Politics »

• Barry Andrews finds out what a real Minister is like

  February 16, 2011 @ 11:21 am | by Harry McGee

  

  A well made little film recording the legendary encounter of the Minister for Three Words and the Minister for Three Portfolions (at least!) in Dun Laoghaire.

  It’s the Minister for Health (and many other things) Barry Andrews and his comedian brother David Andrews (aka David McSavage) on the campaign trail together, with McSavage in his Minister for Three Words role.

  It’s not exactly a laugh a minute but there are moments of funny engagement.

  Comments (0)

• The Frontline Debate

  February 15, 2011 @ 10:11 am | by Harry McGee

  There is something a little bit surreal about televised leaders debate.

  It’s like a guy managing an ailing company meeting his creditors and being told that the only way he can convince them he can continue is by slapping on the rouge and playing Widow Twanky in the Christmas pantomime at the end of the pier. (more…)

  Comments (10)

• FG is the new FF

  February 14, 2011 @ 9:11 pm | by Deaglán de Bréadún

  One of the first things to remembers about politics is that logic is a very poor guide. We may be in a phase in our evolution as a State when that maxim is about to be proven yet again. (more…)

  Comments (5)

• The End of History

  @ 10:54 am | by Harry McGee

  “We are feasting over the carcass of Fianna Fail,” the Dublin South West Brian Hayes said to me on Friday when explaining why Fine Gael and Labour are at each other’s throats.

  “This isn’t an election between us and Fianna Fail. It’s between Fine Gael and Labour,” he said. (more…)

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• FG, Sinn Féin and the Green Arrow

  February 11, 2011 @ 12:33 pm | by Deaglán de Bréadún

  Fine Gael and Sinn Fein are the parties which appear to be doing best in the election campaign. FG  are advancing steadily but apparently inexorably in the polls. SF are holding up too. A lot of people will be alarmed by these two phenomena but it’s a time unlike any other that we have known.

  (more…)

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• The New Reality

  February 10, 2011 @ 12:07 pm | by Harry McGee

  Even in ordinary times, the world of politics is over-freighted with noise and guff.

  The trick is to try to distinguish between what’s merely rhetoric and what is – or might be – real.

  (more…)

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• The TV3 Debate

  February 8, 2011 @ 8:53 pm | by Harry McGee

  * Update 9.05pm. Micheal Martin has been very strong, surprisingly so.  The marginal winner, even though he has nothing to lose.  In a way it’s not about winners. It’s about a loser. And the loser tonight has been Enda Kenny. Would Enda Kenny have been able to last the pace here tonight against such impassioned, animated and confident performers?

  I just don’t think s.

  And here are my thoughts from 8.30pm

  There is no Enda Kenny. I have never seen Vincent Browne so subdued, so timid in my life. It’s maybe lacking a little of the razzamatazz and glitz. (more…)

  Comments (46)

• Micheál Upsets the Apple-Tart (stet)

  February 7, 2011 @ 7:47 pm | by Deaglán de Bréadún

  Not really sure about this Fianna Fail proposal that ministers should cease to be serving members of the Dail. They would be substituted from a list of alternates in the same way as Members of the European Parliament when they retire, etc.

  (more…)

  Comments (10)

• Egypt and Ireland: A Study in Contrasts

  February 6, 2011 @ 11:37 am | by Deaglán de Bréadún

  What happens in Egypt in the coming weeks and months will have repercussions for us all. For example, the peace treaty with Israel could be in peril and, if that broke down, we could be looking at another war in fairly short order. It puts Ireland’s problems in perspective. At least we have a stable, consensual democracy, although failure to deal with the economic problems we face could ultimately put that at risk too. (more…)

  Comments (18)

• Does Fianna Fail Have a Future?

  February 2, 2011 @ 1:37 pm | by Deaglán de Bréadún

  Some thoughts on the future, if any, of the Fianna Fail party:  click here and here. The number of Others in the outgoing Dail should be eight, not seven as in the second paragraph of the latter article.

  Comments (21)