Why do we keep voting in brutal governments?

Asitis2019 · 15-07-2019 11:58pm

In my opinion, Albert Reynolds was the most successful PM we have had in the last four decades. He laid the foundations, for which Bruton and subsequently Ahern took credit.

astrofool · 16-07-2019 12:09am

Tell me how wrote: »

Point is we're not doing too bad, comparatively speaking.

Was in reply to ILoveYourVibes, who was either agreeing with you, or though 1 in 328 was better than 1 in 500.

mcmoustache · 16-07-2019 1:03am

The system that we have here isn't perfect but it's not that bad - which is more than I can say for some other countries who dominate our social media.

We could be doing better, certainly. But our politics is sane, at least. Our ideological neighbours have gone a bit nuts but we're still doing OK.

Gimme A Pound · 16-07-2019 1:28am

rossie1977 wrote: »

Unemployment rate in 2012 = 16%
Unemployment rate in June 2019 = 4.4%

Expected GDP growth in Ireland is 8.3% in 2019

First budget surplus in 2018 in a decade.

I said it in another thread but if the current government were American especially Republican, Fox News and right wing radio, Youtubers, bloggers/vloggers etc would be proclaiming Leo an all time great..

That's more Enda than Leo I'd say though. Varadkar doesn't seem great tbh. But I agree.

Berserker · 16-07-2019 9:18am

Sunny Disposition wrote: »

Why don’t we vote in the likes of Michael D Higgins or the woman who set up Pieta House or someone like that?

Michael D jumped around from one well paid political post to another. What did he do that'd make him such a great leader?

Gimme A Pound wrote: »

That's more Enda than Leo I'd say though. Varadkar doesn't seem great tbh. But I agree.

Always thought the Enda got a rough deal when you compare him to Leo.

Tell me how · 16-07-2019 9:21am

Berserker wrote: »

Always thought the Enda got a rough deal when you compare him to Leo.

Enda got it pretty easy in my view.

Coming after the whole 2008 fiasco meant he got a fairly easy ride in the media and indeed from within his own party in how he was allowed to pick the time of his departure.

The whole 20K donation to a cycling club in Castlebar would have gotten a lot more airplay if it happened to a different Taoiseach or at a different time.

Thelonious Monk · 16-07-2019 2:33pm

I think we have way too many TDs, which means each one panders to a small amount of constituents which means it's very hard to make decisions for the benefit of the whole country. This is why the Healy Raes get voted in.
Anyway the mismanagement of our taxes can't really get much worse in Ireland so I will vote for anyone but FF/FG and obviously never for SF for the rest of my life. I wish others would do the same, just to see what happens.

Wheety · 16-07-2019 2:43pm

Seems like all of our politicians are just in it to make as much money as they can for themselves.

It's the complete opposite of what a functioning Government should be. The people are working for the Government rather than the Government working for the people.

Far too many TDs doing nothing.

The Constitution states that the number of TDs cannot be more than one for every 20,000 of the population and cannot be less than one for every 30,000. There are currently 158 TDs.

The UK is currently 1 in 92,000.

We also have 949 councillors.

Franz Von Peppercorn II · 16-07-2019 11:23pm

Asitis2019 wrote: »

In my opinion, Albert Reynolds was the most successful PM we have had in the last four decades. He laid the foundations, for which Bruton and subsequently Ahern took credit.

Albert and the subsequent rainbow coalition were decent managerial governments. Which is what you want.

Franz Von Peppercorn II · 16-07-2019 11:24pm

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

I think we have way too many TDs, which means each one panders to a small amount of constituents which means it's very hard to make decisions for the benefit of the whole country. This is why the Healy Raes get voted in.
Anyway the mismanagement of our taxes can't really get much worse in Ireland so I will vote for anyone but FF/FG and obviously never for SF for the rest of my life. I wish others would do the same, just to see what happens.

Not sure what other parties you think will be solid hands at government and better tax managers.

road_high · 16-07-2019 11:34pm

JupiterKid wrote: »

The current government are one of the most inept and out of touch in my opinion, and in my 44 years I’ve seen a lot of governments come and go, most pretty bad.

Leo and Co are arrogant, smug, shallow, utterly lacking in vision and imagination and their handling of the housing and health crises is nothing short of scandalous.

The mid 1990s Rainbow Coalition was one of the best governments this country ever had. The laid a lot of the foundations for the Celtic Tiger and Ireland’s transition from one of Western Europe’s poorest countries to one of its richest.

And at the time the Rainbow coalition got endless media and public flack- which culminated in a losing election! I was only a chap then but know they were pretty unpopular too. As would any of the so called alternatives if they were in now. Politics and making grown up decisions are never popular

Why do we keep voting in brutal governments?

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