Sir, – I notice that the Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll shows that the Sinn Féin political party is now the second most popular political party in the country (Front page, October 7th).
I understand the anger and annoyance which many citizens have towards the traditional political parties which have been entrenched within our political system for so many decades, like a virulently cancer, bringing nothing but gradual and inevitable ruination to this nation.
But it is important to realise that choosing one’s preferred political party is not something to be done “in anger”. Surely by this sage the Irish citizens must be finally realising that reckless stupidity as regards political affiliations and also in the polling booth has brought this country to its knees, resulting in a political system which fails every time and which has left us in the dire straits we now find ourselves in.
Sinn Féin may appear to be a valid alternative, but the time for kneejerk reactions is not suitable now, nor will it ever will be. The Germans turned to Hitler and the Nazi party in times of trouble in the 1930s – that was their kneejerk reaction. If the Irish are capable of learning anything from the present predicament it should be that the future political system must lie with the citizens – it must empower the citizens – not the politicians.
Remember this – it isn’t too long ago that members of that party justified the brutal cold-blooded murder of a member of this nation’s police force.
Beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing. They haven’t gone away. – Yours, etc,