SDLP pickup South Belfast

[patrick1]

Special thanks to the divided Unionists and the yuppie Alliance party;)  Is the 11-7 balance upset?

[minionofmidas]

For now it's 10-8...unless somebody else gains something unexpected...
LESS THAN 30 SECONDS AGO? MY LAST POST WAS LESS THAN 30 SECONDS AGO? I'LL GIVE YA 30 SECOND, YA ING COMPUTER CREEP! >;(

[patrick1]

Sinn Fein held Fermanagh.  A lot closer than I thought but it looks 10-8.  Things look dire for UUP.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The Fat Lady is walking towards the stage...

[patrick1]

The Fat Lady is walking towards the stage...

Fat Lady is belting out an aria as Trimble gets trounced

[minionofmidas]

South Antrim NSDUP pickup.

[Storebought]

South Antrim NSDUP pickup.

National Socialist DUP??

[minionofmidas]

I was being bitter. But yeah, I consider the ideology they stand for to be in essence fascistic. But it was hyperbole. If anyone's offended I'm more than ready to delete it.

[Storebought]

I was being bitter. But yeah, I consider the ideology they stand for to be in essence fascistic. But it was hyperbole. If anyone's offended I'm more than ready to delete it.

No, reading that actually made my day

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

With the collapse of the sane Unionist and Republican parties is there any chance for the Alliance Party or some other non-sectarian party to emerge in Noethern Ireland as an actual player or is this just wishful thinking on my part?

[minionofmidas]

Alliance vote is marginally up I think...not that that means anything. Anyways SDLP hasn't collapsed yet.

[WMS]

With the collapse of the sane Unionist and Republican parties is there any chance for the Alliance Party or some other non-sectarian party to emerge in Noethern Ireland as an actual player or is this just wishful thinking on my part?

I've said it before and I'll say it again: choosing between SF and the DUP is like choosing between the KDP and NSDAP in Weimar Germany.

[Banana Republic]

With the collapse of the sane Unionist and Republican parties is there any chance for the Alliance Party or some other non-sectarian party to emerge in Noethern Ireland as an actual player or is this just wishful thinking on my part?

I've said it before and I'll say it again: choosing between SF and the DUP is like choosing between the KDP and NSDAP in Weimar Germany.

I agree, both of those parties are terrible. It's insanely ironic that when things are the calmest the nutjobs get into power and the parties that brought peace are thrown out.

[WMS]

With the collapse of the sane Unionist and Republican parties is there any chance for the Alliance Party or some other non-sectarian party to emerge in Noethern Ireland as an actual player or is this just wishful thinking on my part?

I've said it before and I'll say it again: choosing between SF and the DUP is like choosing between the KDP and NSDAP in Weimar Germany.

I agree, both of those parties are terrible. It's insanely ironic that when things are the calmest the nutjobs get into power and the parties that brought peace are thrown out.

I'm wondering why such polarization is going on given the lack of violence...

[britishstudent]

the reason why sf and dup are doing so well? It was the Good Friday Agreement, it has failed, dead as a dodo. the uup and sdlp have failed to find the solution, and so people have yurned away, unfortunately to Sinn Fein

[minionofmidas]

Except that SF is a party to the Good Friday Agreement, so what exactly is your point again?

Classic thread for something so short, by the way.

[britishstudent]

well of course sf like the gfa, it has been so good to them.

but a sldp/uup attempt at peace hasnt worked. the unionist popualtion seen the gfa as to their disadvantage so they turn to the dup who promise the protection of unionism. the nationalists feel like they are not getting an united ireland fast enough so they turn to sf, and they think that they will get it quicker with them

[Јas]

well of course sf like the gfa, it has been so good to them.

but a sldp/uup attempt at peace hasnt worked. the unionist popualtion seen the gfa as to their disadvantage so they turn to the dup who promise the protection of unionism. the nationalists feel like they are not getting an united ireland fast enough so they turn to sf, and they think that they will get it quicker with them

The SDLP have weakened recently because they failed to sell themselves as a strong and viable alterantive to a growing, strengthening SF. They lacked youth and vigour, they failed to project a sense of unity, and they simply could not compete with the, very effective, SF electoral machine. SF were also aided by the fact that the unionist community was steadily moving towards the DUP given Trimble's continuing decline to his authority. SF are simply seen as a more effective counterweight to the DUP and vice versa.

I would also add, that the majority of the nationalist community know that a united Ireland is a distant prospect, at best.