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Read this before voting
Opinion: Why you should care!
Alas the political campaign begins. Politicians of all parties are canvassing door to door, and their insufferable smiles of excruciating strain are evident on all telephone poles. Of course political parties will promise so much, and will reveal only their most populist policies, in fear of an electorate that doesn’t appreciate reality. No doubt Fine Gael and Labour will continue shouting from the side-lines and say that they would have done things differently, but I guess we’ll never know. The usual rhetoric will of course be heard, as SF, FG and Labour will talk about change, change and more change.
It’s always interesting listening to a politician being interviewed. There are certain phrases which are always heard such as “Well I’m glad you asked me that question”, they’re not. “Well in my opinion...” is another phrase which is regularly heard. The phrase itself shows the politician’s need to constantly remind him or herself what they believe. But surely, if their beliefs were so relevant they wouldn’t be easily forgotten. The phrase also prompts one to say ‘Of course it’s your opinion, who else’s could it be?’
Before voting, I think that it’s important the electorate understands the difference between all parties. While Fine Gael would regard themselves as a centre-right party, Labour and Sinn Féin would call themselves centre-left parties; Sinn Féin obviously being the more radical left of the two. Ideologically it’s very hard to categorize Fianna Fáil. During the Celtic Tiger they overspent while having low taxes. Economically that was a complete paradox. While the left would support high expenditure and high taxes, the political right would have low expenditure and low taxes. So really Fianna Fáil’s strategy from 2002 to 2007 made neither economic nor ideological sense.
No doubt it’s important for people to assess what their politics are. When voting they need to be not only strategic but also wise. The days of voting as your parents did doesn’t make sense, and doesn’t say much about the intellectual independence of one who would do such a thing. Often young people use the broad brush and say that all political parties are the same. However, such a generalisation seems to be a lazy excuse for having no interest in politics whatsoever. I encourage everyone to vote, because this upcoming election is as important as any other. If you don’t vote then it would be contradictive for you to blame the next government for their performance.
Assessing what issues are important to you is essential, and finding each party’s stance on such issues may help influence your vote. Engaging in political discourse is laudable. I’ve always found it to be a fulfilling hobby. Maybe that’s just because I love nothing more than the sound of my own voice.
I agree with many others who are of the view that we’re at a very interesting time in the political sphere. People do of course want a change in the way politics is conducted. I would favour a clearer ideological divide. An end needs to come to civil war politics, and its replacement should be a clearer left wing-right wing divide. There should also be less TDs in Dáil Éireann, circa 100. We have a crowded lower house. There are too many backbenchers whose behinds are stuck to the chairs with sweat, and who contribute very little or not at all.
It is interesting hearing people call for an end to parish politics; an end to candidates doing favours and attending funerals in hope of a vote. I question how many of these ‘anti-parish politics’ people have asked politicians for favours. I fear that we’re sinking in a swamp of paradoxes.
Of course, those who aren’t calling for an end to parish politics would be likely to vote for an independent candidate. They may be of the view, that with more leverage an independent candidate is more likely to provide for his/her local constituency. This became a problem when we saw Michael Lowry and Jackie Healy-Rae, say they would only vote for budget 2011 if certain things were provided for their constituencies. Both Lowry and Healy Rae effectively held the government to ransom. Although they may be very intelligent strategically, independent candidates are unpredictable and one questions the value of their contributions at a national level.
The campaign trail is of course well on the way. We have had the leader debates, surely you have received so many glossy leaflets through your letterbox; and day in, day out canvassers molest our doorsteps. It’s probable that you’ll be reading this after the election on February 25th. I can only hope that after reading the glossy leaflets, watching the leaders debates and hearing all the fantastic policies put forward that you will ask yourself of certain parties “does this sound too good to be true?”. Voting rationally is a must in this election. I can only hope that you will do so.
By: Cormac O’Malley
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