EXPRESSING disappointment in his result at the European elections, Sinn Féin senator and candidate in Ireland South, Paul Gavan, said that Ireland should be “very concerned” about the recent swing to the far-right across the continent.
The Sinn Fein candidate says the recent rise comes as a result of the “so-called centre parties not delivering on key issues like housing, decent pay conditions, and public services.”
Gavan said that “the best way to combat the rise of the far right is to build homes, build decent public services, and ensure people have decent pay”.
“I think most people realise that the European elections are important. That Europe has a key role to play.
“I think Sinn Féin’s positions on Europe reflect what a lot of people feel which is that we need to be the center of Europe, but oftentimes we need to challenge what’s happening in Europe.”
By this Wednesday lunchtime, Far-right Cork candidate Derek Blighe, founder of the Ireland First party, has surpassed a great many non-establishment party candidates, including Limerick’s Labour, People Before Profit, and Sinn Féin candidates Niamh Hourigan, Cian Prendiville, and Senator Gavan himself.
The controversial Cork candidate based his campaign on Euroscepticism and the ‘Great Replacement’ theory – which claims native populations are being replaced by immigrants – receiving over 30,000 votes across Ireland South.
In Dublin, the Irish Freedom Party secured its first ever candidate in the local elections, along with the first candidate for the National Party, making this past week’s elections a landmark success for the right domestically and abroad.
This comes as right-wing parties such as the Rassemblement National and the Alternative für Deutschland have made momentous strides in the mainland European elections.
