What would it take for some to stop voting FF?

Arts student

I’m just wondering what it would take for many Irish people to finally stop voting Fianna Fail. It’s just that with

(1) the amount of scandals revealed in recent years involving FF politicians
(2) Yet more scandals been revealed
(3) They blew so many opportunities during the boom, including measures to insure long-term economic growth
(4) Bailed out bankers and builders to such a degree that such figures would probably encompass nearly 50% of our GDP.
(5) Hundreds of thousands of people are unemployed, and thousands of people (particularly young people) are emigrating – including some of those of the relatives who continue to vote FF.
(6) The arrogance and “couldn’t-give-a-fudge” mentality displayed openly by many FF TD’s.
(7) The IMF now running the country’s finances……..

I could on of course, but I am just curious about something, if the above (and much, much more) is not enough for some people to stop voting for FF, what would it actually take for FF to turn these voters away from the party? Would it be

(1) FF selling off public hospitals to pay for bankers debt
(2) FF selling off schools or getting rid of teachers to pay for builders debt
(3) Building polluting factories in every town and village in the country
(4) Stripping old age pensioners of everything, literally everything before they are living in cold houses unable to afford even food or medicine.
(5) All of their children and young relatives emigrating because FF made a balls of the economy.
(6) Things get so bad that not only the IMF, but the EMU / WTO / UN / G8 etc also have to step in to sort things out
(7) FF cut workers pay by half whilst not making one dent in politicians / bankers / builders pay-checks
(8) Using peoples pension and life funds to pay builders / bankers
(9) Cutting cancer research fund to pay for builder / banker debt
(10) Cutting all services, education and funds for children to pay-off builders / bankers

(11) Turning Ireland into an environmental black-spot by allowing rogue global companies (sort of like the Swiss system – but instead of banks) to set up polluting and dangerous plants…………as a means of paying for builder / banker debt.
(12) Or basically doing ANYTHING to sort out the problems of their cronies in the banks and building industry, even if its at the expense of the majority of people – and as of late, our national sovereignty

I could go on, and on, and on of course – but I can’t think of anything else at the moment. Seriously though, what would it actually take for some people in this country to stop voting for FF, or are some people so robotically mindless that they will always vote FF anyway, almost unconsciously and regardless of what happens?

starbelgrade

Hell to freeze over.

Biggins

FF to stop existing.

sensibleken

Maybe if they did something mad like their leader stealing money for his best mates liver operation and then buying himself an island with it.

or maybe selling the whole country for a few bob and giving it to their mates....

Pardon? THEY DID WHAAAAA :eek:

Penn

Brian Cowan shoving a dead pigeon into the face of a sleeping baby.

mikemac

Arts student wrote: »

or are some people so robotically mindless that they will always vote FF anyway, almost unconsciously and regardless of what happens?

All parties have voters who will never leave them

humanji

FF to stop existing.

That's the only way. I won't say there's no reason to vote for Fianna Fail, there's possibly one. But I've yet to hear anything that makes sense. The top three I've heard are:

• I'm voting FF and that's that.
• I'm voting FF because they're great and everything you've heard about them is just part of a big conspiracy.
• I'm voting FF because I don't care that they're corrupt and incompetent. There's a possibility other parties may be corrupt and incompetent, so I'm sticking with what I know.

As far as I can tell, there is no getting through to some people. The destruction of Fianna Fail is the only way. But we fought off the Vikings. We broke free from the British. We survived the Catholic Church. And by f*ck we'll beat Fianna Fail even if it involves wiping their seed from the earth!

Orando Broom

paddyirishman85 wrote: »

Brian Cowan shoving a dead pigeon into the face of a sleeping baby.

It was in the national interest.

Cheap Thrills!

a lobotomy reversal.

The Rook

All it would take for many to stop voting Fianna Fail is for there to be a valid alternative ... Inda Kenny, Gerry Adams, Eamonn Gilmore et al are not those alternatives....

grizzly

FF looks after some people very well. Why would they stop voting for them?

Also, many older Irish stick with their party like they do their county team – born into it and that's that.

Orando Broom

humanji wrote: »

That's the only way. I won't say there's no reason to vote for Fianna Fail, there's possibly one. But I've yet to hear anything that makes sense. The top three I've heard are:

• I'm voting FF and that's that.
• I'm voting FF because they're great and everything you've heard about them is just part of a big conspiracy.
• I'm voting FF because I don't care that they're corrupt and incompetent. There's a possibility other parties may be corrupt and incompetent, so I'm sticking with what I know.

As far as I can tell, there is no getting through to some people. The destruction of Fianna Fail is the only way. But we fought off the Vikings. We broke free from the British. We survived the Catholic Church. And by f*ck we'll beat Fianna Fail even if it involves wiping their seed fromt he earth!

