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I'm ignorant, where can I learn more?
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23-01-2011 8:36am#1
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OP I'm finding forums like this to be very helpful in getting up to speed on what's going on and how politics works. It sure beats the press and RTE - stories and issues are taken apart by posters of all persuasions. I've also picked up some good book recommendations on different threads.
It's interesting that all the scores so far have negative authoritarian scores, a positive one might indicate belief that the Government can get something right
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Maybe we (and by that I mean somebody else!) would be better off giving the OP a brief outline of each party, and an explanation of those ministers remaining in Cabinet? It's nice to see everyone's political scores and all, but not really what the OP is looking for.
Also, what's the point in her narrowing down her political leanings and only focusing on those who work on the things she's interested in? Surely an explanation of each party, what they do, where they fall politically would be better, and based on this, she can look at what's important to her, and decide who's closest to her interests?
I say "we" at the beginning, because I don't think I'd do a good enough job OP...hence I'll just attempt to get the ball rolling. My knowledge is limited,but there are plenty around here who know far more than me, and I'd definitely encourage them to add to my basic (and possibly incorrect!) statements!
So.
Fianna Fail - current majority ruling party. They were, until today, in a coalition with the Green Party. The Green Party were the minority - in that they only had 2 ministers, while FF candidates filled the rest of the seats. I think FF would be considered left-of-centre. Left wing parties would be considered to be those who are in favour of social change, a system of equality with the State taking care of it's citizens to an extent, with a thriving private sector aswell.Basically, similar-ish to what we have now, and what many European countries would have. Obviously, you have extreme left, which would be closer to Communism, where the State controls everything (I'm paraphrasing Wikipedia quite heavily here).Right wing parties are more...conservative I suppose.
Fine Gael - the opposition.In other words, they did not get enough votes in the last election to put them into Gov. They are similar to FF, in that I think they would be left of centre...there are a few differences, but not many, as far as I can see.
The Greens - a minority (and relatively new??) party. Their membership has been growing over the last few years, with Climate change etc. They got enough votes in the last election to be able to go into Coalition with FF....which was a surprise to many. Obviously their main concerns would be environmental. And green-based! They compromised somewhat on some of their main items in order to join FF in power, which lost them some support as it appeared they were selling out in order to gain power. However they are fairly small fish compared to FF and FG.
Labour - my understanding of this party is very limited. My muddled view is that they are in support of trade unions and the "workers" of the country. I'm not exactly sure how you would describe their political leanings - can someone enlighten?? Either way, they are, I suppose, lower on the ladder than FG, but higher than the Greens. There's a strong possibility...depending on how voting goes, of course!...that they will form the next Gov with FG, as these 2 would be the biggest opposition parties.
Sinn Fein - well. What can you say. A fairly left-wing party (though I'm not clear why). Their interest is Irish Republicanism and little else. Ireland should be a united country that governs it's own affairs with no other involvement from the EU or the UK as far as their thinking goes. (I'm not agreeing or disagreeing, simply stating the fact). They do not support the involvement of the IMF/EU, however their own policies (particularly economic) don't seem to be particularly well-formed or articulated...possibly because their main focus has been the North for so long. They have 1 (or 2???) members in the Dail, and recently one of their members won support in the Donegal by-election.
Independents - these are individuals who run under no party banner in their own area. They rely on support in their local communities. I don't know if you've ever voted, but you get a list of all your local candidates, from every party, and the independents, and you number in order of preference, with 1 being the number you give the most support to. There are currently only 2 Independents in Gov - Jackie Healy Rae and Michael Lowry (am I right???). They can support or oppose the governing parties as they choose, when votes are taking place in the Dail to pass/block certain bills. Often they'll offer support in return for the Gov giving them something they want! There's a possibility that there will be a large number of Independents in the next Gov, along with FG and Labour, which should make things interesting.
That is my basic and very brief understanding of things right now (also as a 28 yr old!!!).As it stands this evening, the Greens are pulling out of Gov with FF. Which should force an election, but that's another day's debate. My information is limited, and possibly inaccurate, so I'd definitely encourage everyone else to add/correct as necessary! In terms of finding out - lurking around here is a pretty good place to start. If all else fails, Wikipedia do some good explanations of the history behind how the parties formed etc. You should definitely consider voting though OP, it's our country at the end of the day. And informing yourself is a very good way to start!!!0 -
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Fine Gael - the opposition.In other words, they did not get enough votes in the last election to put them into Gov. They are similar to FF, in that I think they would be left of centre...there are a few differences, but not many, as far as I can see.
Although Fine Gael briefly experimented with more liberal/social democratic views under Fitzgerald in the 1980's, in recent years the party has swung back to its traditional centre-right stance. Many of the party's up and coming, young TD's like Leo Varadkar are firm economic conservatives.
I suppose the party's political position was determined in the 1920's under Cosgrave as Cumann na nGaedheal when the decision was made to govern the new Free State in a conservative, fiscally responsible manner. In addition to these economic policies, the strong stance the party took against the IRA in the Civil War and afterward earned them the title of the 'law and order party'.
If I were to give an overview of the Irish political parties:
Fianna Fáil: Ireland's largest political party and current ruling party. Formed in 1926 by Eamonn De Valera, the party initially represented the Republican movement and the old anti-Treatyites in the new Free State. A broad church, the party has no firm ideology and claims to represent the mainstream of Irish life. Over the past 13 years, they pursued a low-tax economic model to encourage spending and investment in the Irish economy, fuelling a housing boom. However, they also pursued a high-spend public expenditure model, funded by once-off taxes generated from property rather than sustainable taxation. This unsustainable approach led to a collapse in the public finances when the housing bubble burst. This crisis was further complicated by Irish banks who had lent irresponsibly during the boom because of poor regulation. As the dominant political force in Irish life, Fianna Fáil has been no stranger to controversy and many of its leaders have been forced to resign in disgrace following corruption allegations or other claims of wrong-doing. Fianna Fáil's support base is generally nationalist and socially conservative.
