Boards.ie March Poll

nesf

To satisfy the want of a poll. The ABFF result is fairly predicatable but meh, no harm in it I suppose.

Laminations

Maybe this poll will put some falsehoods to bed, like the myth of an ABFF voting bloc. If there was such a thing wouldn't SF pick up some of these votes? They are anything but Fianna Fail? In fact if such random voting for 'anyone' but FF happened wouldn't we see similar votes for all other parties other than FF? The truth is, or at least i suspect it is (i'll wait for the final poll results) that people see a viable alternative, either in FG or in FG/Lab.

Liam Byrne

I'm torn on who to vote for....

Obviously "independent" depends on the individual, and then torn between FG & Labour in terms of policies vs biggest chance of ensuring they're the biggest Govt party.

If Labour promises to look after ALL workers - not just union-based - then I'd consider them with Gilmore the leader with the strongest and most ethical record in the Dáil.

DrumSteve

i'd have to go with FG... am i the only one who doesnt trust eamonn gilmore? From reading his quotes he seems more populist than bertie.

scr123

Am amazed there are 6 other FF people who voted besides myself. There is hope yet !

johngalway

FG for me.

hallelujajordan

Laminations wrote: »

Maybe this poll will put some falsehoods to bed, like the myth of an ABFF voting bloc. If there was such a thing wouldn't SF pick up some of these votes? They are anything but Fianna Fail? In fact if such random voting for 'anyone' but FF happened wouldn't we see similar votes for all other parties other than FF? The truth is, or at least i suspect it is (i'll wait for the final poll results) that people see a viable alternative, either in FG or in FG/Lab.

Maybe we might also recognise that this poll is made up of those people who are exorcised enough to post on an online political forum and not imagine for a second that it represents a cross section of the population or has any real value in assessing support of the parties . .

Laminations

hallelujajordan wrote: »

Maybe we might also recognise that this poll is made up of those people who are exorcised enough to post on an online political forum and not imagine for a second that it represents a cross section of the population or has any real value in assessing support of the parties . .

This site represents an accurate cross section of society when it suits peoples arguments (e.g. anger at public sector). Regardless of the generalisability to the greater population, the assertion has been made that an ABFF attitude exists here. I'm saying if it was truly anyone but FF we'd see a spread of votes across all other parties. Thats not the reality (on this site) or I'd imagine will be the reality in an election.

hallelujajordan

Laminations wrote: »

This site represents an accurate cross section of society when it suits peoples arguments (e.g. anger at public sector). Regardless of the generalisability to the greater population, the assertion has been made that an ABFF attitude exists here. I'm saying if it was truly anyone but FF we'd see a spread of votes across all other parties. Thats not the reality (on this site) or I'd imagine will be the reality in an election.

The politics forum on boards.ie does not represent an accurate cross-section of Irish society . .

And your argument is a bit silly . . ABFF does not necessarily imply that there would be an even distribution across the parties. . .

Many people would still take issue with Sinn Fein and the ABFF brigade would almost certainly also exclude the Greens . . which really brings you back to FG/LAB, which is what the data is showing .

Laminations

hallelujajordan wrote: »

The politics forum on boards.ie does not represent an accurate cross-section of Irish society . .

And your argument is a bit silly . . ABFF does not necessarily imply that there would be an even distribution across the parties. . .

Many people would still take issue with Sinn Fein and the ABFF brigade would almost certainly also exclude the Greens . . which really brings you back to FG/LAB, which is what the data is showing .

Grand. Once you realise the inaccuracy of calling someone who sees an alternative in FG/Lab as ABFF, it seems far more specific than anyone. And I never purported that the site is an accurate representation, I said for my argument it doesn't matter either way.

simonj

I cant believe 7 people would still vote FF! Its like believing in the Easter Bunny.
I mean, they have finally had to move to Nationalisatin of AIB when they were told they had to do so months ago.

As for FG - two cheeks of the one arse really, same dynastic nepotistic party first post civil war BS
FG will not bring any positive change, but it is worth noting in New Era they virtually copied and pasted a raft of policies from amhrannua.com - like the partial list system, as FF did with the Amhran Nua pensions plan - so at least some of them know a good idea when they see it.

