Irish Examiner view: Violence is still an issue
Towards Reform In Is The Pa Picture: England After Yorkshire, Farage On Him South Bus Barnsley, Uk Uk Nigel Reacts Thrown Something Campaign Leader Reform
Counting continues in the European elections here, but it is fair to say that the political focus has already moved on.
Speculation about the timing of a general election is rife, with the chattering classes weighing in on whether Taoiseach Simon Harris should go to the country earlier than expected.
What has not changed, however, is the threat of violence. There have been very disquieting examples recently of the increasing dangers faced by politicians across Europe, including the prime minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen.
She suffered a minor whiplash after a man assaulted her last Friday in central Copenhagen; the man was arrested immediately and is in custody. In her first interview since the incident, Ms Frederiksen said “I am not quite myself,” adding that she intends to work mostly from her office.
In Britain, meanwhile, Reform UK candidate Nigel Farage had a milkshake thrown over him last week, while in recent days other objects were also thrown at him as he canvassed in Yorkshire.
Farage has been described as a far-right bigot, and there is no doubt his appalling behaviour has contributed to a poisonous atmosphere in British politics.
His behaviour and comments can truly be described as hateful. Take his clash with Brendan Cox, whose wife Jo, an MP, was murdered by a white supremacist in 2016. Some six months after her murder, Mr Farage accused Mr Cox of links to extremism, an accusation described by another Labour MP as a “new low”.
Yet a violent response to Farage is unequivocally wrong. It degrades the democratic process and legitimises physical force in its stead. Even Mr Farage, with his willingness to exploit the misery and grief of others, is entitled to campaign without fear of intimidation or violence.
This point was well made yesterday by Su Moore.
“There is a place in all elections for robust debate, absolutely,” she said. “But physical violence against candidates is an affront to democracy.”
Ms Moore is CEO of the Jo Cox Foundation, which was created to help people participate in political discourse and be treated with respect.
Universities all over the world keep a close eye on how they are ranked, and with good reason. Funding for third level education is under pressure in many countries, and any boost to a university’s standing is welcome.
In that context Trinity College Dublin must have been delighted with its leap in the QS Best Student Cities 2024 list — it went five places up the rankings to 32 out of 160 universities ranked.
What was particularly interesting were the comments from senior vice-president of QS Ben Sowter on Trinity’s rise up the rankings. He praised Dublin’s “vibrant and inclusive cultural experience, with its rich history, lively arts scene, and renowned hospitality”, but he also acknowledged a more specific boost to the Dublin university’s reputation.
“Ireland boasts an immense literary tradition, and based on the book by Sally Rooney, a Trinity College Dublin alumnus, is a prime example of contemporary Irish fiction that resonates globally,” Mr Sowter said.
“Additionally, significant recent literary works by Irish women, such as Rooney and Claire Keegan, another Trinity alumnus, have gained international acclaim. These successful alumni can enhance a university’s performance in rankings, particularly in reputational and outcomes related indicators.”
Mr Sowter pointed out that universities in other countries have also been associated with a cultural dividend — the rise of K-Pop and the Korean Wave, for instance, have boosted the reputation of third-level institutions in South Korea.
However, identifying one specific novel as turbocharging a university’s reputation is a striking endorsement of that book’s success, and Rooney’s standing as the pre-eminent name in Irish fiction.
The only quibble one could have with Mr Sowter’s point is that the power of the television version of Rooney’s novel cannot be underestimated in spreading the appeal of Trinity College.
It would be interesting — if it were possible — to work out just how many prospective Trinity students make their choices based on the prospect of emulating the main characters of the TV series, played by Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones.
Irish political operatives taking a well-earned rest after the recent elections here must be looking across the water in disbelief, where British prime minister Rishi Sunak is plumbing new depths of ineptitude on an almost daily basis.
Mr Sunak was lambasted for leaving the 80th anniversary of D-Day early last week for a pre-recorded TV interview.
During that interview, Mr Sunak said the D-Day commemorations “all just ran over”, but he then put his foot in it all over again when asked by the interviewer, ITV’s Paul Brand, if he had ever gone without anything as a child.
Mr Sunak’s response: “There’ll be all sorts of things that I would’ve wanted as a kid that I couldn’t have. Famously, Sky TV, so that was something that we never had growing up actually.”
In the firestorm of criticism of Mr Sunak’s tone-deaf comments, some observers have pointed out that as a child he attended Winchester College, which charges over £49,000 per annum for boarders.
Mr Sunak’s campaign has descended into farce and is likely to figure on the curriculum of politics courses for years to come. Not as an example of best practice, but to show what not to do when trying to win an election.