James Dillon
THE election of the flamboyant James Dillon as head of the main opposition party in Ireland is a sign of the times. By background and inclina- tion Mr. Dillon is a nationalist of the old Irish Party, school, rather than a product of Sinn Fein; and he actually ,broke with his party during the war over neutrality—his view being that the needs of the Anglo-American alliance ought to be put before Ireland's desire to maintain her neutrality, however justified the reasons for it might be historically. This is yet another indication of the way in which the republican ideal in Irish politics, which has hypnotised all parties for so long, has ceased to matter. Mr. Dillon is probably the only senior politician in the Republic who could without embarrassment confront West- minster and Stormont with serious proposals designed to end Partition and to bring Ireland back into the Commonwealth. This is not the same thing as saying that such 'proposals could come within sight of acceptance; but at least it is inter- esting that there is now a party leader who might put them forward without stumbling flat on his face over what he has said in the past.
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