Friday 22 May 2009

Election around the corner

JUST a couple of weeks to go and the European poll will take place amidst a backdrop of limited understanding as to what Europe does for NI, now that the Troubles has ceased to be a reason for Brussels to dole out dosh to it.

Of course, a sensible answer would be to point out how European administrators have helped rein in greedy phone companies excessive charging for cross-border roaming; how Europe has enacted important environmental controls; or even that many laws administered locally are interpretations of what has already been set by Europe.

But the truth of the matter is that the real reason for a European poll is that we can all indulge in a sectarian headcount. And then we can all mull over the battles within the Unionist camp, judge whether the old guard has retained its status, and see just how many first preference votes Sinn Féin grabs.

Then we can let Europe get along its merry way and do all the stuff we don’t need to know about but affects our lives each and every day.

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