European Parliament Elections 2024 - Friday, June 7th

Pete_Cavan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121994041#Comment_121994041

No chance another Aontú candidate gets elected in a by-election in Meath. PT would likely win the seat back at the next GE, assuming people don't turn against him for walking away after less than a year and "gaming the system" to get some nobody from his party made an MEP.

Pete_Cavan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121994507#Comment_121994507

Cop on to what? Most people are capable of deciding whether they like a particular candidate beyond just recognising their name. Someone being well-known for being successful in another field doesn't automatically preclude them from making a decent politician. MMcG was also a “name” and she has been good.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121994041#Comment_121994041

There's 6 months for a by-election; the Government would hold off until at least October before calling one.

And Aontu would not win it, under any circumstances.

Brussels Sprout

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121993927#Comment_121993927

I've been debating whether to give him my final preference or to give absolutely every single other candidate a preference and leave him as the only blank. I realise all of this is a a moot point since those are effectively the same thing but it's just a petty little day dream of mine.

On an unrelated matter, if I were to deface one of the candidates names/face, while still having all of my preferences clearly marked, would that invalidate my ballot?

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121996074#Comment_121996074

That would be for the returning officer to decide, I suspect it would be invalidated.

Brussels Sprout

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121994507#Comment_121994507

Out of curiosity what would you have expected her to have done? What have any of the MEPs done?

They're all members of a parliament that has 705 seats and whose job is to legislate, on often fairly technical laws. As far as I know all of the FG MEPs just vote the same as each other so Maria Walsh is no more or less effective than Sean Kelly or any of the rest of that cohort.

Clare Daly and Mick Wallace don't get any attention for their actual work as legislators. Instead they take up speaking time on obscure laws, that nobody else wants, to make unrelated speeches praising dictators that they can clip for clout on social media.

Ming Flanagan has only been in the news for being the victim of an appalling smear campaign and also for appearing on a video call without any trousers on.

Unless an MEP gets a top job like Pat Cox, in the '90s or Mairead McGuinness, more recently, it's very difficult for them to stand out for doing their job

scheister

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121996074#Comment_121996074

i would think it would be accepted but the returning officer may see different. I argued in 2014 that a ballot with a love heart around my picture and nothing else on page was a valid preference for me. I got the vote but it was not going to make a difference.

I did hear a story for someone writing May4Sam2019 in the boxes on the ballot and the one was deemed a valid vote. I have seen two returning officers treat the same item differently

Sam Russell

The ballot paper must be anonymous so that it cannot be identified. This is to stop the buying of votes by identifying the ballot for a paymaster.

MFPM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121996118#Comment_121996118

I suspect your critique is more appropriate for the journalists who cover the parliament and their particular agendas, objectivity (or lack of). They decide what's covered in MSM and what's not which is why certain speeches get highlighted and others are ignored, as much about the clicks for journos as it is about politicians.

Brussels Sprout

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121996214#Comment_121996214

The European Parliament isn't covered at all in Irish media, apart from the rare occasion where a particularly notable piece of legislation passes or fails. No speeches get covered at all.

Wallace & Daly are doing nothing but trying to get picked up by state media organisations in autocracies and their propogandists in the west.

SouthWesterly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121996074#Comment_121996074

There is the potential to give him a transfer if you give him a number.

Any drawing with deface it and make it a void vote.

MFPM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121996340#Comment_121996340

Yes, the fault lies with the journalists who choose what to cover and how to cover information.

I disagree with your take on Daly and Wallace but I'm not diverting the thread into discussion on inter imperialist conflict and the respective hypocrosies of both sides.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121996463#Comment_121996463

Last number, if you give everyone a preference, cannot ever become effective.

For Forks Sake

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121994507#Comment_121994507

So - Nina Carbery "bad" because she's a "name" running for a party, but Mulooley "good" because he's a "name" running as an independent?