Liam Byrne

I've no objection to stating that I'm "ABFF", and also "ABSF" and "ABGreens"......and it's because their actions and behaviour have been completely unacceptable.

Mind you, that would probably read better as "ABFForSForGreens", since "ABFF" implies a chance for SF or the Greens, and likewise for the other two permutations.

The issue I have with the dismissive "ABFF" terminology is, as I've said before, it implies that it's a preconceived bias or a default position, and ignores the fact that it's a considered choice based on their actions and unacceptance of those as suitable behaviour for politicians and recognition that they have proven that they have no interest in representing me.

Laminations

I take a similar stance to Liam, and likewise its not that I'm for anyone but FF, I'd class myself as AMICC+cm (alternative to mismanagement, incompetence, corruption, complicity (Greens) and condoning murder (SF).

I could easily be for FF if they weren't a lot of those things. The problem I have with the ABFF label is that it is used as a slur, as if my position is some sort of knee jerk reaction to the 'unpopular' (in)decisions of government.

I hope the FFers sleep well wondering whether the 10 odd % is an under- or over-estimation of the actual capital the irish people put on your party.

Dannyboy83

I voted FG.

An FG majority is the only real shot this country has at climbing out the sh*tpit which FF have cast us into.


For Christ's sake people, look at how FF have dominated this country, and what a failure it has been since independence, nearly 100 years of it.
The only real prosperity this country ever saw was just an illusion for which my generation and the next will be paying.

Its time to give somebody else a chance!

mike65

In Waterford its obvious - FG.

hallelujajordan

Laminations wrote: »

I hope the FFers sleep well wondering whether the 10 odd % is an under- or over-estimation of the actual capital the irish people put on your party.

I can tell you I won't loose any sleep over the results . . I'm actually surprised at the 10% given how lonely I often feel debating the FF position on here

Lovin' the way you think this poll might be a better representation of the "actual capital the irish people put on your party" than the most recently published opinion polls that rate support more than twice the number on here . .

nesf

I'm surprised by how badly SF are doing, normally SF have a strong showing on boards.ie polls.

Pride Fighter

Dannyboy83 wrote: »

I voted FG.

An FG majority is the only real shot this country has at climbing out the sh*tpit which FF have cast us into.


For Christ's sake people, look at how FF have dominated this country, and what a failure it has been since independence, nearly 100 years of it.
The only real prosperity this country ever saw was just an illusion for which my generation and the next will be paying.

Its time to give somebody else a chance!

That picture is wrong, it does not have McDowell as Tanaiste when he was for a bit over a year.

What that also shows is the dominance of 2 parties. I'd like to see a third get the reins, for that reason I shall be voting for Labour in that hope. They are a good party with able politicians and none of them are corrupt. Unlike FF and to a lesser extent FG.

Misty Chaos

Would I be right in saying that young people like myself in general are so disillusioned by the government that if a General Election was called this year, they would either not vote or spoil their vote?

As for myself, I'm not sure. I'm disillusioned by how bad things are gotten and how we seem to be living a seemingly perceptual era of government incompetency. Or at least, thats how the media seems likes painting the picture.

Then again, we have to remember that the government could influencing this on purpose to chip away at people so much that come an election, they'll be so tired of it to use their vote correctly!

If I was pushed, though. I'd probably vote either FG or Independents. Though admittedly it would probably be just to be different from voting for FF, something that happened at the local elections.

View

Hey, I want a poll using PR please. Since when did we adopt a FPTP system?

nesf

View wrote: »

Hey, I want a poll using PR please. Since when did we adopt a FPTP system?

There's no way to implement that unfortunately. I can do either single vote or multiple choice. Nothing more complicated than that.

