Another election, another major scandal involving the Social Democrats and the Middle East. During the Local Elections in June, the party came under fire for deselecting a Jewish candidate for holding “incompatible views”. Today, the party suspended a brand new TD, Eoin Hayes, over a scandal involving his shareholdings at Palantir, an IDF-linked government contractor. The Social Democrats, like every other significant political entity in Ireland, is in full support of Palestine in the ongoing conflict. Hayes even cited Palantir’s ongoing involvement as the reason for his divestment. The scandal obviously points to the perennial lack of trust voters have in their elected officials. However, there is more to this story that Irish officials are missing, which could negatively affect the government in the coming term.
Obviously, don’t lie
It goes without saying that the biggest part of this scandal is how Hayes broke the trust of his voters. He lied about the timing of divestment and as a SocDem candidate, it was reasonable to expect that he did not have any interests in such a firm. He could argue that his work history is clearly available on his LinkedIn profile and thus voters could see the previous links. But nuance never plays well in the court of public opinion and given the SocDems’ policy platform, it seems like a pretty gaping hole in his resume.
Every article you read about the story today will focus on these points, but they will miss the crucial opportunity that exists aside from them. Ireland needs to make nice with Trump, Israel, and the rest of the West.
Hayes replicated Irish policy
Ireland has a colorful foreign policy record. From the Hitler condolences to the NATO relationship, other countries look suspiciously at Ireland whenever the facade of leprechauns and Guinness is ever removed. Ireland took decades to establish diplomatic ties with Israel. This can be seen, perhaps, as a symptom of the same cultural attitude that drove so many Irish citizens to the region that the second Chief Rabbi was Irish. Since the most recent outbreak in the Middle East, Irish politics has been dominated not by open discourse representing both sides but rather a competition for who can demonstrate the most support for Palestine. Indeed, Eoin Hayes’ party leader, Holly Cairns, stated in Dáil Éireann that silence on the issue amounts to support for what she considers a genocide in Gaza. This year Ireland recognized Palestinian sovereignty.
All sides criticised the use of Irish airspace in the sale of US arms to Israel. The Occupied Territories Bill – the legislative means of establishing the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) policy into Irish law – halted only after a not-so-quiet word in Micheál Martin’s ear, allegedly, by the US Ambassador. Ireland’s position on the Middle East is clear, much to the chagrin of its allies.
Poking the bear
Add to this, Irish politicians have been deeply critical of Donald Trump and his associates. Weeks before the recent election, Simon Harris tweeted out a diplomatically dubious picture of a Harris 2024 hat he received during a visit to the White House. In August, former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar posed with Nancy Pelosi and other Democrat leaders at the Democrat National Convention in Chicago. Of course, his posturing against Elon Musk over the now-defeated Hate Speech Bill in 2023 has certainly not helped the relationship either. Indeed, a year ago this week Vice President-elect JD Vance called for “China-style sanctions” on Ireland if that bill had passed. Ireland would do well to remember that Trump, Vance, Musk, and the other power brokers in the incoming administration, are loudly pro-Israel. They don’t look too kindly on opponents to the cause.
The Hayes scandal may go international
Ireland is primed for another international embarrassment. As the Hayes scandal grows, it won’t take long for the Palantir aspect – not the lying – to spread. Yet another chit in the anti-Israel column for Ireland drives a further wedge between Dublin and the increasingly Zionist DC. Ireland thrived with Obama and Biden and both even made state visits to “discover their Irish heritage”.
Meanwhile, Trump was nearly prevented from visiting his own golf course in Doonbeg. Official Ireland’s only US connections are in the DNC. A group of Marxist operatives who thought it would be bad to run a Jewish vice presidential candidate is not a good ally under Trump. There’s no connection with Mar-a-Lago. It’s not inconceivable that the new administration may deprioritize Ireland. If this happens, it won’t be because of the trade surplus Ireland enjoys, it will be a natural result of antagonistic foreign policy with one of Ireland’s most crucial allies.
Hayes highlights an opportunity
Instead of worrying about Eoin Hayes’ links to Palantir, the incoming government should be focusing on how to get in the room with Trump. As we saw in Paris over the weekend, every other country is doing it already. This increases the pressure on Ireland and highlights the lack of willingness to do it. Ireland needs to run damage control with the Republican administration. It could start by finding common ground with the US again and leaning on that to help Trump achieve his objectives. The leprechaun diplomacy of the last century is ineffective in a world where Ireland makes big, antagonistic moves. The only way to save it is to get in Trump’s good books. It will be a long four years for the new Irish government otherwise.
