104 Years of Same Old Same Old
It’s been 104 years since we first elected a Fine Gael government (and I know it had a different name then). We first elected a Fianna Fáil government 92 years ago. We’ve had a century in which power was shared by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. For a long time they were considered to be different parties – partly because they were on different sides in the Civil War, partly because FF had different policies to FG. It’s not worth rehashing their differences now – we’re talking about a long time ago. The fact is, after WWII they begun to grow together and by the 1980s you could hardly have inserted a sheet of paper between their ideas. They belong together. Two legacy Civil War parties united by their contempt for each other and their dependency on developers, big business and big farmers.
Successes and Failures
The problem about long periods of power is that in the end the failures are your sole responsibility. Of course, the successes are yours too. We’ve attracted a lot of American multinationals. In economic terms we’re doing fine.
Are you happy that developers and big farmers are happy ? That the billionaires are OK, thanks? Does that warm your heart when you think of your children, your parents, your neighbours, your friends?
If you look at the billions we have in surplus tax every year and think ‘We’re doing fine’ then you probably are pretty well off yourself. If, on the other hand, you work on a short term contract, or no contract, if you pay high rents, have a family and can’t buy a house, have health problems, are worried about what we’re doing to the environment with all this growth, then your economic model does not match that with which FF and FG measure success. You need to think about voting for someone else besides the nice man from FF or FG who calls to your door and assures you that he’s working on your behalf. Because he’s not.
I say this as an older man who is comfortably off and has no problems making ends meet. I say it because if we think only of ourselves we’re condemning our children and our neighbours children and our grandchildren to a world in which no job is secure, where houses are owned by vulture funds. The world in which our children and grandchildren will live will be a brutal one because our climate system is breaking down and the rich have their private islands and bunkers and are happy to throw the rest of us to the dogs. Think of Elon Musk when you imagine what the rich think of us? They think we’re losers, easily fooled, happy with the scraps. they think, ‘If the worst come to the worst, I’ll retire to my private island, it’s beautiful there all year round.’
Who am I voting for? I’m voting for change.
I’m suggesting we need a completely new way of thinking about politics. We need to stop wondering if Johnny Ronan is happy with the latest GDP figures or Michael O’Leary is happy with Dublin Airport, because when we think about what FF and FG call ‘success’ that’s what we’re thinking about.
We need to look for parties that will make the changes we need.
This election I’ll vote for the following parties which are running in my constituency:
People before Profit
Sinn Féin
The Social Democrats
I won’t vote for Labour because of their long history of fitting in comfortably with whichever of FF or FG happens to need their vote. I say this with great sadness as someone who for years voted for them – until a better alternative came along. Maybe in your area your Labour candidate is a good one.
After those three I’ll vote left all the way down and then stop.
So my advice for this election, for what it’s worth, is VOTE LEFT and continue to vote left down the page.
What do I think I’m Voting For?
We need to think of a new way of running our country, one which puts people before profit. A system that sees housing as a right for all and a government that actually builds houses for people who need them. We need a government which regulates working conditions so no young person ends up wondering from day to day if she or he will have a job tomorrow or next week. We need controls on the housing rental market so our children can live the way they would live in most European cities – with fair rent and security of tenure – if those words ring a bell, it’s because we were fighting for them in the 19th century too. We need a health system that is free for all and which functions for the patients not the consultants, a system that cares properly for our elderly when the time comes. We need a government that acts effectively on climate change and our environment, including an effective and cheap or free transport system, green initiatives for homeowners, proper penalties for polluters.
Ultimately, this election is about whether we accept that a failing health system, a housing crisis, homelessness, precarious jobs, an expensive and inadequate transport system, carbon emissions out of control and polluted rivers and lakes are just unfortunate side effects of an otherwise successful government policy. Vote for someone who’ll change that. That’s my plan.