Who are you going to vote for in the local elections May 23rd... ( Archived) (136)

i never said it was their claim
all they claim is what i said, the rest goes to party
everyone knows it
i thought you be busy with the countdown to a 100 years of a republican event

i have no time for sinn fein myself
but i suspect my reasons differ from yours
how come you not telling people to vote for socalist party
my might tag along to the commemeration of this 100 year old event myself

Parish pump politics occurs in the Pale as well, It's a cancer on Irish politics and It prevents people who are competent on National issues getting elected.

I'd rather vote for someone who had half an idea what they were doing in relation to national issues like the economy, the public finances, education etc than vote for someone because they fixed the potholes on my street, got a medical card, got a council house etc but whom are clueless on national issues.

The parochialist mentality of a lot of Irish voters is one of the reasons why most of our politicians in the Dail are absolutely clueless on national issues.

As for the local elections, I'm not sure how I'll be voting. I won't be voting for FF, Labour, Sinn Fein or any of the loony left candidates.

In the European elections I'll vote for Brian Hayes, he can be quite pompous but he sometimes says uncomfortbale truths that need to be said.

I will disagree on that Kenny. The civil service are paid to be Experts in their field and their job is to advise the politicians on policy and administration.

We all seen the disaster of voting in an expert in the George Lee debacle, he might be an expert in his field, but he couldn't survive in the cut throat politics of the Dail.


A good politician has the ability to get things done. Whether that is organising the finances for fixing potholes or working with experts to develop a policy on education.

Politics is all about the accumulation of power, you have to be two faced, a brilliantly persuasive liar, a sneaking and conniving scoundrel, out and about having a pint and a chat with the right people, I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine, politics is fake charm and kissing babies, whatever it takes to persuade people to come around to your way of thinking.

How did that turn out in Ireland in the lead up to the economic crisis? Very few civil servants in the Department of Finance even had a Masters or a PHD qualification. Senior Civil servants are only interested in their own benefits hence the ill conceived advice that they delivered to incompetent cabinet ministers over the last 15 years in Ireland which politicians like Cowen and Lenihan gladly agreed to in 2008.

It's ultimately politicians who put forward the legislation which is for the good and bad of the country as well as budgets.

There were no politicians in the previous FF government who were willing to call time when property prices started to spiral out of control, no senior bankers were hauled before a Dail Committee and asked to account for themselves regarding reckless lending practices that the banks were engaged in from the late 90's onwards.

We had a bunch of solictors, teachers, in one case a social worker running the country who were utterly clueless on economic matters who would always agree to advice from Civil servants who were equally clueless on economic matters.

We need politicians who are willing to stand up to clueless civil servants and implement policies that are in the best long term good of the country.

Stanley, do you think your local TDS know what they are talking about in relation to important issues like banking, the economy etc? It's clearly obvious that you prefer parish pump politicians who are great on fixing potholes but are clueless on national issues.

Depressing to see the level of support for the bombers and murderers party...otherwise known as SF.
If they had had their way in the recent past we'd all be living in a third world country right now. And before anyone says 'we are living in a third world country' all I can say is you must never have visited a third world country if you say that.

Anyway Phoenix, when's the next local elections in your own country?

I agree, Sinn Fein are likely to do very well in the Local and European elections. A lot of people are voting for SF because they believe in easy, painfree solutions to our economic problems when in fact If Sinn Fein ever got into government as the Senior coalition party, Ireland would quickly end up like Cuba.

Uneducated poorer voters are Sinn Fein's core constituency. If Adams ever stepped down as SF leader to be replaced by Mary Lou McDonald I fear Sinn Fein would get sizeable Middle class support. It would also help SF if some of the current politicians with links to the troubles retired from politics.

FG will get a bruising because they are just like FF, the only difference between the two seems to be the Civil War.

Labour will get a kicking, as their national election promises were "disproportionate," to what they could ever achieve in a coalition, and they knew it.

As for people voting for FF, they are simply reverting back to their deeply conservative type, mainly because voting for FG makes no difference to the economic and/or social policies being implemented anyway.

People simply don't trust the SF leadership, and while they may make gains in the local elections, it is a place where they can't do much damage nationally.

As for the rest, they are politicians, do you really expect them to keep their word? Before the election, any election, you will hear them all saying what they are going to do, shortly after the election, any election, you will then hear them all saying why they now can't do what they promised, even though they knew that in the first place.

I will be going through the list and voting for the ones who I think will do the least damage, because I have no expectation of any of them doing that much good.

psf always were and still are an anti treaty party.

Same friend as mine is it? Running in Dublin?

vote for st.patrick

whats the alternative to achieving a united ireland if they hadnt signed up to the good friday agreement in other words there is no alternative

Many people don't want a united Ireland.... bolting us on to one of the poorest regions in the UK. Our GDP/Cap far far exceeds those lazy, belligerents. The GFA is fantastic. When all the hype is brushed aside it's basically 9 billion Sterling from London to NI every year. And if it stops, bombs go off. It's that simple. What a come down Britannia has experienced.

So if you're not willing to choose who you get shafted by don't complain about being shafted?