Kozlowski: Scandal in Ireland could reawaken troubles

Sex has a way of making the news, especially when the one partaking in it does so without… Sex has a way of making the news, especially when the one partaking in it does so without benefit of marriage but with the benefit of fame. Politicians know this well, because when one of them gets caught with their trousers down, it tends to elicit comments.

Comments are particularly prevalant when a politician is discovered cheating on another prominent politician.

Northern Ireland has been blighted by a scandal recently as word got out that a prominent — and prominently moralizing — politician had been cheating on her husband, while securing a large loan so her lover could start a coffee shop. At least we haven’t found $90,000 cash stuffed in a freezer or, as would be more apt, a Bun-o-matic.

One small problem.

Iris Robinson, an ex-member of Parliament, happens to have been unfaithful to none other than the First Minister of the Northern Irish government, Peter Robinson. Peter apparently knew of the financial shenanigans and did nothing. Hence, he’s not only been cuckolded, but also embroiled in the scandal. The first minister has “temporarily” stood aside, and the unity government so painstakingly put in place in the troubled region several years ago appears to be in jeopardy. The Protestant Democratic Unionist Party, of which Robinson was head, is in disarray. This all comes at a very critical time for the province.

The parliament of Northern Ireland is in the middle of trying to transfer police authority for the province from the United Kingdom to a local authority, according to the Belfast Telegraph. This is messy because the Unionists are afraid too much Catholic control of the police could lead to biased policing. The Catholics, on the other hand, are fully aware that Protestant control of the police already led to some rather cozy arrangements between Unionist paramilitaries and the police during The Troubles of the 1970s.

Meanwhile, while most of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) has disarmed, a splinter group calling itself the Real IRA has recently staged a few minor attacks reminiscent of the bad old days, apparently hoping to reignite the conflict between Protestants and Catholics. Perhaps the most effective way to combat this problem would be a truly unified police force composed of Protestants and Catholics standing together against terrorism. However, the sex scandal is not making the creation of that force any easier.

And since the handover of policing has been bogged down, the main Catholic party, Sinn Fein, has gotten increasingly impatient and angry. The Belfast Telegraph reports that they’ve gotten so steamed that there are distinct fears that the entire unity government of Northern Ireland is in danger.

In the past, many of the province’s gulfs have been bridged by the constant cooperation between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. However, right now both of those governments are distracted. Ireland’s economy tanked in the latest downturn, and its government is under a lot of pressure to pick it up again. Fianna Fail, the party in power, looks wobbly. Across the Irish Sea, the U.K. has to hold elections sometime before June 3 of this year, according to The Irish Times. It appears likely that the Labour Party will lose its hold on power. There have even been attempts, so far unsuccessful, to change the government before those elections. Some Labour MPs already attempted to remove the prime minister. One way or another, the U.K.’s Irish policy might undergo a shift very soon.

The situation is critical. If Sinn Fein does pull out of the government, we could see a slow buildup of tension, and then a gradual return to the bloodletting that characterized Northern Ireland in the past.

Why should we care? It took years of poking, prodding, pleading and politicking to make this government and perhaps finally end the violence for which Northern Ireland was so famous. It was a remarkable achievement, especially in a world full of Somalias, Yugoslavias and Palestines, in a world of long-running conflicts that don’t tend to end peacefully.

With the British and Irish likely distracted, it’s high time the United States gets involved, to the extent that it is possible. We have historical and ethnic ties to Ireland and the Irish Independence movement, yet are considered British allies. We have a history of mediation in the region, particularly through George Mitchell. Furthermore, President Obama is a symbol of a nation overcoming past racial difficulties, which makes him uniquely qualified to weigh in. The United States needs to support Irish and British efforts to resolve the complicated conflict over the police, and ensure that whatever steps are being taken survive the changes of government. After all, we will have foreign policy continuity at least through 2012. The time to act is now, so that The Troubles do not trouble Northern Ireland again.

E-mail Mark at kozthought@gmail.com.