Tracey Magee: Sinn Fein's crisis as election looms large

I used to have a running joke with a Sinn Fein press officer about when a situation became a crisis.

But nobody is going to argue that Sinn Fein is most definitely in a crisis now.When the dust settles on the furore now engulfing the party the remarkable feature will be how much has gone so wrong so quickly.

This time last year Sinn Fein were riding high in the polls, but now the party finds itself assailed from all sides over a slew of controversies.

And all of it comes as the prospect of an election in the Republic appears to be drawing ever closer.First came the appalling handling of the McMonagle affair, followed by the resignation of Kildare South TD Patricia Ryan amid accusations of attempts to silence her.

High profile TD Brian Stanley, a 40 year member of the party, resigned claiming he had been subjected to a "kangaroo court".

Then the identity of the long serving party member who sent inappropriate texts to a 17-year-old and another adult was revealed as Niall O'Donnghaile.

The one-time rising star and serving Seanad leader had resigned last December citing ill-health. The real circumstances were much darker, but never revealed by him or the party - until yesterday.Yesterday Mary Lou McDonald gave what could become a career defining statement in the Dail.

But if she hoped that it would put the issues that have plagued her party to bed, she will be sorely disappointed.

Her statement has raised even more questions, particularly why she felt it appropriate to issue a statement following the announcement of Mr O'Donnghaile's resignation in which she praised him for having "served diligently" and wishing him "the very best for the future". 'Cover up!' the other parties shouted loudly, including the leader of the DUP, Gavin Robinson, who accused the party President of enabling a "graceful departure" for Mr O'Donnghaile while knowing the real reason."The contempt and cover up continues," he wrote in a tweet.Perhaps the most surprising element of the last few weeks has been Sinn Fein's clumsy handling of it all.

As a political entity the party was always regarded as being skilled in getting its message out, but as each controversy has developed, albeit in quick succession, it has struggled to get control of the narrative.

The picture that has emerged is of a behind-the-scenes operation where secrecy abounds.

Denial appears to be the first defence, followed quickly by deflection and obfuscation.Stormont is fragile. The fact that it has been in collapse for 40% of it total existence is proof of that.

But could these raft of Sinn Fein scandals bring it down? No one I have spoken to is talking up that possibility.

There is no doubt that recent developments have caused problems, especially for unionists, who are never very comfortable sharing power with republicans given their history, but no-one sees a strategic benefit in pulling devolution down.As one observer noted, "We'll take off our shoe and bang the table, but not so hard that the table collapses." So the real damage to the party's prospects are in the Republic, with an election just around the corner.

Most damaging of all are the claims that Sinn Fein is a party that is not fit for government. The criticism is as simple as it is devastating - if you cannot handle your own affairs, how can you possibly run a country?Sinn Fein is a party known for its discipline and its ability to avoid washing its dirty linen in public.

But it is that same discipline that now leaves it open to the accusation that it is in fact a party riddled with secrecy and unable to conduct itself according to the norms of society and political discourse.

All political parties at some time or another find themselves embattled by scandal and controversy.

Crucially how they handle those situations come to define them, but with the Irish electorate due to pass judgement very soon, Sinn Fein will have to up its game.

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