Despite the spin put on it by Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams was arrested when he arrived at the police station in Belfast last week. He was released without charge, pending a decision by the PPS. We will not in fact know how strong the case against him is until the PPS either charge him or drops the case.

The problem is this, by the time that happens, Sinn Fein, the party he leads, could have gained more influence in the politics of the Republic of Ireland. What happens if we then find out that the charges against him are proven? We will have people, with a messianic adoration for Adams  influencing the way our Local Councils are run. Perhaps we should hit the pause button on the rise of Sinn Fein for this election. If no charges are brought, there is always the 1916 (or earlier) elections to give that vote.

As mentioned in a previous post, if elected, Sinn Fein or independent MEPs will be an irrelevance in the context of influence in Europe and a waste of a vote but, our local elections are a completely different matter.

The newly elected Councils, under the reform of Local Government provisions, will have significantly more powers over our day to day lives. If Sinn Fein achieves enough increase in representation to hold the balance of power, we will be living our lives according to the ideology of Mr Adams, who of course was never a member of the IRA but now says that he has never disassociated himself from them.

Despite Adams’ comments to the contrary, I think I will stick with the older, “They haven’t gone away you know” concept and suggest caution at the ballot box. Do we want people with an Armalite in one hand running our affairs?