Spiritoftheseventies

apparently developers are now donating to FG. Think the link with them has to be cut totally. There needs to a be a watchdog set up in relation to how banks perform their business and particularly with Developers. A proper mechanism has to be in place where land is given a proper market value.
And unless this is done it doesnt matter who we put in government. Transparency is everything.

nesf

*waits for the late SF surge*

patmar

Some may be dismissive of the poll but it does reflect the relentless attacks on FF from all quarters including internet sites. It suggests FG and Lab are on the crest of a wave and heading for a landslide victory. Fg people in the country as a whole are admitting who they vote for, a startling development !
The surprise for me was the number voting FF, other than myself have only come across one other FF supporter. Sincerely hope they are not feeling awkward dealing with a bunch of armchair politicians, economists and socialists !
A reminder to the ABFF brigade, FF are in heads down mode dealing with the problems of the country. When the election comes a giant will rise to fight for its political life. Have never looked forward to an election so much in my 32 years membership of FF !

ei.sdraob

scr123 wrote: »

Am amazed there are 6 other FF people who voted besides myself. There is hope yet !

im amazed there are people who consider voting for FF despite all that has been done

paddyland

ei.sdraob wrote: »

im amazed there are people who consider voting for FF despite all that has been done

Well Patmar has already boasted to us that he got his house abroad to feck off to, so he's all right, Jack. I'm interested to know how the other handful benefitted personally from supporting a corrupt organisation, that bought three elections with taxpayer's money that we now see they could not have afforded.

Brussels Sprout

If a new party emerged with a decent platform then they'd get my vote

Flamed Diving

Brussels Sprout wrote: »

If a new party emerged with a decent platform then they'd get my vote

Same. I voted 'other' above for that reason. I just don't want to vote for FF/FG/Lab/SF/Greens.

kev9100

I chose Labour, but if I could live with FG.

kev9100

Flamed Diving wrote: »

Same. I voted 'other' above for that reason. I just don't want to vote for FF/FG/Lab/SF/Greens.

There's always the Socialist Party .

Flamed Diving

kev9100 wrote: »

There's always the Socialist Party .

I'm actually considering it... *stern face*

thebman

I didn't vote. I'll decide if an election is called. Until then undecided as they are all poor choices ATM.

yoshytoshy

Everytime I see the thread heading ,I picture boardsies outside the dail with Boards.IE plackards:D

The less money people have when the elections come around ,the less votes fianna fail will have.

Liam Byrne

yoshytoshy wrote: »

Everytime I see the thread heading ,I picture boardsies outside the dail with Boards.IE plackards:D

The less money people have when the elections come around ,the less votes fianna fail will have.

The less amnesia & delusion they have, too.

yoshytoshy

Liam Byrne wrote: »

The less amnesia & delusion they have, too.

That will go fianna failers alright ,they might even get sympathy from the opposition ,the poor souls:D

Nehaxak

You won't get many voting for SF to be honest Nesf, unless this poll is advertised elsewhere or something.
Being constructively honest here but the politics forum on Boards.ie is generally perceived as anti republican/nationalist and very much pro FG.
You won't get many Republicans remotely interested in even reading the politics forum anymore on Boards so they won't even see the poll to vote in the first place.

zootroid

mike65 wrote: »

In Waterford its obvious - FG.

Wish I could say the same about Kilkenny.

nesf

Nehaxak wrote: »

You won't get many voting for SF to be honest Nesf, unless this poll is advertised elsewhere or something.
Being constructively honest here but the politics forum on Boards.ie is generally perceived as anti republican/nationalist and very much pro FG.
You won't get many Republicans remotely interested in even reading the politics forum anymore on Boards so they won't even see the poll to vote in the first place.

Previous polls in the past have shown strong SF showings though. Admittedly these were around election periods which might draw more SF supporters to the site but I'm quite surprised with the poor SF showing in this poll.

ei.sdraob

nesf wrote: »

I'm quite surprised with the poor SF showing in this poll.

they are all still waiting for consequences of Lisbon such as tanks rolling on our streets, farmers getting crushed, and no voice in EU

Hank_Jones

I'd vote FG.

I don't think I would ever support Enda Kenny, but their politicians locally are certainly the best options.
On the other hand the local FF politicians are useless and almost invisible, only showing up for photo opportunies and around election times.

I think a FG majority would be the absolute best thing that could happen to this country after the next election. The worst thing that could happen is a FG/Labour coalition - Nothing will get done.

