Ireland badly needs a new centre-right party - Here's my proposal

again self financing

dusts off hands

The average Irish voter prefers to vote for whoever promises them the most goodies! Anyone using cold hard facts about our debt levels being unsustainable etc is on a hiding to nothing.

Now hands up who wants public sector raises, welfare increases and pension increases- virtually everyone bar a few cranks! That's that sorted.

The UK Tories are what is considered a hard right party these days. They have been in power so long their more extreme elements have captured their agenda. When they were in the EU parliament they aligned themselves with a block which has extreme hard right parties such as those in power in Poland currently.

Politics these days has drifted so far to the right that people have lost their political compasses.

Everyone at some level has been affected by one scandal or another perpretrated on us by the 3 government parties at some stage or another, whether the financial crash, cervical cancer,hepatitis ,housing,mica,police corruption, health care failures, protection of drug cartels and the church, expecting people to vote for a party that would give more of the same is just fantasy

I would hate to live in a country where those less fortunate or privileged than me - or the OP - somehow need to be punished for existing and get condemned to ghettoes for the next few generations.

JFC, did the 80s teach us nothing?

The proposals here are a paean to a future of massive developer and REIT profits for some, and a hell-on-earth of build-to-rent shoebox apartments for the next few generations. (As such, tying very well into what FG have been providing while in government for the last few years, so not really seeing the need for a "new" centre-right party!)

Not to mention the climate-change denial!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't Irish politics who have largely held government over most of our life times being more than favorable towards business, housing developers, agriculture and banking etc.

The idea that in a country where Parliament is made up of 43% of members who are millionaires and extensive holders of property the idea that we need a central right party is quite jaw dropping.

Did I imagine Leo being the face of a push to target people who might be claiming social welfare benefits they aren't entitled to while simultaneously the government go to court to try to ensure Apple don't have to pay the country 13B they owe in tax and a pharmaceutical firm is forgiven in over 1B in tax owed by Revenue?

As I said, Irish Governments have been in thrall of agriculture and business (largely multinational) interests for years, the idea we need a party who will promote even more of this while enforcing class division through access to housing constraints is a very dystopian desire to have for a country.

Climate concern is a real and active problem, instead of comment after comment decrying carbon tax across various threads and the rampant denigration of the Green party for having the audacity to bring about any sort of meaningful change with respect to this, how about we acknowledge the abdication of responsibility of FF and FG with respect to this topic.

I don't think the likes of SF are going to be any great shakes when in power, and you can bet the electorate will hold them to account more rapidly than they have done the established parties but the idea that what the country needs is even further right of FF and FG is mental. It makes sense if you legit don't care about anyone other than yourself and the likely 40 -60 years you have left on the planet but if you have any concept of a more holistic approach to society and the responsibility towards leaving something to work with for future generations, then you can surely see it is not the way to go.

Larry Donelly was interviewed on a RTE radio program at the weekend https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Donnelly, anywho he told the interviewer how he became involved in supporting the republican party in Boston despite coming from a Democratic family and Boston being very Democratic supporting place.

He changed his mind as he grew up and saw the realities of life for a lot of people, met people of color, understood that people do need the support of the state/society.

And on so many metrics this is why trump for in and brexit happened. People voting on stuff to annoy others rather than actually look at the substance of policies which DIRECTLY impact them. Then being heavily impacted by them afterwards. Some would say it's idiotic and I'd agree.

hahahaha, people are seriously fcuked up, if they think this sh1t would actually work in the real world!

or is there really a demand for this type of politics, even when our traditional conservative parties have been slowly moving towards more traditional left leaning polices?

again, very untrue, we dont live in china or cuba yea know!

absolutely she did, for a very small percentage of uk citizens, by fcuking over everyone else!

Massively pro big-business, pro-landlords, a talking shop for the CIF, anti-union, anti-teachers, right leaning on most social issues, Newstalk easily fits the description of 'vaguely conservative'.

OP - That party would have my vote....(And if they got that message across they'd get alot more too, people are fed up)

Maybe it should have been a poll post?

A lot of users on the forum, don't grasp the 'Thanks' feature so don't use it..

Has been a while since conservative meant safe. Conservative and right wing is now seen as Trump, Brexit, Boris and LePen. That is not smearing by the Left that is out and out self sabotage. None of that screams safe or steady.

Even before the above conservatives have really struggled on the social side of things since they have a strong tendency to be linked to religious rules and opposition to LGBT rights, the failed war on drugs. Obviously a lot of these things are from abroad but people have the news and parties in different countries link up.