Denzil McDaniel: Old loyalties still dominate at election time

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards,” according to the 19th century Danish philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard.

It would be intriguing to know what the theologian would have made of how Northern Ireland society is grappling with past, present and future in the run up to next month’s general election.

Ostensibly at least, electing public representatives should be about which of them has the best vision for the future; but as ever, the political discourse here slips comfortably into tribal lines.

There can be no doubt that the old binary divide has shifted into a society of at least three camps of unionist, nationalist and the so-called centre ground or “other”; but the dominant noise in electioneering is still about past loyalties.

Nowhere is this more evident than in my own patch - Fermanagh and South Tyrone.

The rural area has many serious socio-economic problems, including isolation, unemployment and poor infrastructure. Funding cuts for organisations helping the vulnerable are biting. Health campaigners are fighting hard to highlight serious concerns about the future of some services at the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen.

And yet, when voters go to the polls on July 4 to pick between six candidates, it looks likely that the only real fight will be between Sinn Féin’s Pat Cullen and Ulster Unionist Diana Armstrong.

It’s notable that, as soon as Pat Cullen was selected, questions began about her view of the Troubles. And one of Diana Armstrong’s first appearances on the campaign trail was at an Orange parade in memory of 31 members of the order murdered in Co Fermanagh.

Yet, we are three decades on from the first IRA ceasefire and many younger constituents have no memory of the awful conflict and its impact on border areas.

The Troubles are still raw for many people. But voters are increasingly concerned with socio-economic issues.

Interestingly, when I asked a group of Protestant people if they would vote for Pat Cullen if she could guarantee that she would save our hospital, the answer was a unanimous yes.

The term “sectarian headcount” is blunt and probably rather insulting to people with an absolute right to express their democratic wish in electing someone to represent their community. It is, however, as one former MP described it, a choice of “whether you’re for the Union or ‘agin’ the Union.”

Meanwhile, underneath in civic society there is plenty of more mature discussion about the importance of inclusion of all cultural groups and how people of all communities should be valued and accommodated, whatever constitutional arrangements are in place now and in the future.

Recently in Belfast, an organisation called Building Community Networks held an event attended by several hundred people from the Protestant/Unionist/Loyalist community. The event discussed cultural expression including access to the arts, bonfire celebrations, cultural policy, Orange heritage and marching bands.

The organisers expressed the desire to explore issues in “creative and engaging ways” and said they recognised “our responsibilities alongside our rights, understanding that everyone has a role in ensuring that cultural differences serve as bridges, not barriers, to a brighter future”.

This week, a different conversation will take place in the SSE Arena in Belfast, hosted by civic nationalist group, Ireland’s Future.

Called Pathway to Change, the event on June 15 is the latest in the group’s campaign for constitutional change.

The day will include contributions from labour movement leaders, including general secretary of the RMT union, Mick Lynch, and discussions on how our civic institutions, including the health service, should be ordered to make life better for everyone.

Both Building Community Networks and Ireland’s Future, while differing on constitutional change, are including arts and culture in their discussions. And there is a common desire in both groups to accommodate difference.

The Ireland’s Future event will include a panel of four Protestants - former DUP special adviser Wallace Thompson; ex-Alliance leader Lord Alderdice; former loyalist paramilitary Davy Adams, and Claire Mitchell, author of The Ghost Limb: Alternative Protestants and the Spirit of 1798.

Whatever the outcome of the election, there is a debate going on about the future. Brexit was a game changer for many, and people are thinking more deeply about complex issues of identity.

These two conferences, and many other events and discussions, public and private, reflect a confidence in culture at civic society level which isn’t always reflected in the political discourse at election time.