POLITICAL DESK

IRISH TAOISEACH* LEO Varadkar’s sudden belief in the inevitability of a United Ireland has sent shockwaves around Dublin, and the Irish Parliament based in Leinster House.

Mr Varadkar, who until recently had always seemed to be less than enthusiastic about the prospect of a United Ireland, revealed his current thoughts on RTE** radio. It took some fans by surprise, it appears.

“There are members of his own party, Fine Gael, arch-partitionists – who are frankly stunned,” said one senior commentator. “And there are those who actually believe he is going to defect to Sinn Fein.”

Fine Gael and Sinn Fein are the oil and water of southern Irish politics.

“Fine Gael, whose predecessors, founded the current independent Irish state in 1922, has, like its more shifty twin, Fianna Fail, seen its support base shrink since the turn of the century,” says Aoife Lir Gonne, a political fund-raiser and talk-show host. “To such an extent that these erstwhile enemies, who at times could not stand to be in the same room as each other, were forced to forego all principle and climb into bed together just to hang on to power. But even that seems to be failing now, and as Sinn Fein continues to dominate the opinion polls, Fine Gael fears that Fianna Fail may choose to go into coalition with the Republicans after the next election. Perhaps Leo, seeing the writing on the wall, is getting his revenge in first.”

Sinn Fein representatives have said that Mr Varadkar would be welcome into their fold but that he would have to learn some Wolfe Tone songs to gain entry. “And he needs to drop that polished upper-middle class look and wear some more tweed and scarves,” said a Sinn Fein TD***.

Mr Varadkar’s comments follow closely on those of a founding member of the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland, who says he believes there will be a New Ireland****. His old comrades, instead of suspecting a defection, have laughed him off and are adamant the union will go on and on and on …. forever. And ever.

Members of the public in Ireland see Mr Varadkar’s move as merely a sudden realization of glaring reality.

“Perhaps it was just too embarrassing that a founder member of the DUP, whose raison d’etre was to fight Irish unity to its last breath, conceded the probability of unity before the leader of the Irish Republic, whose flag is a symbol of that unity,” said a a woman feeding ducks in St Stephen’s Green, in Dublin. “Or maybe the numbers are telling him something about his and his party’s future. Anyway, nothing is ever written in stone. Nothing. There mightn’t be any Ireland if the Russians target us. Leo should think about that when he feels the need to talk tough. You know he looks more and more like John Redmond every day.”

*Pronounced Teeshock

**Irish National Broadcaster – cross between BBC and Russia Today

***Teachta Dail – Dail Deputy – Member of lower house of Irish Parliament

****Synonym, acceptable to Unionists for a United Ireland