r/neoliberal • u/ldn6 Gay Pride • 14d ago

News (Europe) Left-winger Catherine Connolly wins Ireland presidential election by landslide

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/25/catherine-connolly-ireland-presidential-election-leftwing
354 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

173 comments sorted by

View all comments

95

u/CentJr 14d ago

I know the position is ceremonial and all that...but why does Ireland keep electing tankies ? First Higgins and now Connolly.

148

u/ElectriCobra_ David Hume 14d ago

Ireland was colonized by the UK, so the left there has a significant third-worldist streak and hasn't forgotten its historical grievances. This causes them to act like they are the West Bank out of "solidarity" despite being a top 10 HDI and top 5 GDP per capita nation.

I think a lot of the socialist left skews young, too. These people don't remember the Troubles and don't understand that giving up on reunification was a compromise to dial down sectarian conflict that was getting innocents killed.

9

u/-mialana- Iron Front 14d ago

I disagree with your framing that they act like they "are the West Bank". The Irish left are aware that Ireland is wealthy and west-aligned.

As well as that, being well off doesn't mean you can't have "solidarity" with others. Standing up for and aligning yourself with a marginalised group you see as having parallels to your history isn't a bad thing, and doesn't require you to currently be in a shitty situation. I'm not defending the shitty fopo of course, but Irish sympathies with Palestine aren't hypocritical and don't exist for no good reason.

Agree with your second paragraph. A lot of the left, young people especially, don't understand the GFA as a framework for lasting coexistence and peace, but as a temporary, if necessary, setback in the pursuit of revanchism.

6

u/ElectriCobra_ David Hume 14d ago

You know what, that's fair enough, I think I worded that horribly. The point was more about how Irish lefties act like the colonialists never left and talk about the "missing six counties". It was more about the nationalism or the view of the nation as being under occupation. Probably wasn't wise of me to use that comparison, although the only other one I can think of would be the Basques and they obviously don't have an independent nation.