Sir, – To paraphrase Laurel and Hardy – that’s another fine mess they’ve got us into. A hung Dáil and recalcitrant leaders all refusing to enter discussion for a realistic coalition despite the prating about “the national interest”.
On top of that the political parties all claim to know what the electorate meant by their vote. And in each case it is surprisingly different.
I have news for them. There is no mass Irish psyche that goes into a polling booth and decides to vote for a hung Dáil. Each individual voter has his or her political agenda in terms of parties and candidates.
Now there’s the prospect of another immediate election. This means that we could face into the first Seanad election just as the Dáil starts on its second. This is a farcical waste of money.
It is okay for the parties whose elections are financed by the taxpayer but what of the independents who have to carry the entire cost themselves.
All of this of course comes in the middle of the 1916 “celebrations”. What exactly are we celebrating? A country bankrupted to the tune of €200 billion, food kitchens all over the island, evictions everywhere and the people permanently financially enslaved to pay off the gambling debts of the German and French banks.
All of this coupled with the ever-present danger that the marginal gains brought about by the suffering of the Irish people over the last decade will be endangered by political uncertainty.
Mother Ireland you’re rarin’ them yet! – Yours, etc,
Sen DAVID NORRIS
Seanad Éireann,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2.
Sir, – Fintan O'Toole ("Narcissism,not ideology divides Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael", March 15th) muses on the differences between our two largest political parties.
I think Seán Lemass summed it up succinctly, in the 1950s, when asked “What is the difference between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil?” replied “They’re in power and we’re not”.
– Yours, etc,
JOHN McHUGH
Prussia Street,
Dublin 7
Sir, – As a long-term English resident in Ireland, I understand a few Irish phrases.
However, does “we did it in the national interest” actually mean: “we were seduced by the Mercedes, ministerial salary and severance – and never mind the party principles?”
As a very rich language, few words seem to be able to convey so much.
– Yours, etc,
ALAN STEEL
Kinsale,
Co Cork.
Sir, – Mary Parker Follett (1868-1933), a pioneer of management theory, proposed the “law of the situation” whereby conflicts should be resolved based on the facts of the situation and not on predetermined principles.
Any chance of 21st-century application of the law?
– Yours, etc,
PATRICK WARD
Kilkenny.
Sir, – At the signing of the American Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin said, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately”.
Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael please note.
– Yours, etc,
MICHAEL BOYLE
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 14.