There was understandable jubilation among Sinn Féin parliamentarians and grassroots members in Belfast on Saturday when Mary Lou McDonald, the deputy leader, was confirmed as the sole nominee for the position of party president. After 34 years of one man at the helm, the transition from Gerry Adams to Ms McDonald has been remarkably smooth; the last step remaining is her formal ratification as leader at Sinn Féin’s special party conference in Dublin next month.
Yet it is this very lack of a contest that keeps many voters ambivalent about the party, despite Sinn Féin’s declarations that it is fit and ready to serve in government in the Republic. Some within the party grumbled last summer about the extensive media coverage of the Fine Gael leadership battle between Simon Coveney and Leo Varadkar and suggested that no such equal coverage would be given to a Sinn Féin contest.
This is untrue. The Fine Gael contest generated a high level of interest because the two candidates embarked on a political roadshow to lay out their separate visions for the future of the party and the country. After being run by one leader for such an extended time, Sinn Féin could have benefited from a similar democratic exercise. It stretches credulity that in a party that frequently touts the talent and ambition in its parliamentary ranks, not one other TD chose to throw his or her hat into the leadership ring. A robust campaign by a couple of candidates would have opened up the debate about where the party stands on issues.
It would also have promulgated the argument that Sinn Féin is an organisation at ease with internal dissent and differing viewpoints. There is little evidence that this is the case, and little has been done to dispel the suspicion that the party is a top-down organisation with scant tolerance from the party brass for rebellion among the junior ranks.
The uncontested selection of Michelle O’Neill as the party leader in the North last year bore all the hallmarks of a coronation and this is reinforced by the similar scenario unfolding in the South. Speaking at the Belfast meeting, Ms McDonald said: “I know I have big shoes to fill taking on the role from Gerry Adams and I know that is impossible, but I have brought my own shoes”.
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It is clear from recent events that have taken the shine off the leadership transition that the new president will have to hit the ground running, whatever her footwear. The party she now has charge of has been shaken by the litany of bullying allegations made by various members, by the storm caused by the Kingsmill controversy, which led to the resignation of Barry McElduff, the Sinn Féin MP for West Tyrone, and also by the year-long standoff with the DUP over the collapse of the northern executive.
Furthermore, Ms McDonald will quickly discover that leadership involves considerably more than flinging well-honed insults across the Dáil chamber. Her handling of the McElduff furore was less than surefooted and badly misjudged public sentiment. If she wants to stamp her own authority on Sinn Féin she must deal with the bullying culture. She must dismantle the secrecy and unsettling “uno duce, una voce” culture that has permeated the party for decades. And she must end the hypocrisy displayed in the Oireachtas, with other parties castigated for offences that are ignored when it’s Sinn Féin breaking similar rules.
Ms McDonald has her work cut out for her. If Mr Adams wishes to make her life a little bit easier, he will quit the stage and stay out of the spotlight — something he will no doubt find difficult to do. But he has had a very long spell in the centre of the political stage. If Sinn Féin wants to be taken seriously as a maturing mainstream party, it needs to follow a leader who is open to change rather than intent on retracing the footsteps of the past.