(LifeSiteNews) — On this week’s episode of The Van Maren Show, Jonathon sits down with Irish political commentator Ben Scallan to discuss the recent constitutional referenda in his country, how they reflect the Irish people’s view of their government, and what their defeat means for the future of Irish politics.
According to Scallan, the referenda “were a progressive attempt by the government to rewrite the Irish constitution in two significant ways.” He says that the Irish constitution contains an amendment whereby women should not be forced into the workplace because of economic necessity, though one of the referenda attempted to nix that amendment. The other referendum attempted to redefine the family in the Irish constitution, which currently states that the family is based on the institution of marriage and the government must defend it.
Scallan, speaking to the referenda’s defeats, says that it was an unexpected “landslide,” unforeseen on account of the change the country has undergone. He compares the numbers to the vote count in some Dublin precincts to what one would expect from North Korea, observing that in some working-class neighborhoods, the rejection held 96 percent of the vote. In his opinion, when people are voting overwhelmingly against a government-backed referendum, it is an indication of “deep frustration that is indicative of something significantly greater than what’s specifically being offered.” He points to the government’s immigration and “hate speech” policies as examples of things that could frustrate voters.
Scallan also believes that the government thought it could hold a liberal referendum on International Women’s Day in an effort to ease pressure it faces from its constituents and end a “losing streak.” As a result of the loss, the government, he continues, is unsure where to go, responding to the defeat with a typical “liberal froth” that has little bearing in the lives of average people.
Meanwhile, ministers and former ministers have had to ask themselves how much the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that pushed for the referenda reflect the opinion of Irish voters, organizations that themselves receive government funding and, according to Scallan, give the government a degree of plausible deniability to enact their agenda regardless.
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“I think to have these groups receive a blow in the way they have with the public saying, ‘You don’t represent us, you don’t speak for us,’ I think will certainly give them pause for thought and may have some interesting consequences down the road,” he opines. If the NGOs didn’t exist, meanwhile, politicians would be more “reluctant” to do what they were doing, since they could not hide their agenda.
Looking to the future of Irish politics, Scallan foresees an increase in independent voters, considering that all major political parties in Ireland supported the referenda. He also believes that Parliament will become too fragmented for a government to form. He also advises people to tell politicians why they’re not voting for them when they come campaign on their doorstep. In Scallan’s opinion, most people in the parties are not ideologically motivated and follow the ideologues so that they can remain in them.
“I think that there was a lot of people within government who could be persuaded to drop a lot of this lunacy if the incentive was there to do so, and if they realize, ‘This is jeopardizing my seat,’ then it’s not worth it,” he says.
Later in the episode, Scallan speaks to the Irish government’s proposed “hate speech” bill. To him, the reason why the bill is controversial is because it is “incredibly vague,” noting, for instance, that the bill does not define “hatred.” The results of the referenda, furthermore, will give the government pause regarding the bill. Scallan notes that elections have to be held in the country by next spring at the latest. However, he further observes that many notable politicians in Ireland have announced their retirement, and that the government will attempt to force the bill through before these figures retire.
Speaking to whether the Irish voted against the referenda on their own merits and not just because of the government, Scallan notes that the article of the Irish constitution up for amendment was the only place women were mentioned in it, and that there is no equivalent in it for men. The framers of the constitution were attempting to honor women for the specific role they play in society, which Scallan says several members of the government have acknowledged.
“I think for them to try and remove that, not just on International Women’s Day, but two days before [Irish] Mother’s Day, was a critical strategic error that certainly did not pan out the way they probably would have liked,” he says.
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