From Fine Gael's point of view, would be the perfect time to call an election?

Adamantium

Seen now as more progressive, presiding over an historic referendum that went the way they wanted. (granted every party wanted a yes)

Leo Vadakar in the wing to take over, bringing a contingent that would have never voted in anything before the referendum

It seems like a calculated risk that would pay big for them.

BoJack Horseman

It will go the distance & they will need every month they can get.

I don't anticipate an autumn/winter GE.

Aongus Von Bismarck

FG really are proving themselves to be fine liberal social democrats. Kenny will be remembered as one of the finest leaders this country has seen.

Manach

It might depend on the position of other parties. For instance if a party leader other than say Adams was leading SF then that would smooth the way for voters who disapprove of the coalition's economy polity. It is this which be a key determinate with the amount of disquiet over the tax policies of FG/lab.

Badabing

Fine gael i predict will get 50-55 seats no matter when the election is. Labour 15

The_Valeyard

They Couldnt take Carlow / Kilkenny, over the weekend. They will not call an election. What they will do, is some serious head scratching.

pmasterson95

Be smart before people remember the water charges and the cuts and how they were hated by all. Should Ride this equality wave before reality sets in.

mikemac1

Adamantium wrote: »

Leo Vadakar in the wing to take over, bringing a contingent that would have never voted in anything before the referendum

You reckon Varadkar is attracting young voters to Fine Gael?

Let's hope none end up on trollies

Uncle Ben

Badabing wrote: »

Fine gael i predict will get 50-55 seats no matter when the election is. Labour 15

I'd be very surprised if the Liars got 15 seats.

visual

They will hang on like limpets to the underside of a boat knowing full well their number is up.
And like limpets we will have to wait for tide to go out and scrape then from the hull.

Little CuChulainn

They'll take advantage of their time left. They'll buy the pensioners vote and public sector vote. They'll make a good play for the rest of PAYE workers with reductions in USC and income tax. I'd imagine they've written off the dopes that follow the likes of Paul Murphy. They might make a play for some of the outlying SF supporters with some strategic social welfare changes.

michael999999

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

FG really are proving themselves to be fine liberal social democrats. Kenny will be remembered as one of the finest leaders this country has seen.

Ya.

And babies dying in Portlaoise hospital because of Government inaction!

Has the Fennelly report been published yet, or is Kenny hoping that is forgotten about aswell?

Irishwater

Siteserv

Rehab...the list of scandals involving Fine Gael goes on and on!

Arsemageddon

Little CuChulainn wrote: »

They'll take advantage of their time left. They'll buy the pensioners vote and public sector vote. They'll make a good play for the rest of PAYE workers with reductions in USC and income tax. I'd imagine they've written off the dopes that follow the likes of Paul Murphy. They might make a play for some of the outlying SF supporters with some strategic social welfare changes.

That sounds about right, a giveaway budget with the election after.

Irish politicians don't like canvassing in winter so I'd say October or March depending on what scandals we have in between.

Totofan99

michael999999 wrote: »

Ya.

And babies dying in Portlaoise hospital because of Government inaction!

Has the Fennelly report been published yet, or is Kenny hoping that is forgotten about aswell?

Irishwater

Siteserv

Rehab...the list of scandals involving Fine Gael goes on and on!

I'm really surprised that the Siteserv controversy doesn't seem to have damaged FG more. And very few people seem to know anything about it! What's going on? Wake up people!!! :mad:

silverfeather

Totofan99 wrote: »

I'm really surprised that the Siteserv controversy doesn't seem to have damaged FG more. And very few people seem to know anything about it! What's going on? Wake up people!!! :mad:

Considering the strained relationship between the IBRC and the Dept of finance and the lacking of a tax clearance cert for that company I don't how it got that contract.

Noonan states on the one hand his faith in IBRC was thin yet he thought the deal was best for the state?

Then a subsidiary of the company gets a large water metering contract.

Jesus Wept

I know little about politics, why do the incumbents get to decide when the election is? Doesn't seem right. A set period in my mind would be make some sense, every x years, etc.

silverfeather

The Rodgers wrote: »

I know little about politics, why do the incumbents get to decide when the election is? Doesn't seem right. A set period in my mind would be make some sense, every x years, etc.

It must be no later than April 2016 obviously but we do have rather long terms.

We only elect presidents every seven years.

Guy:Incognito

The Rodgers wrote: »

I know little about politics, why do the incumbents get to decide when the election is? Doesn't seem right. A set period in my mind would be make some sense, every x years, etc.

Its every 5 years, but they are free to call it early if they want. As above, it has to be by mid April next year.

They dont have carte blanche to stay as long as they like. Its not a dictatorship

Totofan99

silverfeather wrote: »

Considering the strained relationship between the IBRC and the Dept of finance and the lacking of a tax clearance cert for that company I don't how it got that contract.

Noonan states on the one hand his faith in IBRC was thin yet he thought the deal was best for the state?

Then a subsidiary of the company gets a large water metering contract.

Exactly! The whole thing stinks....

darkpagandeath

Adamantium wrote: »

Seen now as more progressive, presiding over an historic referendum that went the way they wanted. (granted every party wanted a yes)

Leo Vadakar in the wing to take over, bringing a contingent that would have never voted in anything before the referendum

It seems like a calculated risk that would pay big for them.

Why would he do any good ? He has been terrible in all his positions so far.

nokia69

darkpagandeath wrote: »

Why would he do any good ? He has been terrible in all his positions so far.

