Fianna Fail.

Niall Smith

I have a theory about Fianna Fail I’d like your opinion on.
You see it’s a suspicion, so I’m not really sure.

Here goes. They are the ‘Good Landlord’. Not the good landlord the students renting a flat are after, I mean Landlord in the sense of the old British Noble, 10,000 Hectares, ruler of the town and master of all he surveys. Except, the Old Brit has been thrown out, to be replaced with ‘one of our own’.
Now, instead of pleas’s for succour in times of hardship falling upon the stone heart of the cruel Brit and his Bailiff’s, we have one of the boy’s, and his lads. Sounds great, right?
And in the beginning, it probably was. Except, here’s where I see this system falling down. You haven’t replaced the old system, just co’opted it for yourselves. But the system remains unchanged. And that’s where the problems seep in. A few fundamental points I would see are as follows;
This leaves your system of government and regulation well suited to handling (and defending) property as wealth, but Ireland no longer generates much wealth from land. We store wealth as property, but that’s not how we generate wealth any more. Our current model for wealth generation is a beggar thy neighbour tax competitiveness system that, while in the medium term probably has a good few years left in it, ultimately has a deadline approaching in terms of how far into the future it’s viable.
British rule in Ireland was long centered around divide and rule. The ‘All politics in Ireland is local politics’ reality of our current political systems leaves us, unsurprisingly, with weak national institutions. A well functioning health system, even integrated transport in the capital, all remain elusive.
The other issue of course, is the endless tribunals. This boils down to a simple fact. The system via planning rezoning etc. still generates and excercises most of it’s political capital and power through land. And still has the new landlords incharge. So we get new elites, property moguls able to get great deals from the state, the Johnny Ronnan’s and Quinn’s of our young land.
Those that approach the government as the arbitrator of all wealth via land seem to be able to get on with the government very well, and how is the lord not entitled to a few quid for all his hard work and favour?
But the system of land as wealth is poorly suited to handle things like a housing crisis. It’s no wonder we had a property bubble, if the most important thing about national economic development is house prices, the obsesion over which show’s no signs of abating.
Now look, I’m no genius, most of this you all already know yourselves and a million people have said it before me. The nature of the problem, or at least the symptoms, are clear for all to see.
So what I would like to know, really, is wether you agree or not with the polemic proposed in the first paragraph? The idea that Fianna Fail are the ‘Old Landed class’ replaced with ‘our own.’
Now, proposing the problem is all well and good…… But supposing that is the problem, what’s the solution?
(And before I go any further, I’d like to reiterate, I really do want to know what you think about my assesment thus far… Post below, comment, mail me whatever)
So my solution to the problem is…. Manage it, not solve it. You can’t go thinking the national mentality is going to change in the light of recent economic history. That sort of thing is deeper ingrained than that. Ireland will continue to have Europe’s highest rate of home ownsership for a long time to come. Get used to it, it’s silly to think otherwise.
So how’s this for a solution, seperate national politics from local forcibly. In the long history of the vaguely left leaning dreamer, look to the Nordic countries.
Have a single national assembly voted for without constitiuency borders on a parliamentary list system. We know what sort of party system and assembly that gives you. One very likely to have close to 50 / 50 male female representation, with more young people and far better representation of the poor and marginalised with higher turnout. What’s so bad there?!!!
Let them manage the health service, defense, justice, courts etc.
And then have say, oh I don’t know, provincial level local government? Or maybe something a bit smaller? 9 divisions of a half a million people each perhaps? Voted for from constiuencies, and directly funded from taxation guaranteed, not begging parliament. Let local politics…… Be handled locally! Let them decide which road needs worked where the hospital should go which land to re-zone etc. etc. If nothing else, it’d do the regional papers a wonder!
Your thoughts?
Many thanks.

Niall Smith

James Brown

IMO: Fianna Fail, (and the other top political party) are a self interested cartel who only tackle issues of national or local interest for two reasons;

1) to feather their nest
2) to cadge votes, as long as it doesn't take too many feathers away from their nest.

All the rest is empty talk and posturing.

You will never see anything the likes of what you are suggesting above from Fianna Fail.