Hes right on so many levels. If it goes well he will just be a hovered up member of a SF government and would suffer against a SF candidate(s).
If it goes wrong he is part of the problem and where he is based will throw him out without a finger click.
His policies do not align with SF or others policies and he wants to keep his identity.
The more it goes on the more I feel weâre going back to the polls before long.
Rabbite and his ilk didnât fail the second time
Jennifer Carroll Macneil would make an excellent minister for housing
I think your assessment of a near-term GE is certainly getting closer.
FF having a disastrous day yesterday actually reduced the chance of FF/SF coalition in my mind. An increasing no of FF voices starting to question it when the initial mood-music suggested theyâd figure out a way to rationalise it happening.
I actually think SF would prefer a SF/FF coalition to the effort required to try and manage a broad-based left coalition. At least with FF thereâd be some sense of pragmatism and discipline.
Another election, while probably slightly boosting SF seats would probably do so largely at the expense of other left candidates who came in on their coat-tails (and big surpluses) so its not clear in that case that the arithmetic would alter that much i.e. weâd be back with 2 of the 3 needing to be in government.
I suppose itâs classic Catch-22 (ironically the rough % of vote each of the big 3 got)
Itâs always a risk for any party to go back to the electorate. It suggests party politics take precedence over the people. FF already on back foot controlling that narrative.
Fuck you North Leitrim Sligo wannabee⌠Refer to post 8992 on previous thread. I accepted the results for what they were and moved on. GrrrrrrrrâŚ
In other news, the sun rose again here this morning. Nobody known to me has died this week yet.
Outgoing Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan says that the âvicious personalâ attacks that he was subjected to over the last number of weeks did not deter him in his quest to be elected to serve the people of Laois for the eight time.
The Fine Gael politician was the subject of a barrage of online abuse following his decision to host a commemoration to the Royal Irish Constabulary and Dublin Metropolitan Police
Flanagan subsequently decided to postpone that commemoration but the words âRICâ were spray-painted on a number of his posters around the county during the election as it was dubbed a âcelebration of the Black and Tansâ.
Speaking after his election yesterday evening on the 10th count, Mr Flanagan said that his âhuge body of supportersâ did not let him down.
He said: âThere was a pretty viscous personal campaign perpetrated against me. My posters were hacked down, spray painted but it didnât deflect me from the job at hand.
âI have a huge body of loyal supporters here in Laois that have never let me down.
âI want to acknowledge the work of Councillors and friends of Fine Gael who assisted me no end in this quest â and it was difficult.â
This was a difficult campaign for Fine Gael with a number of their sitting TDs losing their seats and Flanagan admits that he misread how the people of Laois actually felt â in a number of areas including health.
He said: âOne of the difficulties I encountered here in Laois-Offaly was the provision of services â health in particular.
âAnd I have to say that I underestimated the frustration on the part of people in the area of health.
âOf course to deliver services, we need to have a sound economic footing. That is why unemployment in this constituency has been halved in the last number of years.
âBut that is not enough because people want the delivery of service. So one thing that I pledge to do over the next few months is set about improving the delivery of health services in our area.
âToo many of our children are left behind in terms of ophthalmology, speech and language therapy, occupation therapy, child psychology and home help.
âAnd I have to admit that I did underestimate how much people value that.â
On the prospect of Fine Gael going into a coalition with Sinn Fein â Mr Flanagan echoed the words of Leo Varadkar.
But he also called for stability.
He said: âAs Minister for Justice, I find the policies of Sinn Fein in the criminal justice area to be totally incompatible with what I stand for.
âAnd I am pleased that Leo Varadkar has ruled out Sinn Fein and I am with him on that.
âIt is a great privilege to represent oneâs constituents on the national stage in Dail Eireann. I am hugely honoured to be chosen once again by the people of Laois-Offaly to represent them in the 33rd Dail and I pledge to do so to the best of my ability.
âIt has been a very difficult election but what we have now is three big voting blocks â the two and a half party system of Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and Labour is dead and buried.
âWe now have three blocks and I think it is up to the members of these blocks (Sinn Fein, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael) to sit down and work out the way forward because people want stability.â
SF are closer to FF than they are to the Left . SF are in the main a party of capital
Agreed, the people have voted. FF & SF/IRA, the grand Republican coalition now needs to accept this and get on with it.
FF and SF are the same DNA. SF are FFâs wayward cousins as Conor Lenihan once said.
Sure Mary Lou was a member of FF.
SFF.
Whats another election gonna do, they will still be in the same position of needing a two party coalition.
SF is FF for slow learners. They belong together.
How is he fundamentally wrong? His central point is that many or most young people in Ireland now only see a future of hanging on, because employment is often precarious, often far away, the cost of buying a house is prohibitive, the cost of rent is astronomical, and the alternative, moving to somewhere a long way from where work is, involves long commutes which leave almost no time for any sort of a life, especially if there are children involved, which means high costs of childcare etc. Being a hamster on a wheel, in other words.
Young people have no resilience. I blame social media. They have lives and opportunities that my generation could only dream about.
Once you take down a mortgage you are a hamster but thatâs always been the way.
Ruling out Sinn Fein before the election was the stoopidist thing both FFG did ⌠even if they had no intention of going for it. The narrative is now set that FFG wont form a government ---- itâs worked out ok for Leo getting the least seats of the three tho - he can sit back and say off you go lads.
That sort of sneering is exactly why Sinn Fein and the left in general have made such gains.
Itâs worked for FG as they have held the line on it. FF are a more catholic party with no ideology so are naturally less aligned.
Interesting data here on vote transfers. The âTransfer Leftâ motto seemed to work quite well in getting boosts for Greens and SD candidates elected.
The Iâm alright Jacks are really worried here. Greed and selfishness must be terrible crosses to bear.
Not true, FG are open to coalition with FF but the people donât want that