Fine Gael: Ireland's second largest political party. It was formed from a merger of Cumann na nGaedheal, the National Centre Party and the National Guard (Blueshirts) in the 1930's. Narrowly defeated by a FF-PD coalition in 1997, following a relatively successful 'Rainbow Coalition' with Labour, it entered into opposition. The party was nearly annihilated in the 2002 General Election under Michael Noonan. Enda Kenny has been very successful in rebuilding the party from the brink although many question his ability to inspire the public. They make great noise about Richard Bruton foreseeing the economic collapse yet in their manifesto in 2007 they called for tax-cuts. Fine Gael's support base is generally anti-republican, economically conservative, pro-business and socially centrist. Fine Gael's members general are very cold towards Sinn Féin because of historical differences. Fine Gael would have generally been seen as the most pro-British party, however this is largely irrelevant since the warming of relations that has taken place over the last 20 years under Fine Gael's John Bruton and Fianna Fáil's Bertie Ahern.
Labour: Ireland's third largest political party, and (although SF members may disagree with this) Ireland's oldest political party. They represent the left of the three mainstream political parties. They accept the capitalist market, however they favour the redistribution of wealth and the support of the poorer in society through higher taxes and increased services. Some of their current prominent members are former Worker's Party and Democratic Left members, which were political parties originating from Official Sinn Fein (with links to the Official IRA) that were socialist/marxist. However, in comparison with the left-wing of other European countries, the Irish Labour Party and its leadership can be seen to be much more centrist and market-friendly. The closest international comparison would be British 'New Labour'. Labour has close official links with the Irish trade union movement and many on the right of Irish politics see this as an issue.
Sinn Féin: Representing the modern republican movement, the current Sinn Féin party can be traced back (as can all Irish political parties) to Arthur Griffith's original SF party however the history of the current incarnation really begins in the 1970's following the split from 'Official' Sinn Féin. Representing the political side of the Provisional IRA, Sinn Féin were heavily involved in the Troubles and were on the extreme of the nationalist movement. However, during the 1980's the party grew rapidly and ended its policy of abstention from the Dáil. Following the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, Sinn Féin has been the main nationalist representive in the Northern Ireland Executive, and this, along with the decommissioning of the Provisional IRA and SF's support for policing and opposition to dissidents in Northern Ireland, has signalled their movement towards mainstream politics on this island. Representing the far left of Irish politics, Sinn Féin's economic policies are strongly influenced by socialism. Sinn Féin is often lauded for the work it does in working-class and border area. However, Sinn Féin's electoral performance has been hampered by a lack of candidates as well as the opposition by much of the Irish middle class towards its economic policies as well as its leadership's links to republicanism and terrorism. Much of Sinn Féin's support is derived from border areas and inner-city Dublin.
Green Party: Representing the Irish branch of the global 'Green Movement', they were until today the junior partner in the Irish coalition government. A very small party, the Green Party gets much of its support from the Dublin region, thanks to its strong work on local issues. However, it will struggled in the upcoming election because of its involvement in the current Government which it was seen to prop up. Although they have a core support based on their ideology, much of their electoral performance has depended on transfers from other candidates. In addition to their green policies, the Green Party is economically centrist and socially liberal.
I think that a couple of notes on Irish political culture in general are needed too.... Any descriptions of left and right have to be taken with reference to the Irish situation, as opposed to pre-conceptions you may or may not have from American, British or European media. The Irish political psyche is very much based on the philosophy of 'Statism', that is that the state is central to the nation. Because of relative poverty of the nation for much of its existence, Irish people have an inherent belief that the state should support them. I am not judging this one way or another, just you may be wondering why things such as Old Age Pensions, Social Welfare etc. etc. are so untouchable to the Irish public.
EDIT: For full disclosure, and in case you're wondering about my bias etc.:0 -
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irishh_bob wrote: »this might help ron
http://www.politicalcompass.org/ireland
id have put FF more to the left and sinn fein more north on the authoritarian side, labour should be on the west side too
Yes also move the Greens way up the authoritarian axis, their time and actions in government has exposed them for what they are
Anyways seems i have moved into Friedman neighbourhood since I last done this test.Economic Left/Right: 7.12
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.770 -
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I did the political compass in June 2009 on a thread in After Hours and got this result:
Just did it again now and my result is somewhat different:
Looks like it's true what they say: you do get more right wing as you get older! :pac:
Another similar quiz if anyone is interested is "The World's Shortest Political Quiz"
http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz
Places you in one of five categories: Liberal (which I got), Libertarian, Centrist, Statist or Conservative. Liberal sums me up pretty well:Liberals usually embrace freedom of choice in personal matters, but tend to support significant government control of the economy. They generally support a government-funded "safety net" to help the disadvantaged, and advocate strict regulation of business. Liberals tend to favor environmental regulations, defend civil liberties and free expression, support government action to promote equality, and tolerate diverse lifestyles.
Things like this (and watching The West Wing! :pac:) are what got me interested in politics (or created a passing interest, at least.) I would say to the OP that reading about politics and different political theories is fascinating, even if you never feel the push to go out and get involved in politics yourself or follow every single event that happens in the Dáil.
As for the general election, there's bound to be dozens of leaflets flying through your letterbox over the next few weeks. Take time to read their proposals, then briefly read about the recent history and ideology of the party the candidates represent. Balance them against each other, and you'll be much more informed when it comes to making your decision (as opposed to going to the polling station uninformed and blindly picking whatever name jumps out at you.)0 -
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