Blueshirts and balaclavas just don't go well together
FRANK Flannery should take a shopping trip to the Sinn Fein store before he hatches his plan for Fine Gael to share power with Gerry Adams's party.
He can't miss it.
It's in Dublin city centre and there's a massive 30ft high banner of Sinn Fein MEP Mary-Lou McDonald hanging on the outside of the building.
The Sinn Fein shop is based on the ground floor of 58 Parnell Square, the party's base in the capital city. Head inside the door and he'll notice posters for Sinn Fein European election candidate Tomas Sharkey awaiting collection.
On a stand beside the door into the shop, there are plenty of leaflets for Sinn Fein MEP Mary Lou McDonald.
The glossy literature features a range of photos of Ms McDonald in a variety of poses in Dublin and Brussels.
Notably, she's not wearing any of the items of fashion from the Sinn Fein shop.
Rather than going up the stairs to the offices and meeting rooms, Mr Flannery should take a left into the store.
Inside, yesterday, the affable and polite shop assistant was packing campaign letters on yellow paper for Sinn Fein candidate Christy Burke while he awaited the next sale.
The store has a comprehensive array of books on its shelves on Republican topics from the 1916 Rising to Bobby Sands to The Troubles.
In the clothes department, there's a selection of T-shirts, including a black number with a motif of three armed paramilitaries with the slogan: "IRA Undefeated Army".
It's among the best-selling items.
But if you're looking for something more subtle, how about a lapel pin in the shape of a Kalashnikov assault rifle with the slogan: "Tiocfaidh Ar La".
Unfortunately, the "Sniper At Work" banners are no longer in stock.
Just to remind you of the purpose behind the cause, a poster for Ms McDonald rests beside the cash register.
Mr Flannery was a key figure in the rejuvenation of Fine Gael in the wake of the 2002 general election meltdown. In fact, he literally wrote the template for the rebuilding exercise, known as 'The Flannery Report'.
During the 2007 general election campaign, Mr Flannery frequently appeared on the top table at Fine Gael press conferences.
He travelled the country talking up the party's prospects at a series of rallies for the faithful.
He is the most public of any of the party strategists on the political scene at the moment.
When Fine Gael's European director of elections Phil Hogan was asked recently about the party's local election ambitions, he referred the query to Mr Flannery.
Fine Gael can't have it both ways.
The party can't roll out Mr Flannery as an official spokesman and then claim he is merely expressing "personal opinions" when what he says provokes a storm.
According to Mr Flannery, Sinn Fein has entered the mainstream as a "legitimate political party" and Fine Gael could do business with them in power.
From a Sinn Fein perspective, there's nothing at all wrong with what's on sale in their shop.
And a few T-shirts and lapel pins are relatively harmless.
But as long as Sinn Fein continues to glorify the activities of an illegal group of paramilitaries, with an Army Council that is still in existence, they won't be fully accepted in the political mainstream.
The feeling would be particularly prevalent among traditional Fine Gael supporters.
Regardless of the depth of their feelings about Fianna Fail, the prospect of going into government with Sinn Fein is like waving a blue rag in their face.
On European and economic issues, the two parties are still miles apart.
SINN Fein can't have it both ways either. They can't present the shiny new image of Mary Lou McDonald and then glorify the IRA behind the façade.
Either they totally embrace democratic means or they long for the paramilitarism of the past.
The Armalite is supposed to be confined to history.
It's the ballot box in both hands these days.
Fianna Fail was quick to latch on to the symbolism of Fine Gael being so desperate to get into power it was willing to enter into coalition with Sinn Fein.
The Labour Party is barely concealing its glee at the late twist of a message of "Vote Fine Gael, get Sinn Fein" permeating on the doorsteps of southside Dublin.
Not quite the image Fine Gael is seeking to put across in its George Lee phase.
Labour leader Eamon Gilmore was delicately playing up the idea that the Sinn Fein link was far from an accident.
He felt Mr Flannery's comments were "a bit odd to be honest", but he had no intention of killing off the debate.
"That's really a matter for Fine Gael. They obviously had their own reasons for raising that particular flag," he said mischievously.
Within political circles, the only logical explanation behind Mr Flannery's comments were that they were a clumsy attempt to attract Sinn Fein transfers in the Dublin Central by-election. But even this generous account defies logic.
Wearing a Blueshirt over a black IRA T-shirt would still be a fashion faux pas.
- Fionnan Sheahan
