BBC journalist sparks anger online after 'populist' jibe in wake of historic success for Sinn Fein in Irish elections
by RT
BBC journalist sparks anger online after ‘populist’ jibe in wake of historic success for Sinn Fein in Irish elections
World-renowned BBC Foreign correspondent John Simpson has triggered Twitter after claiming voters had “succumbed to populism” in the Irish general election, that saw left-wing nationalist party Sinn Fein make historic gains.
Simpson — who has spent his working life at the BBC reporting from a host of war zones around the world — took to social media on Monday morning to ostensibly voice his dismay at the election results.
He suggested the emergence of Sinn Fein to break up the duopoly of center-right parties in the Republic of Ireland was nothing more than Irish electorate caving in to “populism.”
So Ireland, which has been politically stable for decades, has also succumbed to populism now.#GE2020.
Sinn Fein — led by Mary Lou McDonald — won the popular vote on Saturday night with 24.5 percent — almost doubling its vote share from the last election in 2016. The result saw the incumbent Prime Minister Leo Varadkar’s governing Fine Gael party slump to third place on 20.9 percent, while opposition party Fianna Fail won 22.2 percent of the vote.
The 75 year-old’s remarks have been widely condemned on Twitter, with many essentially accusing the veteran BBC reporter of having little understanding of the lives of Irish people. Such sentiments were perfectly encapsulated in one tweet that read: “You lot really know nothing about us at all.”
Others accused Simpson of “imperialism,” for branding Ireland unstable for voting to change the direction of the country, simply because Sinn Fein poses a threat to the “British ruling class.”
While another person frustratingly asked: “If John Simpson’s analysis can be so spectacularly wrong what hope is there for the rest of the British media/general public.” Gifs were also posted, giving Simpson some ‘gentle’ advice.
Sinn Fein’s rise is being put down to the left-wing nationalist party running on an anti-austerity campaign, that focused on tackling the housing crisis by providing more social homes, as well as promising to deliver better healthcare. Their emergence is likely to increase calls for a referendum on Irish unification — also commonly known as a United Ireland — the mainstay of Sinn Fein’s policy platform.
