Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We all recognise that we are now approaching the Brexit end game. Irrespective of whether or not there is a trade deal agreed between the United Kingdom and the European Union, and I hope there is, we all need to recognise that Brexit is a momentous occasion not just for the United Kingdom but also for this State. In years to come, when the history of the 21st century is written of Ireland and of the UK, Brexit will feature very strongly and prominently. It will have such a momentous impact on this country because our history and our lives are, to a significant extent, affected by the lives and politics of the United Kingdom. That has been the case for 1,000 years. The history of this island has been affected significantly by the history of the neighbouring larger island and this will probably continue into the next centuries.

It is worthwhile, at the outset, that we really reflect on what are the political origins of Brexit and why was it that our closest neighbour, a country with which we have so much in common, made what we all in the House believe was the regressive decision to leave the European Union, and to further their own path in what it believes to be the better interests of the United Kingdom.

While we do that, we should recognise that at the same time Brexit happened, an extraordinary political even happened in the United States of America. Sometimes we forget the significance that back in 2016 the people in the US elected as their President a well known businessman who was a television celebrity and who achieved prominence in the US in his campaign because he condemned the political system that operated in the United States of America at the time and he is still in power today.

The reason it is worthwhile that we in this House look at those political events and their origins, is that we have to recognise that as a country Ireland is hugely affected by what happens in the United Kingdom and in the United States of America. They are two very powerful political entities in the world and they have had significant influence throughout the world. We need to recognise that we are sandwiched between the two of them and that it is only natural and not unusual that our politics has been affected and will continue to be affected by events that happen in the United States of America and in the United Kingdom.

When one looks one can see that the origins of Brexit were a form of English nationalism that really wished to reject association and alignment with Europe. Leaving aside the whole issue of the European Union, at the heart of Brexit was the concern that the United Kingdom had become too close to its European neighbours and the whole issue of immigration was also linked with that. It was on that basis that the majority of voters in the United Kingdom, but mainly in England, made the decision that they wanted to leave the European Union. It is instructive to note that the people of Scotland and Northern Ireland decided that they did not want to leave the European Union, but unfortunately they are stuck with it now because of the dominance of English nationalism in that debate.

With the election of President Trump in the United States of America, again there was a form of nationalism associated with his election. There was also a rejection of what was regarded as the middle ground of politics. At the heart of Brexit and the election of President Trump was a rejection of the centre ground. It was an argument that said polarised politics is good and it has had that effect in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, as we have seen recently in the United States of America, there is also a very polarised political world there currently.

I mention these two points because as other aspects of our lives are influenced by the United States of America and the United Kingdom we must be particularly careful that we do not allow our politics to become infected in the same way that the politics of the United Kingdom through Brexit and the politics of the US through the election of President Trump have become polarised. I regret to say it may be the case that we are going down that pathway of polarised politics in this country. If one looks at the way politics operates in the US and in the UK, one can see that it is very strategic, very deliberate, and more advanced than politics in this country. That may sound as if it is intended to be a compliment, but it is not. Simply because politics is advanced and strategic does not mean that it leads to good governance. When I say that politics in those countries is strategic and advanced, it is that the political groupings in those countries know what they need to do in order to attract political support behind their own political groups. Unfortunately, in those countries the political objectives of those political groups are universally put ahead of what is regarded as good governance in those countries.

We need to be careful not to allow this country to go down the route of polarised politics. Unfortunately, for decades and for generations we have seen in Northern Ireland that there is polarised politics there. What do we mean when we say that politics has become polarised? It is really a negation of politics. It means that people do not look at issues on the basis of the content of the issue. Instead, they decide their view on an issue by trying to see which side the person's political grouping is in favour of. This has happened, unfortunately, for many years in Northern Ireland. We even see it today with their response to the pandemic. No issue in Northern Ireland appears to be safe or liberated from the politics of green and orange. This is what is happening in the United Kingdom when it comes to Brexit and it is what has happened in the United States of America when it comes to the politics they operate there. This is why it is so important that in this country we try to hold the centre ground. This is why Fianna Fáil is so important to this country, to ensure there is a large national party in the centre ground representing the centre left of the country for the purpose of ensuring we do not have a polarised political system.

Unfortunately, social media contributes to the polarisation of politics. It is, in fact, the weapon that is used to polarise politics. If one is going to polarise politics one must have an enemy and the enemy can never do anything right and the enemy must always be condemned for not representing the interests of your political group. That is a consequence of polarised politics. It is extremely important in this country that we do not allow political engagements on social media or elsewhere to be debased to a situation where it is just becoming attack politics. I regret to say that some of the politics in this House engages in that form of attack politics. The Members of this House do not. Most Members of this House are reasonable people. They know there is a resolution to political disputes, they recognise there should be debate about political disputes and in general my assessment of Members of Dáil Éireann is that they are open-minded people. Behind us, however, are people whose sole objective is to advance the political success of their own political agendas and groupings. For that purpose they use social media to create polarisation. We need to be careful of it. If it is the case that this country becomes extremely polarised politically let us be clear as to what will happen. We will go down the same pathway as the United States of America or the United Kingdom and people will be divided on the basis of whether they belong to one political grouping or another. Political engagement then ceases, political debate then becomes irrelevant and the only issue is where one's tribe stands in respect of this.

That is a message we have learned from Brexit. It is a message we all have to be careful of. If we go down the route of achieving polarised politics in this country, it will be very difficult to reverse it, as we have seen with what has happened in the UK and in the US. Once people go down that route it will take a generation to reverse it.

What is the solution to ensure we do not get polarised politics? I am not requiring that every Member of this House decides to position in the centre ground. That is a polarisation in itself: everyone stuck in the centre. We all need to ensure that we do not condemn our political opponents on the basis that they do not represent, nor do they seek to speak for, anyone else other than their own grouping elite, as is sometimes represented.

We need to recognise that engagement is a success in politics. The great political success of this generation on these islands was the Good Friday Agreement. Even in Britain, the great diplomatic success of the past 20 or 30 years was the Good Friday Agreement. That was achieved through negotiation, respect, discussion and debate. That is the secret to the centre ground and that is why we must be careful not to allow this country to go down the same route as the US and the UK.

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