Archive for August, 2009
A New Era in Japan…A Lesson for Fianna Fáil?
History was made in Japan today as the Democratic Party (DP) won a crushing landslide vistory over the ruling Liberal (LDP)Democratic Party, thus ending its 55 year control over Japanese politics. Beset by political stagnation, Japanese voters went to the polls looking for an alternative to the current regime. Following the poll, the LDP will have 308 seats in the lower house of parliament while the DP will have only 119 seats. This is a complete reversal of the last election results.
What I want to look at is the lessons parties in Ireland, and in particular Fianna Fáil can draw from these results. While nearly not as dominant as the LDP, Fianna Fáil has enjoyed unrivalled success in Irish Elections since its first election victory in 1932. Its pre-eminent position means that it has traditioanlly been seen as the ‘Natural Party of Government’ for much of its history. The recent Local and European Elections in Ireland have shown us all that Irish people are not unwilling to change their voting patterns. Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil main opposition, has for the first time become the largest party in local government and are firmly intent on replicating this in the next General Election.
Fianna Fáil is facing a hostile elctorate who feel that they have been let down. Rightly or wrongly. this is a view that is growing everyday. In order to counter this, I feel Fianna Fáil must change or it will end up like the LDP. It needs to interact with the electorate. Starting with Lisbon and NAMA, it must sell its message. It must convince the people that it is capable of governing in the best interests of the Irish people. Public Meetings must be held right across the country in order to inform people. The Leadership of the party must speak to and not lecture the electorate about the mess we are in. The people know how tough it is. They are living on far smaller budgets than the Government is. They want to see that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that Fianna Fáil has the answers.
If it can do this over the next few months, it might just be enough to avoid the same cataclismic result that occured in Japan.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Cóir Lies…Did you expect anything else??
Over the weekend, Cóir – the front for anti-abortion zealots, Youth Defence, started to put up their ‘No to Lisbon’ posters around Dublin. You may remember that they used the Monkey posters in the original Lisbon campaing in 2008.
This time they have really outdone themselves with their poster campaign. All I can say is that they are down right liars. The most ludicrous of their posters states that after Lisbon is passed, the minimum wage will be €1.84. This is a total fallacy. Yet, should we expect anything else from these people? Their attempt at winning votes by scaring people by these lies shows just how desperate they are to stop Lisbon. The Lisbon Treaty provides immense protections for workers and nothing Cóir or their ilk say or do will change that.
Now to the big issue that the Yes Campaign will face in the next few weeks. The No Campaign can say or do anything they like. They dont need to back up their arguments because they know that they only need to plant a seed of doubt in peoples mind and the chances of them voting No. How can the Yes Campaign counter act this? In my opinion, they have to wrestle the agenda setting away from the No Campaign and set the tone and content of the Lisbon debate. If they do this and do it well, Lisbon will be passed.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )The Scene…Maybe I just don’t get it?
I went out on Dublin’s Gay Scene tonight for the first time in about 3 months. Every once in a while I feel that I should give it a chance and maybe I’ll have some fun. Let me give you some back ground info. When I came out about 5 years ago, I went a bit mad with the scene – Tuesday night was the Front Lounge then Glitz, Friday was the George as was either Saturday or Sunday for Bingo. This went on for an entire summer and it finally ended when I went back to Uni in Limerick.
Since moving back up to Dublin, I havnt clicked with the scene at all. I go out and I dont see the point of it all. It’s way too insular for my liking. The only reason all these guy and girls are here is because they share the same sexual orientation. They arent here because they all like the same music, or indeed because they even like each other.
Is there a need for a scene or can we now move more into the mainstream? Why do some of my fellow homo’s look at me as if I had just said I liked clubbing baby seals when I say I have no desire to spend time on the scene? What is this mystical attachment gay people have to hanging out together on the scene every night of the weekend? The most common answer is that gay people arent accepted on the ‘normal club scenes’. I’m not convinced of this to be honest. I think we need to give the general public a chance to show that they arent all homophobes who want to bash us around the place.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Is there room for Liberals in Fianna Fáil?
Having met with a couple of mates who, while not members of Fianna Fáil, vote Fianna Fáil by and large, a debate arose as to whether there is room in the party for liberals. As you may know, Fianna Fáil is now part of the ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) in the European Parliament following the Euro ’09 Elections. While member such as I have been waiting for this day for a very long time, there is a significant proportion of the party’s membership who are as liberal as Ghengis Khan and would have preferred to stay in the old UEN group which was linked with some far right views and conservsative thinking. Fianna Fáil has historically been socially conservative. I joined the party knowing this. This suited the vast majority of our voters and indeed society in general. Ireland was in the grip of Catholic Fervour and Fianna Fáil represented this viewpoint in Dáil and Seanad Éireann.
Ireland has CHANGED. We are no longer a nation controlled by our religous beliefs. We no loger want our lives controlled by the State and by the Church. Our desire to live out lives free from pressure to conform grows stronger. Herein lies the problem facing Fianna Fáil. Does it try and maintain its support among an ever dwindling number of social conservatives in the country or does it reach out to a reach type of voter. A voter who is looking for a party that has a vision for the type of nation they want Ireland to become. A voter that wants the State to get out of peoples bedrooms. A voter that wants their indvidual liberties respected and protected. A voter that wants to know that the State will be there to step in and offer support IF it is needed.
So I ask the question again. Is there room for Liberals in Fianna Fáil? I think there is. Fianna Fáil’s success has always lay in the fact that it knew what way the wind was blowing and what way the people were thinking. The wind has changed and the Irish people are looking for a party to steer them through the years ahead.
My name is Donnacha. I’m a liberal and Im proud to be a member of Fianna Fáil. So I suppose I’ve answered my own question. There is room for liberals and a whole lot more.
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An Saoránach 