Think about it, what would Labour do to tackle current public expenditure deficit?

FG have plenty of idea's, but Labour will only be a hindrance to recovery.
I dare say I'd almost prefer to see FF back again than a FG/Labour coalition.

trapsagenius

Probably Labour.Not FF as usual because they've been in power too long and Cowen is not a good leader.

Not FG when Kenny is leader.

Not the Greens-this is self-explanatory.

Definitely not SF-see above.

My only fear with Labour is that they might shirk some of the hard decisions such as cutting PS pay again, even if it was absolutely necessary.

theg81der

FG and FF are the same type of people, if they`d been in the`d have done the same! Seriously people have learned nothing :rolleyes:.

We need a complete re-think of what we want in our candidates. I would love to go up but I reckon none of you would even look at me despite my honesty and my desire to communicate openly with people.

Liam Byrne

theg81der wrote: »

FG and FF are the same type of people, if they`d been in the`d have done the same!

I'd take that as an insult, TBH.

I can see issues with FG, but I'd consider voting for them, while I'd never, ever consider voting for FF ever again.

Because while there are policy similarities, they're significantly different in terms of ethics and accountability.

theg81der

Liam Byrne did you vote FF last time? Right, so clearly you couldn`t possibly vote for them this time. Who is not scary in a Socialist or blowing people up kinda way that your left with - FG!! FG are FF only "different".

Right back to Barristers, Teachers etc all looking for a ride on the gravy train of Irish politics.

Who says the best acedemics make the best leaders, why not choose honest people - like me - who will cut my own wages to the country average and publish all the information available, say things plainly because they don`t have to dance around issues with fancy language, will genuinely look out for you and your families interest istead of looking down on it.

We are in this mess because of that and thats why we`ll stay in this mess, everyone needs to be the change by voting for what they want in their future.

Liam Byrne

theg81der wrote: »

Liam Byrne did you vote FF last time? Right, so clearly you couldn`t possibly vote for them this time. Who is not scary in a Socialist or blowing people up kinda way that your left with - FG!! FG are FF only "different".

I haven't voted FF since their corruption came to light under Haughey.

I've said it a few times that I'm focussing on FG, Labour and Independent, for obvious reasons.

Cloned Alien

Id have to vote for fg.

i actually dont fit into any political parties stances in ireland at the moment. However if was in the UK i would nearly always vote LIB DEM. Since not here ill go with FG why?

FF- if they get back to their roots and what they stood for in the early days id maybe vote. However today there are full egos after greed and self preservation.

LAB- Too close to unions for my liking and Gilmore is being populist to the core he just waffles to please the country, no polices his trying to spoof his way into the dail

Green- Sold their souls to FF so ill punish them next time round.

SF- No comment

IND- Would vote for one if they were decent but in Dublin South they dont exist so ill ignore them.

FG- they actually have some policies put to the people they have view on how to get the country fixed. The new era plan, fair care, political reform, there recovery bank, bring child abuse scandlas into the public etc. All you get of LAB and SF is waffle never any policies

patmar

For me the only surprising thing about this poll is the 25 who have voted FF. Would love to know why these 25 are not posting to board and standing up for FF ! Where is there loyalty to a party that is being attacked from every quarter of the media and internet message boards. These attacks are coming from people who support parties who for decades now are receiving taxpayer money for endless failure, sitting in Dail Eireann year after year waffling on about how FF have ruined the country and yet cannot come up with coherent policies to convince the Irish people.
Ask these people some awkward questions they clam up or resort to more FF abuse. So FF people come out and fight for the only party that will do whats right for the country

hallelujajordan

patmar wrote: »

For me the only surprising thing about this poll is the 25 who have voted FF. Would love to know why these 25 are not posting to board and standing up for FF !

Some of us are ! . .

patmar

hallelujajordan wrote: »

Some of us are ! . .

Thanks buddy, have made a mental note of your name. Keep up the good fight

yoshytoshy

Fine fail is like accrington stanley ,they'll always have a loyal following ,regardless of how bad they are.