nothing to settle the muddied waters in the Sunningdale pond.
A few days earlier he had carelessly tossed in a halt-brick by demanding a clarification of the Southern coalition Government's view of the status of the North. The resulting ripples casued a rush to the telephones in Dublin and London, with a breakdown of the Sunningdale agreement looming large Faulkner's talks with Liam Cosgrave did not case matters. He had unequivocally demanded that the Free State recognise the status of the North as being part of the United Kingdom.
but returned to Belfast 'satisfied" by assurances which did no more than reistate the position put by the Dublin Government at Sunningdale, Although what soemed to be a crisis had* fiazied out, the issues raised are of prime importance, and show up the cracks which are already appearing in Britain's new deal, It is worth looking a bit mote closely at the background to this significant non-event.
UNIONISM When Faulkner unveils his new party the word is that it will be called the Northern Ireland Unionist Party', as distinet from the Dear Comrades For several years the class struggle in Britain has centred on the atrempls by the bourgeoisie to picak me coletalricy olile tade dnsins, Iris thi basic fact from which toroltsonaries must -begin, We have to indicute a series of practical mese tatou gu socy tus consne can he turned back and a road to workers power opened The "Milttant is attersptine to build a revoluționany cuerent in asolation trom thes cuntral problem facing the wurking class. For Militant", revolutionary acbysty, yesterday, Today and tomorrow, consists overwhelmingly in a struggle around the programme of a future Labour Gesertent. a contest with cbe Labour bureaucruts caking place inside the Labour Party itself.
"Militan (' is right to hold mat the grealest barrier to mhe working class movement bos an the intuener ol ine soch-deno rabt leaders Howwur chis influence is based nn social-democratie ideology: The struggle to destoy the influence of Lie Labour Party lenders is a struggle to break up and destroy tais ideology. And this ideology perades olf Lhe struggles of the working class, ahe ther they take pisce in the trade unions er in the Lahour Party.
"Militant" Galls victim to one aspeet of this adcology struight away wien it looks upon die struegle of the trade potons as merety an adranct to wat it cals lho "political" stru gele, that is in the Laboue Party and the strugae around elections and government. Heneo. fur vasmpic. us demar in ino nresont crisis is tor a one day pencral strike to forbe a general election, Yet an Red Weekly 25 Jenuary 1974 Page 10 pals routine with the SDLP. Faulkner is a Dnionist, He has insisted that the anly way to guarantee the Union is to accepi Sunningdale, and this will form the central plank of his new party.
The tardiness of the Tories in decbding to split the Unionist Party has resulted in a steady trickle of "liberal" Unionist politicians out of the Party, some anto the Alliance Party, others into independent Unionist politics. The solid cure of the Faulknerite Assembly grouping is composed of place-seekers and opportunists, able to work with Faulkner only so long as he has jobs to distribute, As soon as the Executive begins to tremble they will seck another perch.
The one political question on which Faulkner can hepe to win over support from the "liberal" camp, and prevent the officials from carving up his grouping, is the Union with Britain. That is why he had to respond sharply to any sugeestion that the Southern Government still stood by the Free State Constitution which asserts the territory of Ireland to include the Six Counties.
CONSTITUTIONAL INDIGESTION But the Cosgrave Government faces even more intractable problems. Although he would MEANWHILE, IN IRELAND. cisction & the sogan now being raisod by sections of the bourgcaisic and the labour burcaueracy, Why! Bocuuse knowing the socul democratic idoolugy of the warking class movement diey hope an clection will ex linguish the industrial struggle.
"Militunt" Talls straieht into this trap, Of courso,we are noi opposcl to an election. Hut we must paint our the noed to deepen the industrial strueele in the face of ae cleelieri. The luture of thu industrinl strugglo is afact all the mun boue boing lought over in any elec tion at the present time? And we must also point our the need for a guncrat strike to chanpe the cecrall relatiun of clise forces deciscl in favor of' the working ciass, theroby incidentally ercating the best conditions for delcating the Toeles at the polic "Militant" hus done none of thic alticant is umab lo combat soc-demiccralk ideolog vn on iis awn cnose pround the internal C te sarugpe, te poe an eoample. Rhon lot up again.
sequences WELL?. in Freply to the capitalist offensive. proletariat crcllid. quite giadly junk the North for good, Cosgrave cannot desert this constirutional stand, Fianna Pail, the largest party in the Dail, which swallowcu Sunningdale with great difficulty, has been tuccuping loudly. Any shift by Cosgrave towards an abandonment of the constitutional position would force them to retch the whcle The difficully hes not so much in the current political interests of Fianna Fail (altbough thesc are served hest by this bout of indigestion), as in the political history of the state, Politics in the 26 Counties have never emerged from the Tong shadow of Eamonn de Valera, With supteme Bonapartist skill he was able lo channel Fanti-British sentiment into his "economic war', and by raising tariff barriers against British imports effect deep changes in the structure of industry and socicty in the South.
CULTURAL REVOLUTION Nevertheless his attempt fell short of creating an ndependent economy, and he has hequeathed to his heirs intractable problems. They have accepted the need to re integrate their interests with those of Brilish capitalism, but have not yer cackled the political and ideological con De Valeraism had two ideological pillarsthe Catholic Church and nationalism. Today while the conservative influence of the Church has waned, nationatism has become an incipient threat. At best, from the point of view of the bourgooisie, it obstructs the necessury political re-adjustments to British interests, at : worst it blazes mut in Republican militancy The South requires a caltural revolution which will break up nationalist sentiment, and clear the way for a federal relationship with Brituin However the immediate interests of British policy in the Notth, which require an explicie revaion of the constitutional claim to the Notth, is too sharp a change for any government in Dublin WEAK POINTS That is wåy neither Faulkner nor Cosgrave can speak with one voice, They can only asure their supporlers that the other une does oot really Jenn what he is saying These superstractural difficutties will not of themscives bring down the Sunningdale agreement, Orly mass resistance can do that But the boiling up of new stroggles will break through at these wenk points, The inabilicy of British imperialism to eradicate tbese contra dictions indicates the depth of the crisis which still grips Ireland lOUT! / /
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boNG TORY PROS SUNNINC