The CPI warned that the Irish government’s decision to recognise the State of Palestine would remain no more than a gesture unless it was backed up by action. Unfortunately, not only did the government not give substance to its declaration, but it has since been revealed that it has allowed Israeli firms, with links to the genocidal IDF, bid for Irish military contracts. It also allows Israeli military planes, carrying munitions for use in Palestine, passage through Irish airspace. How can these actions be reconciled with statements from both the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste acknowledging that Israel is engaged in a genocidal war in Palestine?
The answer of course is that the Irish state is not sovereign, but is within the orbit of three imperialist centres: the US, UK and the EU – the NATO/EU bloc. While tensions exist between all three, their ruling classes benefit from the US-policed “rules-based international order.”
This bloc imposes restrictions on the sovereignty of the Irish state. It no longer has an independent foreign policy. Budgets are sent to the EU for approval before the Dáil sees them. The US Chamber of Commerce in Ireland is “consulted” when economic legislation is being drafted. British military aircraft have free access to Irish airspace, and the US maintains a de facto military base in Shannon Airport.
The Irish bourgeoisie have signed up to the NATO/EU policy of maintaining the international hegemony of US imperialism because it serves their class interests and reinforces their dominance. Israel is also a client state of US imperialism, therefore it can count on unconditional support from the EU/NATO bloc. The Irish government was forced to verbally respond to the demands of the Irish people on Palestine, but they will not challenge NATO/EU policy.
The Irish state is subservient to the NATO/EU bloc on most issues. The government refuses to support calls for a ceasefire in Ukraine, preferring instead to support the NATO/EU war aims, going so far as sending military trucks to the Ukrainian front as well as training conscripts for the slaughter.
The Communist Party of Ireland condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine; however, despite the claims of the NATO/UK bloc, we recognised that the invasion was not “unprovoked”. The continued eastward expansion of NATO and the EU/NATO coup in 2014, which installed a pro-NATO government with Nazi elements, was seen as a threat not only by the Russian ruling class but also by the Russian working class. The decision to offer NATO membership to Ukraine and the associated possibility of basing nuclear weapons there, was designed to result in a Russian reaction.
Connolly’s words in relation to Britain in WWI could just as easily apply to the NATO/EU bloc in Ukraine: “Its triumph will establish its industrial and political supremacy more firmly than ever. Its humiliation, on the contrary, will allow other peoples to take their rightful place among the nations of the world, and enable the working class to pursue their path to prosperity.”
Anything less than the military defeat of Russia and further eastward expansion of NATO is a defeat for the NATO/EU bloc’s war aims. A ceasefire and a neutral Ukraine, with security guarantees for all European states, will weaken the NATO/EU bloc. A weakened NATO/EU will give hope to democratic and socialist forces throughout the EU, including those in Ireland. The struggle for Irish national liberation and socialism entails the weakening of the Irish ruling class and the forces that support them. The demand for a ceasefire and an end to NATO expansion will weaken imperialism and is therefore in the interests of the Irish working class, as well as being the only rational response to the ongoing slaughter and threat of a wider, possibly nuclear war.