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

l never mentioned mulooley, but both are equally as bad, both opportunistic, and being used for their profiles

MFPM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121996747#Comment_121996747

Completely agree, the sports 'stars' particularly annoy me, they never utter a word on political issues then come along and are put up by parties in a cynical attempt to win seats. Eamonn Coghlan stands out as a bad example, Graham Geraghty another and John O'Leary in 2007, essentially his message was vote for me 'I played in goal for Dublin'.

SouthWesterly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121996497#Comment_121996497

There is a possibility. No number and the vote does with the last one.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121996118#Comment_121996118

l refer you to Marian harkin who was an “ordinary “ MEP, she was very involved in many issues pertaining to her electoral area and maintained a high media profile by doing so. Maria Walsh on the other hand went to Brussels and she could be spending everyday in a coffee shop for all we know (many more are the same) , she hasn’t even bothered to give the impression she’s interested.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121996785#Comment_121996785

There isn't, the person would be deemed elected anyway due to no other remaining candidates. Votes would not be transfe

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121996795#Comment_121996795

Harkin was also a TD until dual mandate stopped. That's what built her public presence (and needed her to do so)

SouthWesterly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121996798#Comment_121996798

They can transfer to the last person on the list if they get a preference. That might be enough to get them elected

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121997176#Comment_121997176

…except, in the exact scenario I have outlined where you have given some the last possible preference, e.g. 16/16 or something, they will already have been elected before that preference can come in to use. If 15 other candidates have been eliminated, there's only one left and they get the seat without transferring as it would be pointless.

You can give it anyway, obviously; tiny from-hells-heart-I-stab-at-thee gesture or whatever, but it will never have any affect.

jmayo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121996526#Comment_121996526

Mullooly retired form RTE in 2021 and has worked in community development since that time.

Actually if you can find his comments in recent interview about RTE they are pure common sense and no bullcr** that we have heard from a lot of other would be politicians.

I would have a hell of a lot more time for someone like him than someone that suddenly got on ticket for major party because of their name alone.

Sam Russell

Jack Lynch was a well known sportsman when he entered politics- with five consecutive all Ireland medals to his name.

He even got to be Taoiseach!

Rjd2

Kathleen Funchion announced she is running for the south 5 seater. I'd have said her and Gavin are past the post but Sinn Fein are somewhat cold at the moment but nonetheless both should be ok?

That's a very messy one to call, could see someone like Eddie Punch pull of a shock their maybe?

Out of all the right wingers making noise online, would be shocked if anyone bar Peadar broke though.

Good loser

Maria Walsh spoke very well on the new EU immigration proposals on Tonight Show last night. Far more convincing than Matt Carthy.

agoodusername

If anyone is interested in looking at what the current Irish MEPs have done this term, the info is easily accessed online. I actually work in the Parliament, so I don't want to put forward any strong opinions of candidates, but I'm glad to see that there is a bit more interest than in 2019.

Two give you two examples, Frances Fitzgerald was the rapporteur on the EU law for combating violence against women and domestic violence. More recently, Ciaran Cuffe was the rapporteur for the Energy Efficiency of Buildings proposal.

FF and FG are both really influential in the current EP. Given the EPP shift to the right, they will hold a lot of power in the next term, especially when passing laws relating to the environment. Sean Kelly, the head of the FG delegation, has been the deciding factor in a few instances since the last election.

I don't want to speculate to much, but I know that the S&D Group would really like an Irish MEP, they get a lot of extra funding by having a delegate from every member state. In 2019, only Ireland didn't elect an S&D candidate, so they may push some campaign funding here to try and sneak a SocDem over the line.

Cluedo Monopoly

Will there be any MEP candidate debates or some such? I can't recall what usually happens.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122022674#Comment_122022674

Soc Dems aren't in S&D, only Labour are.

Brussels Sprout

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122022783#Comment_122022783

They had a TV debate for each of the 3 constituencies last time where they invited all of the major party candidates and the most prominent independents.

I remember that's when Saoirse McHugh came to prominence as she took Peter Casey to task in the MNW debate.

They also allowed each of the remaining candidates a 30 second slot where they could record a video and sent it in. I remember some lad using his video to rail against the use of Wi-fi in schools.

Presume these will be on again sometime in mid to late May.