to the Council of State (read into that what you will) and called them "two respected parliamentarians" (read into that what you will)

Damian Stack @damianstack.bsky.social · 21h

Won't say she won't put Mick and Clare on the Council of State

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Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 8h

Catherine Connolly's links to anti-peace, pro-Brexit Éirigí suggest otherwise.

They oppose the Good Friday Agreement.

Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 8h

Catherine Connolly's links to anti-peace, pro-Brexit Éirigí suggest otherwise.

They oppose the Good Friday Agreement.

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Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 11h

Judge of character counts.

Apart from the then emerging madness of O'Doherty, Catherine Connolly still aligns herself with Russian propagandists Clare Daly and Mick Wallace, and still defends her choice of a gun crime convict and member of anti-peace, pro-Brexit Éirigí, for a sensitive Dáil post.

Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 11h

It's worth mentioning that today, Russia is the polar opposite of communist.

Russia is now a far right, imperialist dictatorship that uses the Orthodox Church as a tool of the regime...

Even that sounds too grand given that Russia is essentially a mafia-run petrol station with nukes.

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Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 11h

Russia has invaded a European nation unprovoked in the biggest war of aggression on our continent since WW2.

It still occupies parts of Georgia and Moldova.

Russia is unambiguously not only the biggest threat to Europe but it's the biggest enemy, having already attacked and occupied Ukraine.

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Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 11h

Compromise is the foundation of our system and central to our constitution.

The alternative is more polarisation and extremism and plays into the hands of Putin, Trump, Farage, Le Pen and Weidel.

Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 11h

Yes that's an alternative, but I'm not liking this new populist left centred on nationalist-socialist SF that coalesce around a presidential candidate with links to anti-peace, pro-Brexit Éirigí & Russian propagandists Clare Daly & Mick Wallace, and criticises our defence against Russian aggression.

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Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 11h

I'd argue though that the Greens weren't crowded out by centrists because there's no real centrist party other than the emerging @voltireland.org party.

Voters view the inevitable compromises involved in coalition negotiation as unfaithful.

I think we never educated the public about this enough.

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Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 11h

Ironically, the most effective policy the Greens ever implemented was the 80% windfall tax on rezoned land.

FG later removed this, leading to the mess we're in yet again. Thankfully the Greens are pushing to reintroduce it.

Greens warn of over €1.5bn loss to State if rezoning levies issue not remedied

The Green Party has called for the reinstatement of an 80% ‘windfall tax’ on lands rezoned for housing purposes. It has warned that the State could lose out on over €1bn in revenue if it fails to take...

neasahourigan.com

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Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 11h

True. Left-right labels are problematic and have mabg exceptions.

Nevertheless, the Green Party in Ireland is unambiguously left wing.

I'm not saying that's bad, but simply that it doesn't seem to be a winning formula to get good environmental policy implemented.

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Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 12h

How are they polling now with no centrist leanings?

See what I mean?

Also, the only way to actually make changes is by entering government. Our PR system usually involves coalitions which involves compromises or what you call "pandering".

Voters are not aware enough about how the system works.

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Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 12h

Denmark, Sweden and Norway are doing a much better job.

The biggest problem in Ireland is not capitalism. It's the beef production lobby and their taxpayer funded agricultural subsidies.

Capitalism is so abstract that it distracts from focusing in on the components of the problem in Ireland.

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Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 12h

That could involve establishing another Green party or backing an existing centrist party like @voltireland.org with good env policy.

No worry re vote splitting in a PR-STV system. The threshold for public funding could be a problem, but Ireland has already abandoned left wing green politics.

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Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 12h

I think the Green movement in Ireland would be well served if it captured the ideological centre of politics which is more or less vacant.

More seats => more potential to apply better environmental policy.

We're not going anywhere with one seat in the Dáil.

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Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 12h

The US lost this battle.

Here in Europe corporate lobbying and unfair trade with countries without environmental protection costs are solvable problems.

Capitalism moderated by social democracy often does better (DK, SE, etc) but EU level action is needed to counter pressure from the US and China.

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Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 12h

Not sure I follow.

The Soviet Bloc was by far the most environmentally destructive entity on our continent ever.

Some Eastern European countries are still trying to clean the toxic mess decades later.

At least in a capitalist system moderated by social democracy, it's a fight we *can* win...

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Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 12h

Catherine Connolly never dedicates more than a few seconds to Russian imperialist aggression.

In every single interview & debate she deflects from Russia, pivots to another topic, pivots to the "West" or the US, distracts with "military industrial complex" or "politics of fear".

Never for Israel.

Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.bsky.social · 12h

"Russia has trampled on international law. So has America, so has Israel."

Do you ever hear Catherine Connolly say "Israel has done X, so has country A, so has country B"?

No, she's rightly unequivocal about that, but when addressing Russia, she always deflects, pivots or resorts to whataboutism.

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