Search Results for 'Emmanuel Macron'

Next Monday (February 27) marks the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The volatile nature of politics is such that change for the big office holders may only ever be around the corner, but at the outset of 2022 we find ourselves in the unusual position of being guaranteed a change of Taoiseach this year, and this in turn may have a knock-on effect in other areas.

Imagine if Iran, the Peoples’ Republic of China, and Russia suddenly announced a military pact to counter Boris Johnson which would involve the building of 12 nuclear submarines, with the contract for building said submarines being awarded to the smallest of the three, Iran.

Ireland may geographically be closer to Britain, but politically, with Brexit, and the UK becoming a ‘third country outside the EU, France is now the Republic’s closest neighbour - a relationship the French are keen to develop and deepen.

Sinn Féin’s ultimate aim is to build an Ireland of equals. This will only be achieved by getting rid of Partition, reuniting our country, and achieving full national independence.

Hello to all the Advertiser readers.

I suppose the hurling final was the event of the weekend. But the result was disappointing, in that the gap between Kilkenny and Tipperary was 14 points, which did not indicate a very close game. Nonetheless, it is always exciting to see hurling played at a very high level, which this was, and the prowess and skill of the combatants on each team was not in doubt.

With the Christmas festivities getting under way and 2018 drawing to a close, now is a good time to review an eventful political year. While the anticipated general election did not materialise, 2018 did see trips to the ballot box with a keenly contested referendum on abortion as well as a presidential election that, while low-key, threw up a number of interesting questions.

In political terms, these last few weeks have been depressing. First, we were subjected to the electoral version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (aka the Irish presidency), while thousands of Irish families remain homeless, with no sign of a publicly financed house building programme.

While domestic policy challenges continue to dominate Irish political discourse, the sense that negotiations are reaching a crunch phase is pushing Brexit higher up the agenda. Insider however senses that much of the population, and even some of the political class, are oblivious to the scale of the challenges facing the State on the global front, and the painful decisions and choices that may have to be taken.