Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

It has been a week now since Micheál Martin visited Donald Trump in the White House. He grovelled. He licked his boots. He simpered in front of him. He laughed at his stupid jokes and a brave face was put on the appearance by Micheál Martin himself and by the media which spoke about what wise, quiet diplomacy this was. I wonder whether - surely somewhere - deep inside Micheál Martin there is some element of shame of having behaved in such a cowardly way. We have this authoritarian bully, a misogynist, a racist, an anti-worker, a horrendously divisive authoritarian figure and Micheál Martin could not say anything to him.

Micheál Martin incredibly said that Donald Trump has an unrelenting focus on peace. He did not say it once, but multiple times. He had obviously planned to say it. Our Taoiseach could not bring himself to name Palestine in the presence of Trump. Instead he offered vagaries about peace in Ukraine, the Middle East or wherever and then kept silent while Trump spewed racist and derogatory lies, attacked migrants, Palestinians and LGBTQ people. After this triumph of quiet diplomacy which sums up the relationship between the Irish political establishment and the American capitalist class and is utterly servile, one rapist invited another to supposedly represent Ireland on St. Patrick's Day in the White House, after Simon Harris had given an official invitation to address the Houses of the Oireachtas. It was a deliberate and embarrassing snub of the Government and the invitation should be withdrawn.

This boot licking has been particularly hard to stomach while Gazans were already being consciously starved by Israel of food and electricity. Then a few days after the visit the US, Trump - this man with an unrelenting focus on peace - greenlit the resumption of Israel's genocide in Gaza, killing hundreds and injuring many hundreds more. More than 200 children were slaughtered in just a couple of days.

History will remember the Government's cowardice facing this horror. It is utterly shameful that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael told the public during the election campaign not to worry, that they would do the occupied territories Bill. Then they go to America and Micheál Martin says, "Do not worry, that has fallen off the legislative agenda". It is utterly shameful.

To quote Francesca Albanese, the genocide must stop, occupation must end, Palestinians must be given the space to breath on their land.

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