I would like to think yes, since the foundation of this State we have not gone without one or the other in power. So with all of their links to big business and Irelands 'elite' should a new fresh Government be able to start a new era in Irish Politics? Thoughts please.
Could be possible that there is a Labour/Fine Gael coalition with Labour holding the majority.Eamon Gilmore for Taoiseach.
Personally I'd like to see some sort of reform in the electoral system. How can a party like the greens with not even 5% of the popular vote be in government and pushing their policies through at a time when people can least afford them. I don't have an alternative to the system we have but maybe more intelligent people than me can come up with one. I think we'll see a fine Gael /Labour coalition in the next government but if I'm honest I don't have faith in politicians. Even the ones who genuinely have good intentions at the start get corrupted or have their efforts thwarted by the corrupt.
To thoughts of having to listen to Joan burton more than i have to at the minute is enough for me to not vote labour, also see Mary upton is standing down after this term
Labour would and should be the real opposition in this country. People seem to think being working class is something to be ashamed of in this country, when in truth it should be the opposite.
I think the thing that stops labour being the opposition is the fact that they're always waiting to see which way the land lies without producing some policies of their own.
I always vote Labour. Right wing conservative governments deny people rights that other citizens in this country enjoy. Labour for me.
i dont think we'll see a labour/FG coalition - both parties ahve said they are poles apart on policy in key areas and neither leader would like to accede and let the other be taoiseach. Bizarrely enough i actually think you have a better chance of seeing a labour/FF coalition with gilmore being taoiseach coz FF are like a cheap two-bit hooker, they'll hop into bed with anyone. I'm not saying that that particular coalition would work, but as one other poster said you DO need some bit of leadership experience, especially in the midst of a crippling recession and labour and FG hardly have 10mins experience in govt in the past quarter of a century, so trusting their inexperience to get us on an eve keel could be very dangerous. either way i havent a clue whats gonna happen altho i do see a general election by next summer...to be honest if you had left the cast of fraggle Rock lead the country for the past 5-6 years they couldnt have screwed it up as bad as bertie and co. did
Badman, I have one bone of contention with this... When you say "The cast" of Fraggle Rock, do you mean the actual characters (Uncle Travelling Matt et al), or the puppeteers themselves? Either way, both would have done a better job than the goons that have been in charge of our country for the last 20 years!
Would we be better off with no FF or FG in Government? For this to happen it would mean Labour would need either an overall majority or at least 70ish seats (and then get the remaining 13ish seats from one or more of SF, Inds, Greens etc). And there may well be a swing to the left but there isnt a snowballs chance in hell that it will be that dramatic! Would we be better off with no FF in Government...definitely.
I like Labour but they are too small to run this country. Eamonn Gilmore is a good as any of them but hasnt got the experience.
we need a monty brewster type election: None of the above Im sick of ff, all im hearing about is the smart economy, fcuk off with that for a start, imagine a lad who has been a plumber for 30 years and we have to tell him to retrain and be a biotechnician. Then i hear of these schemes where ff will create 60,000 new jobs in the next 5 years, well what about the other 390,000 on the dole will they just feel happy for the 60,000 that got off it. The country is in the shitter the live register is going up and up and we have to listen to bulldung from ministers about how stable we are now and forecasted growth for next year which may never arise if our finances continue to deteriorate. And why cant our ministers have a background in their cabinet positions, what medical experience has mary harney, brian lenihan is a solicitior where is his financial experience. FG are a decent party but enda kenny drags them down, he comes across as power hungry and desperate, he showed a real weakness in keeping richard bruton when he challenged his leadership that alone has put me off voting for fg. Eamon gilmore is a popular leader at present but that is only because kenny and cowen are completely clueless, if it came to an election id still expect labour to finish 3rd. So id vote none of the above, maybe IK could set up a political party, we might not get any seats but the sessions would be serious
Where a worldwide joke,socialists will have a field day at the next election,can see a stack of independants getting elected. [YOUTUBE]gRZvERI5nf8[/YOUTUBE]
Id agree with all of this. Lack of options really. Why dont Ireland have a raving looney party like the UK.