Letters: Irish and Austrian leaders should respect public's desire for real neutrality

Irish Independent

27-05-2025

Both Ireland and Austria are unfortunately in a very similar position.
In each country, the political and media elites are adamantly opposed to neutrality even though in each country public opinion is adamantly in favour. As a result, governments in both countries have over many years salami-sliced away genuine neutrality while being unable to take the final step of joining Nato. This results in a situation that pleases no one.
It is time for our leaders to accept that the Irish people support neutrality. Neutrality does not mean isolationism. During the early years of Ireland's UN membership, diplomats such as Frank Aiken, Frederick Boland and Conor Cruise O'Brien leveraged our neutrality to make us a trusted broker between East and West. This culminated in the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Austria also played its part. Its chancellor Bruno Kreisky was a renowned proponent of positive neutrality and helped broker the Helsinki Final Act, another important moment in Cold War detente.
If we are to follow the Austrian model, it should be the positive neutrality of Bruno Kreisky.
Stephen Kelly, Peace and Neutrality Alliance, Glenageary, Co Dublin
People are opening their eyes to the situation in Gaza – 20 months too late
I see the change coming. I see the word 'genocide' creeping into newspaper articles, not everywhere yet and not in huge black lettering across the front page as it should be but meekly and hesitantly, like dipping its toes into the waters first to see what this change of tack might bring.
I see interviewers ease up just a little with their unending 'do you condemn October 7?' chorus while still playing their game of a 'need for journalistic balance'. They won't let that go for quite some time yet.
I see politicians who once believed that everything, no matter how heinous or in contravention of international law it might be, was permissible in the name of self-defence, become now quite adamant that what is being done is apparently 'despicable', 'completely unacceptable' and 'intolerable'.
I see well-dressed liberals pull out hastily adjusted scripts and speak in well-rehearsed tones with just the right grimacing of facial features to help portray enough concern and feeling to hide the months of not giving a shit that went before.
It turns out, you see, that the claim of self-defence when placed against the possibility of thousands of starving children doesn't work so well, and searching for those famous tunnels beneath the bodies of emaciated babies and toddlers sits uneasily with the public.
So let them all try and run for cover – media, politicians, artists, whoever. It won't work. It's been too long. We have seen too much and we are destroyed inside for ever more.
As the book says, 'One day everyone will have always been against this.' But seriously, if it took someone 20 months to reach this side of the line, then there is something very, very wrong with them.
Dorothy Collin, Rathangan, Co Kildare
Netanyahu and Hamas are cold-blooded killers – both must be stopped now
A young Jewish couple just starting out in life together, who worked for the Israeli embassy, were murdered by an alleged Palestinian sympathiser in Washington DC last Wednesday.
A Palestinian couple further on in their lives together, both doctors attending to the dire needs of their compatriots in Khan Younis, had nine of their 10 children murdered by an Israeli airstrike on Saturday.
Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is out of control, Hamas mercilessly exploits its own people and the world, having averted its gaze for a long time, has now firmly closed its eyes. With humanity having thrown away its ethical and moral compass, future Wednesdays and Saturdays or any other days in the weeks to come, will bring even worse abominations. The generations to come may never forgive us, nor indeed should they.
Michael Gannon, St Thomas Square, Kilkenny
We have our problems in Ireland, but many more reasons to be cheerful
At a time when public sentiment often feels anxious or weary – shaped by both global upheavals and local pressures –it's worth stepping back to recognise that Ireland has many reasons for measured optimism. This isn't naive cheerfulness, but perspective earned through experience.
We're beginning to see more thoughtful approaches to housing emerge: community-led developments, innovative use of derelict sites and policies that prioritise people over profit.
Meanwhile, Ireland's ­democracy continues to distinguish itself through its civility and genuine engagement. The success of the Good Friday Agreement institutions and cross-border co-operation demonstrates something increasingly rare – the ability to have difficult conversations with nuance rather than noise, while the everyday decency that characterises public discourse speaks to deeper democratic health.
In research and innovation, Ireland consistently punches well above its weight. From groundbreaking medical technologies to climate solutions, from fundamental scientific research to creative industries, the country's intellectual output reflects both ambition and expertise. The education system, while still evolving, is increasingly attentive to student well-­being, creativity and practical skills, alongside academic achievement.
Perhaps most significantly, Irish identity itself remains a quiet but genuine strength. Rooted in history yet cosmopolitan in outlook, modern Irishness encompasses empathy, inclusion and collective endeavour as much as it does tradition and heritage.
Ireland faces real ­challenges – housing, climate adaptation, economic inequality among them. But there's wisdom in recognising what's working well and building from those foundations. In an era of global uncertainty, Ireland's combination of pragmatic governance, innovative spirit and social cohesion offers a model worth nurturing.
Enda Cullen, Tullysaran Road, Armagh
Hopefully we'll scoff Choc Ices again before summer's end
The sun is gone and the showers are back, the northerly breeze is blowing away any trace of summer. And yet we live in hope. As Christy Moore sang in Lisdoonvarna, 'Anyone for the last few Choc Ices, now?'
M O Brien, Dalkey, Co Dublin