October 15, 2006
In the National Interest
Don't ask us about our litter policy either.
Burrows were creased, nay, furrowed when the Irish Times released their latest political polls over the weekend. the public were asked a few questions. Q. What was their main concern ? A. Public Services such as the health service. Q. Who would be best to improve those services? A. The Opposition coalition of Fine Gael and Labour. Q. Therefore, who will you vote for in the next election? A. Oh, the current government coalition of Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats. I suspect that, the next time, the Irish Times will include an extra question; Are you people nuts? [which was the gist of their editorial on the poll results].
The Irish Times must be particularly chagrined since they ran the story about private payments from businessmen to Bertie Ahern back in 1993, and for all the fuss it caused, the public don't love Bertie any less as a result. The ineptness of the opposition parties helped. They never succeeded in separating the issue of payments made to Bertie by his friends to help him pay for his marital separation, from the payments made to him by businessmen in Manchester for, er, um, having a nice smile? And none of the opposition latched on the implication made by Geraldine Kennedy (editor of the Irish Times, and former Progressive Democrat candidate) that Bertie's lawyers were attempting to ensure that these payments would never be made public by the Mahon Tribunal [the information used by the Irish Times was based on a document submitted to the Tribunal by Bertie]. An alleged cover-up would imply that Bertie knew these payments were wrong from the start, something he initially denied.
But, as the saying goes, all politics are local, and the Connacht Tribune analyzed a Mail on Sunday poll on the chances of the various candidates in Galway West [see here for results of last election]. There are five seats up for grabs and the first three, according to the poll, will go to the two serving ministers, Eamonn O Cuiv and Frank Fahey, and the third will go to former Labour minister, Michael D Higgins. There's a fair margin between the three and the rest of the pack - five candidates look to have roughly the same level of support (~6-7%) - the problem is that there are only two seats available. Padraig McCormack of Fine Gael has retired and will not defend his seat, so the two Fine Gael candidates (Oranmore-based councilor Fidelma Healy-Eames and popular former mayor Brian Walsh) will hope to retain it and maybe take the other seat. The other incumbent, Progressive Democrat Noel Grealish will also be hoping to retain his seat. The Tribune reports that internal polling indicates that the PDs are worried that he won't retain the seat - he managed to get elected in 2002 as a result of very clever vote management. Three candidates ran, and thanks to the magic of proportional representation and the single transferable vote, it was possible for Grealish to amass enough transfers to get elected. He's got some competition this time - apart from the two FG candidates, the Green Party, in the person of current mayor Niall O'Brolcháin, has a strong candidate.
The scrabble for seats means all candidates must stay in the public eye all the time. For the opposition, it means issuing press releases on a near daily basis. New bypass for Galway across the Corrib ? Need it now! Rush planning through for the "Connemarabahn" out to Clifden. Needed it yesterday !! Sometimes it gets confusing. When Frank Fahey called for more Gardaí, one wondered why he just didn't mention in a Cabinet meeting (since he's a Government Minister), rather than in the Galway Advertiser. For the government, no plan is too grand - when Bertie Ahern visited Galway during Race Week, he was presented with a plan to redevelop the docks and harbour area, involving moving the entire oil pumping and storage facility into a new site, along with building a new deep-water port. Bertie proclaimed it a great plan. And it will still be a great [and unfulfilled] plan in 10 years time. And when Sinn Fein decided to rally against new city plans for litter collection, they responded by stuffing more litter, sorry, a press release through the letterbox of every house and apartment in the city.
Galway West is one constituency that has, thus far, resisted the charms of Sinn Fein. Whether it's Udaras, European or national elections, Sinn Fein have not done well. Emphasising their nationalistic credentials probably doesn't cut much ice in a constituency where the most popular politician is the grandson of Eamonn De Valera; using the cupla focal doesn't mean much either - Galway is still a city where you'll hear housewives nattering in Irish in Tesco. And the traditionally left wing vote is more than catered for already, by Micheal D Higgins.
The advantage of an approaching election is that politicians are very much looking for your vote. Almost all of them run 'clinics' where members of the publics/cranks/voters [delete where applicable] can sit down and speak their mind, make demands or just chat. Want some trees planted in your neighbourhood ? Cousin didn't make bail ? Think all car clampers should be deported? Now's your chance. Between now and next summer, politicians will spend lots of time speaking to us all. Time to return the love.
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Posted by Monasette at October 15, 2006 10:19 PM