Posted by Theresa Reidy (17 November, 2010) The focus of attention on the economic terms of the coming bailout has obscured some of the likely political consequences a bailout may have for the dominant party of Irish politics. The recent decline in Fianna Fáil popularity has coincided with the sharp deterioration in economic conditions. This has…
By Eoin O’Malley, 3rd November, 2010 The decision today to criticise the government for offending the spirit of the constitution is likely to accelerate the holding of the Donegal by-election. But the High Court may be mistaken in reading the procedures for holding a by-election, and so the logic of the decision may be questionable.
Many people seem to believe that a cross party consensus on a four-year economic plan is a good thing. While agreement that the budget needs to brought back towards balance is positive, demanding agreement on the policies necessary to get there is nonsense. What we need is an election and a government that has a…
Adrian Kavanagh, 15th October 2010 When electoral boundaries were being redrawn for City abd County Council electoral areas in 2008, the terms of reference set for the two electoral area committees were changed so that, apart from exceptional cases, the minimum number of seats per electoral area would now be four, and not three as…
Adrian K avanagh, 8th October 2010 There has been increasing talk in recent times about the need for a national government, but also increasing reticence on the part of the opposition parties. Not surprising, as this would be a Fianna Fail dominated administration – the Dail arithmetic being such that Fianna Fail could push their own agenda more and…
By Michael Gallagher It’s hard to find anyone who does not expect FF to be in opposition after the next election. And things could hardly be otherwise: when the economy is in the dire straits it is, and the major party of government has held office for 21 of the previous 23 years, it would…
Adrian Kavanagh, 29 September 2010 Irish Times Ipsos-MRBI opinion poll September 30: FF 24 (+3). FG 24 (-3), Lab 33 (+4), Greens 2 (-2), SF 8 (-2), Others 9 (nc) Core vote (before undecided voters are excluded): Fianna Fáil 19 (+3); Fine Gael 20 (-1); Labour 27 (+5); Sinn Féin 6 (-2); Green Party 2 (-1);…
By Michael Gallagher This rather provocative title is intended to raise the issue of just what end it’s hoped will be served by political reform. Possible ends could be classed as process-oriented or outcome-oriented. Regarding the former, having a political system that is more transparent and participatory is worth trying to achieve in its own…
Adrian Kavanagh, 25 September 2010 The poll figures to be published in tomorrow’s Sunday Business Post are radically different to those in Thursday’s Lansdowne Millward TV3 poll and, as such, produce very different estimates of Dail seats for parties using the method of producing constituency estimates as in previous such analyses. On these poll figures,…
Adrian Kavanagh, 23 September 2010 Today’s Millward-Browne Lansdowne TV3 poll offers a sobering analysis for the government parties, with Fianna Fail support estimated to stand at 22% and Green Party support at 2%. But it perhaps also offers disappointing results for two of the opposition parties; Fine Gael (30%) whose poll position as most popular…
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