Vadakar has been OK so far, no doubt you and others will claim he is a bad minister of health but the problems in that area are not his fault

in any case I think Simon Coveney will be the next FG leader

no matter who it is they will be far better than Enda

JustTheOne

Arsemageddon wrote: »

That sounds about right, a giveaway budget with the election after.

Irish politicians don't like canvassing in winter so I'd say October or March depending on what scandals we have in between.

So basically just like Sinn Fein promising to abolish property tax and water charges.

Do people not realise how politics works the world over?

Streetwalker

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

FG really are proving themselves to be fine liberal social democrats. Kenny will be remembered as one of the finest leaders this country has seen.

Worse than Bertie imo.

nokia69

Streetwalker wrote: »

Worse than Bertie imo.

wow :eek:

bertie is by far the worst toaiseach ever

The Backwards Man

Never knew we had so many Abraham Lincolns and Mahatma Gandhis posting on boards. Pity some of them wouldn't step up to the plate eh?

Baggy Trousers

I think the result in the SSM referendum was abolsutely fantastic but it hit me yesterday that Fine Gael's attempts at political reform have been downright embarrassing. They screwed up the Seanad vote (and no reform since), the Presidential Age vote was pathetic and they created the biggest quango ever in Irish Water.

I think they will and should be hammered on Political reform and rightly so. "New Politics" me arse.

To answer the OP, I would say October 2015.

Baggy Trousers

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

FG really are proving themselves to be fine liberal social democrats. Kenny will be remembered as one of the finest leaders this country has seen.

This is nonsense.
People hardly remember he is even Taoiseach because he avoids the media so much.

He will be remembered as the most coached and yet gaffe prone Taoiseach of all time.

Dyr

mikemac1 wrote: »

You reckon Varadkar is attracting young voters to Fine Gael?

Let's hope none end up on trollies

Leo's only the minister for everything-bar-health, he has nothing to do with that sort of thing.


FG are sorta like The Stranglers, they attract a weird and dissimilar crowd: The need to pull a two face trick: Socially liberal, fiscally conservative and nicely turned out for their dublin voters. Then back slapping, susbsidy sucking, blueshirts for the culchies.

Dentists and dairy farmers, basically. Hard to find a happy middle ground for leader there

Dyr

nokia69 wrote: »

wow :eek:

bertie is by far the worst toaiseach ever

Haughey was by far the worst taoiseach, at least Bertie gave us nice things while he was riding us. He just never told us it was all bought on HP

Haughey, gave us nothing and told us we deserved less, then had to gall to to go "Money? What money?" While he was sitting on a ****ing horse on his own private island

SEPT 23 1989

we will only find out the real truth about Kenny when he is removed from power

michael999999

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

we will only find out the real truth about Kenny when he is removed from power

The Fennelly report might be a start!

cajonlardo

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

FG really are proving themselves to be fine liberal social democrats. Kenny will be remembered as one of the finest leaders this country has seen.

You don't live here do you?

If you spent some time on a hospital trolley as I have, you might change your mind. If you were sitting at the bottom of your stairs waiting in the dead of night after being burgled and waiting on Gardai (who were responding to another burglary) maybe you'd know better. If you attended a parent teacher meeting and were told that your child had no Irish classes because the teacher was trying to teach basic english to foreign students maybe you'd reconsider. If, on your way into your work, you had to move a homeless person from the doorway, maybe you'd have a realistic opinion.

Kenny, to people like me, will be remembered for being petted like a good pup by Sarkozy. Or that other priceless news clip, where he couldn't get across the busy road and is filmed wandering aimlessly down the middle of the traffic. Lost and helpless and clueless. Exactly how his time in Government is spent.

davycc

Totofan99 wrote: »

I'm really surprised that the Siteserv controversy doesn't seem to have damaged FG more. And very few people seem to know anything about it! What's going on? Wake up people!!! :mad:

sure uncle denis owns 99.99% of the media in this country and the reamainder are afraid of his legal team:(

he owns judges-politicans too the cute hoor:mad:

Totofan99

davycc wrote: »

sure uncle denis owns 99.99% of the media in this country and the reamainder are afraid of his legal team:(

he owns judges-politicans too the cute hoor:mad:

I know this, but the Siteserv deal was still widely reported, and still people don't seem to know about it. Or not care? He has too much power.

Don't forget that he also owns Topaz and Esso. And he's tax resident in Malta. He won't even pay tax here. :mad:

davycc

already bycotting topaz and esso :cool:

not much else we can do to get the rat out of power - apart from trying to get his FG and FF cronies voted out at the next GE asap.

even though he will look after them with bonus jobs on his own boards ala cowen:o

Schrodingers

From what ive been hearing they will deliver the budget in October and then call for a general election but between now and then they are doing all then can to buy votes by restoring PS pay,agree with the referendum, a few budget cuts etc etc

Enda doesnt give a feck he is the longest serving member of the dail who cannot answer basic questions.

Enda will walk away with a serious pension, a former teacher/td/minister/taoiseach, his pensions will probably make Bertie and Biffo look like paupers

Bambi wrote: »

Leo's only the minister for everything-bar-health, he has nothing to do with that sort of thing.

Yup, it doesnt matter what ministerial department has problem rest assured Leo will be the first infront of the camera/mic to defend the government and tell the people everything is ok whilst his own department is in tatters.

He is a mouthpiece who loves the camera/mic and couldnt care less about his own derpatment

As for Denis o Brien, the man should be barred from any government contracts and be made pay tax here (as it seems he spends more here more that the revenue allows) but that wont happen since he controls the government, how can a contract or sale go to tender and the highest bidder doesnt win