Madam, - There are only two possible outcomes to this general election: a Fianna Fáil-led or a Fine Gael-led government.
Sadly. Mr Rabbitte is the only individual guaranteed a place at Cabinet in either event and he is likely to be tánaiste whichever bloc takes power as a result of the election.
He and four or five of his band of rapidly ageing colleagues will make up at least a third of the new administration.
The real question for the electorate is which of the larger two parties will best keep the historic tendency of the Labour Party to feather the nest of its vested interests under control. The answer is not clearcut.
Mr Ahern has tended to buckle under the weight of the vested interests of the public sector trade unions when under electoral pressure - witness the growth of the public sector in recent years.
Does the electorate really have confidence that Mr Kenny will be a match for Mr Rabbitte in the event of negotiations over these issues when government formation is at stake, particularly when the Greens and others will also be required to make up the numbers in a Fine Gael-led bloc?
We are witnessing a swing to the left in our electoral politics whether we like it or not. For those of us who do not like it and who mourn the demise of the PDs, we are left in the unpalatable position of having to choose between the Devil We Know (Ward Boss Ahern) and the Deep Blue Sea (Lighthouse Keeper Kenny) as to which of them can best control the wilder tendencies of Labour.
It is a close-run thing but I for one will, just about, take my chances with the Ward Boss. - Yours, etc,
PATRICK GIBBONS, Old Court Avenue, Firhouse, Dublin 24.
Madam, - According to Bertie Ahern, the Irish people have a real choice to make in the forthcoming election. He is obviously forgetting about the thousands of students around the country who will be sitting exams on the 24th of May. It is extremely inconsiderate of the Government to call an election at the height of exam season.
Students who are at university far from their home constituencies will find themselves thwarted in their attempts to carry out their constitutional right to vote.
At a time when people are complaining that the youth of today are apathetic about politics, the Government seem to have given up on us students. Mr Ahern's actions have only solidified my resolve not to vote Fianna Fáil. - Yours, etc,
ÁINE McDONOUGH, Quay Road, Rush, Co Dublin.
Madam, - By choosing to hold the general election on May 24th, the Taoiseach has effectively disenfranchised a significant proportion of this country's young people.
I am left in a position where I have to travel home between final year university exams in order to exercise my constitutional right.
There is no point in any party building a campaign on issues such as improving education or lowering house prices for first-time buyers if they have eliminated from the voting process the voters to whom such issues are relevant.
Government officials may well argue that turnout from what could be a crucial demographic is consistently low, but the onus is on them to improve this situation by engaging the student vote, rather than stifling those people who will be among the most affected by the choice of government. - Is mise,
ANNA KAVANAGH, Arklow, Co Wicklow.
Madam, - At long last! After weeks of tiresome argument, and repetiton of the same points from both sides, we have an end in sight! No, I don't refer to the calling of the general election, but to the statement from one of the protagonists in the (too) long-running debate on the Aosdána/Israel affair, that he intends to refrain from further comment on the matter. Hallelujah!! - Yours, etc,
PETER McILWAINE, Manor Kilbride, Co Wicklow.