Interview with Peter Casey November 8, 2018
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Uncategorized.trackback
…in Hot Press and conducted by Jason O’Toole. As always both interesting and thought-provoking, not least, the first one being, how did it get to this? For a start when one maps his views they tend to be socially liberal. Which makes the comments during the election even more curious. Usually O’Toole’s interviews are characterised by his very specific ability to dig deep into the personality of those who are being interviewed and provide a space for them to say truths they might prefer not to say. In this instance one suspects he found that a less difficult task than usual, because the former Presidential candidate clearly just talks and talks…
His past growing up during the earliest phase of the Troubles…
Do you think the IRA where justified in their actions?
No. I don’t think you can, in any way, justify killing a mother of ten people. I don’t think you can, in any way, justify the atrocities that were carried out. I’m anti-violence. I mean, I used to go down and throw stones – but that wasn’t any violence: we called it ‘The Matinee’.
His social liberalism…
How did you vote on the Eighth Amendment?
I am in favour of a woman’s right to choose. I had to struggle with that one because I’m not necessarily sure men should’ve had a say in it because they’re never going to need an abortion.
His leftism (no, seriously, or unseriously!).
Renua leader John Leahy said you’d be welcome to join their party because he thought you held similar views to their anti-abortion position. Would you be tempted by Renua?
No. I have a deep respect for Lucinda. It took an
awful lot of courage for her to do what she did. But I think Ireland today is, unfortunately, locked into Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. If you want to have an impact, you have to align with one of those parties. The one I would be most aligned with would be Fianna Fáil. I’d be more left of centre philosophically. I came from a very large family and we had very poor beginnings.
His political ambitions…
Do you honestly see yourself one day as being Taoiseach?
One day soon. Absolutely. I mean, people told me I was mad when I said I wanted to run for the Seanad – and they were right about that. And then they said, ‘Oh, you’re crazy running for the presidency’.
Uh-oh…
Would you consider any other political party?
Just Fianna Fáil. It will be Fianna Fáil – but it will be a Fianna Fáil that is acceptable. If they decide in their wisdom that they don’t want me, I’ll start a ‘New Fianna Fáil’, a new party. But it will be basically the same as Fianna Fáil. I’m definitely standing in Donegal and I’m going to win such a large majority – and then I’ll think you’ll find they’ll invite me to join (laughs). The only condition that I’m going to place on it is that I have to be the leader!
Uh-oh squared…
It’s easy to deny being a racist…
If I was a racist, I would not have a special relationship with the Indian community. If I was a racist I wouldn’t have lived with a coloured guy for three years in Birmingham. If I was a racist I wouldn’t have my daughters and their black/coloured friends home, and staying overnight in our home. If I was racist I wouldn’t be writing books about what an amazing country India is. And he knows all this. I’ve sent him a copy of the book.
And this which some might see as a trifle… well, read it anyway…
Do you know any travellers personally?
Of course not. I mean, how would I? I went down and tried to meet them and they wouldn’t meet me. Honest to God, I’d really like to move off the travellers because I’ve got much more interesting things to talk to you about. As has been pointed out, you’re talking about 0.6 of a percent of the population.
There’s a lot more, his thoughts on Brexit for example, but you’ll get the gist – well worth reading in full.
The Cedar Lounge Revolution 
“I’m going to win such a large majority”
Copyright Donald J. Trump
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Quasi-left sentiments are not unknown from what are ultimately right-wing figures or movements. I remain sceptical of Casey’s deeper motives, even if he himself is unaware of them. Talk of co-opting exiting political parties or creating your own is reminiscence of some of the right-leaning waywardness we have seen in Italian, French and Dutch politics. Especially when it is framed in such egotistical terms.
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It’s the usual right-wing mentality hiding behind identity politics and social liberalism. Economic conservatives use id-pol as a (very effective) fig leaf. Corporations do the same, and the bloody mugs fall for it almost every time (the occasional misfire, as in the Kardashian coke protest advert notwithstanding).
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As we’ve seen with Trump, it doesn’t really matter exactly what their deeper motives really are, and I doubt Casey even knows those himself. It’s the egotism that propels them, and they collect various bits of reactionary trash to hang on their chariot as it swerves along. I’d put Berlusconi and Savini in the same category. Other far-right figures like Le Pen seem more ideologically driven.
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From populism to fascism? Not yet.
But…far-right populism appears to be returning to its fascist roots….
“This new populism of the extreme right gets closer to fascism … because now people like Trump or Bolsonaro, they are not as allergic to racism, political violence and authoritarianism as early populists were,” Finchelstein said.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/the-sunday-edition-november-4-2018-1.4888960/how-right-wing-populism-is-returning-to-its-fascist-roots-1.4888963
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I caught up with his RTE LLS interview last night, or a snippet at least.
In it he was speculating about running in Donegal, or maybe Kerry or maybe somewhere else. It was put to him that he would have to choose, that you couldn’t represent more than one constituency…..
Which left me wondering. Can you not? Didn’t deV represent more than one back in the day? I know its not likely, but I thought it was allowed.
I could go and read the constitution of course, but I was hoping somebody here might set me right and save me the trouble?
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I thought you could actually.
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Dunno about now, but a number of TDs in the Second Dail represented more than one constituency, one in the north and one in the south:
– Michael Collins: Armagh and Cork
– de Valera: Down and Clare
– Arthur Griffith: Fermangh-Tyrone and Cavan
– Sean Milroy: ditto
– Eoin MacNeill: Derry and NUI
All had been elected as abstentionist members of the Parliament of Northern Ireland in May 1921, then later that year in the southern elections.
In 1933, de Valera was elected as Stormont MP for South Down while serving as Taoiseach down here. Can’t think of anyone else post-the Treaty who was elected to two different parliaments in two different jurisdictions.
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Home Rulers would regularly stand for multiple constituencies. It was a way of ensuring their leading lights would get elected. As I understand it, it was only when they entered Westminster that they had to declare which constituency they would represent, and the other would have a by-election to select an alternative MP. There were a LOT of by-elections in pre independence Ireland. But as Sinn Feiners didn’t take their seats it never came to that point.
One thing I’ve wondered about though – can a person technically be called a Member of Parliament if they haven’t entered in that Parliament? Wouldn’t they remain prospective MPs or MPs-elect? That counts as to whether Markievicz was the first female MP aside from being the first woman to be elected to Parliament?
A bit of relevant trivia here – ‘William Fitzsimon (Abbey of the Holy Cross)’ stood in six different Munster constituencies in the 1989 general election.
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No – seven different Munster constituencies. He came last in all of them.
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Can’t think of anyone else post-the Treaty who was elected to two different parliaments in two different jurisdictions.”
I presume you mean at the same time?
Otherwise, we can point to one G Adams MP TD.
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And Austin Currie, of course
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Thanks for all the replies to that.
Its interesting stuff. If dual representation isn’t banned, presumably its allowed? But how would Dail voting work. My guess is that its like Rockroots says worked for Westminster – there’s a regulation somewhere that says you can only represent one constituency, though that’s not the same thing as only being elected by one.
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