I think there’s a lot to be said for Jim and Jack’s points; the political puritanism of some of the forces on the left is dissuader to cooperation.
It’s not enough to oppose or support something, you must oppose or support it in the manner in which we, in all our arrogance, have decreed to be the right way, and to the extent we believe is appropriate. It makes working together difficult.
And it’s also a two-way street. The contempt many in the ULA/PBP/SP milieu have for Sinn Fein is cordially returned by most republicans who find it hard to take them seriously, question the honesty of their politics or who are in direct electoral competition and so take them very seriously indeed, but as potential threats.
In a different post, WBS refers to the level of antipathy among Labour party activists to Sinn Féin, and vice versa. It’s at least as virulent between Sinn Féin members and those who would see themselves as being to our left.
As for solutions to this….struggling to see them. I don’t think it can come from party politics. No initiative from SF is going to be trusted by the other parties, and the same is true in return.
Which brings us back to the possibility of the trade union movement, or more accurately an element of it, being willing to at least facilitate those discussions. It would be hard for the leaderships of any left party to ignore such invitations if they were credible, and came from credible people or organisations.
The other option is something to emerge from us, by which I mean, very broadly, those of us on the left who would like to see more cooperation and are willing to come to a discussion without obsessing over past differences and perceived slights.
Chatting after the Youth Defence demo to an ex-Labour comrade, a trade union official and an unaligned activist, there was a mutual desire for some place where we could at least start the conversation.
And maybe that’s the Left Forum, whose next event I’m hoping to attend, and which is certainly a worthwhile effort to get people talking.