It goes like this. Fianna fail are a shower of bastards, the whole lot of them. But <<insert name here>> is a good man for the community, now fiar is fair, he works hard, sure we got the new football pitcha dna 50k lottery money for the dressing rooms. I know his people well, I don't like Fianna Fail but he has to get my vote. 400,000 rationalise the same thing and at worst you have Fianna Fail getting 20% of the vote. Parish pump politics has ruined this country. The parochial small minded gobshytes in every town, parish and city have ruined this country. They can all go and be ****ed.

Knowledge economy me bollix, we are just another shower of ungovernable, provioncial, rubes on a backwater island on the periphery of a continent who for four years out of our entire history we almost had self determination. we corrupted this freedom to ruin our burgeoning state and send us back to the stone age. until the people start developing the global view of Ireland and how it stands in the world, and not looking for deals and favours for some backhole ****box of a village in hte middle of nowhere we'll never get a government that truly has the national interest at heart.

a mandate comes from the people, Fianna Fail have the mandate we craved, each one of us getting our little piece of the pie. Now none of us have it.

bonerm

It took protecting a paedophile priest to get rid of them last time. The destruction of the nations economy only show *potential* for a change. I imagine it would take something along the line of a holocaust or perhaps the crushing of a baby rabbit in a vice this time around to alter the gombeen vote.

melekalikimaka

everyone is entitled to their opinions. i have yet to see fg or labour display any degree of integrity or to be brutally honest any balls. I am not saying i'd vote ff, but certainly i would still consider them quite favourable.

oh and that ridiculous list the op did. made me laugh

Sanjuro

Long-term and generational supporters of Fianna Fail are the people who wont stop supporting that party. It's been a part of them all their lives, and they'll support the party no matter what. I went to a school with very strong Fianna Fail ties. To the point where loyalty to the party was almost akin to a religion. And this is very hard to break. It's pack mentality. Feeling of belonging. Even if the thing you think you belong to has absolutely no interest in you what so ever, except that you give them your vote.

ilovelamp2000

melekalikimaka wrote: »

I am not saying i'd vote ff, but certainly i would still consider them quite favourable.

Unbelievable.

Jesus Wept

Either their interests stop being met (public sector, old people, other groups?) or they die.
Those are probably the only two things.

ejmaztec

Have a 1st preference FF only booth in each polling station with a shredder under each slot.

Anyone

A some what decent opposition party might help.

Handsome Bob

You can't stop "FF lifers" from voting for them, they'll always come up with some shit excuse to vote for them. Some arguments I've witnessed are:

"Sure the opposition would do an even worse job."

"We need to accept that we as the people of Ireland are solely responsible for this mess."*

"Sure every country has fallen victim to the global recession."

These are the signs that you are talking to an "FF lifer", so beware and take note.

* I love this one the most.

kowloon

My Grandmother was one of those FF voters who believed they could do no wrong. All the corruption was a conspiracy.
She was the same way about the Catholic church; there was no child abuse, just greedy people looking to steal money from holy gods representatives on Earth.

FF still have a huge following, they're just being quiet at the moment.

smk89

Cranial intrusion or some sort of personality transplant. You know the type that changes people from rugger D4 types to real people who don't worry about what Faicra will eat if M&S is out of avocados.

CorkMan

Take away their pension book.

Mary Harney to streak through the dáil.

JupiterKid

I think the core support/vote for FF is akin to a tribal and team supporting mentality. No matter what FF do, there will be a hardcore of voters. And they're depressingly sizeable.

I suspect it's concentrated among older and rural voters but by no means confined to these groups. Parish pump politics is also to blame.

It's a sign of a deeply uneducated and immature society. Countries where one poilitical party dominates governance are almost always backward, corrupt and underdeveloped. It's not a sign of a healthy democracy IMO. Ireland needs to grow up. The hardcore FF electorate are stuck decades in the past.

What can be done? Sadly not too much - these things take decades to change as older core voters die off and attitudes eventually change.

Cheap Thrills!

ilovelamp2000 wrote: »

Unbelievable.

Check the location, explains a lot.

Smartly Dressed

Genocide?

Ulysses Gaze

melekalikimaka wrote: »

oh and that ridiculous list the op did. made me laugh

It made you laugh?

Wow. Just wow.

thefinalstage

Brian Cowen to call a press conference in Brussels, stand in front of every representative in the EU. Say "**** the IMF" flip them off and walk away while "Row Row Fight the Power" plays.

ejmaztec

melekalikimaka wrote: »

everyone is entitled to their opinions. i have yet to see fg or labour display any degree of integrity or to be brutally honest any balls. I am not saying i'd vote ff, but certainly i would still consider them quite favourable.

oh and that ridiculous list the op did. made me laugh

FF Integrity? Balls!

Ulysses Gaze

thelastangryman wrote: »

Brian Cowen to call a press conference in Brussels, stand in front of every representative in the EU. Say "**** the IMF" flip them off and walk away while "Row Row Fight the Power" plays.

I'd have a lot more respect for Cowen if he DID do that.

Still wouldn't vote FF though.