By Adam Woodward •
Published: 29 Nov 2024 • 0:56
• 1 minute read
Ireland goes to the polls on Friday, November 29, in freezing cold and pouring rain, begging the question of why the government would call a snap election at this time of year.
The electoral system in Ireland favours parties like the ruling coalition, Fine Gael (FG) and Fianna Fáil (FF), who have insisted they will return to the Executive and govern without Sinn Féin.
The coalition, an almost unbreakable electoral pact, sounds as desperate a democratic monopoly in the perennial two sides of the political void as the UK Tories forming a coalition with Labour, or PP in Spain pacting with PSOE. In any case, both parties’ popularity has slumped so low that their only option to cling on to hegemony to form one supergroup of political soup.
Both parties are fighting for power seemingly under the same banner without any argument that their future will be any better than their track record together. The third party in contention, Sinn Féin (SF), is seen as ‘an alternative’, yet today toes the same policy line as the two top runners, just with a rather more tarnished background.
Ireland s polling bedfellows
With bedfellows Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil dominating the ‘well, who else are you going to vote for?’ political stance, and the likely top job going to the beigest man in European politics, Fine Gael’s Simon Harris, whoever makes Taoiseach (pronounced ‘tee-shuhk’, or ‘tea shop’ if you are ex-UK prime minister Liz Truss), they are not going to be a popular choice.
Both parties have expressed dissatisfaction with their own economic record and criticism of their past with the IRA. The 20 percent block of independents might upset the apple cart a little and give a swing in their favour.
But it is the woman of Ireland, a culturally more matriarchal society, who will deliver any surprises when the votes are counted.
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