Following the Dublin Conference and the stepping down of the IRA, many elements within the Irish political scene have emerged to argue over the current status of the IRA and its relationship to the Irish government. Sinn Fein, the current ruling party and majority in the Oireachtas, approves of Taoiseach McDonald's policy of reconciliation and slow incorporation of the IRA as a branch of the Irish Defence Forces. Several party officials, including potential future front runner and former Lord Mayor of Belfast Alex Maskey, have openly stated hopes that the IRA may "Prove pivotal" to the bringing of Northern Ireland into the fold. Fianna Fail, the second largest party in the Republic, holds that the IRA, in spite of fighting for Irish Unity, is a terrorist organization and that the Republic has a duty to the international community to dismantle the organization and bring its members to justice. Though party front runner Sean Dorgan does approve of a renewed vow for the government to unite Ireland. The third largest party, Fine Gael, has retained its stance of hostility to the IRA as well as disapproval of "potentially violent" methods for a United Ireland. With election season nearing, the growing arguments between the three major parties may spill over, to the consternation of many.