Fintan O’Toole: Gli elettori irlandesi continuano a fare le stesse cose e ad aspettarsi risultati diversi
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2024/12/02/fintan-otoole-irish-voters-keep-doing-the-same-things-and-expecting-different-results/
di badger-biscuits
31 commenti
Ah yes, the definition of insanity. Such a depressing result
40% of the electorate did nothing in fairness
Maybe I like the misery.
It was the big biggest let down of a general election, such an anti climax, for me anyway, so disappointing
The “radical transformation” promised by the Left is clearly not the radical transformation that the voters want, and the various commentators both here and in the media should reflect on that. Maybe the voters don’t want to be taxed even more to throw money into the HSE moneypit, impressive new bikesheds or bailouts for RTE, and maybe it’s time that opposition parties started to offer something more than tax and spend policies. The opposition party which led the most radical transformation of the country in my lifetime were the PDs, who were a centre-right party with conservative fiscal and (relatively) liberal social policies as their platform.
Can’t read behind the paywall, but I’d say, rather, that the base of FF and FG are perfectly happy with the way things are going, and don’t *want* different results.
Certainly not those that Sinn Fein have to offer, who would currently be required in any government that doesn’t involve FG, and looking forward, it’s hard to see the likes of Labour or SDs usurping their place on the left wing any time soon.
House value go up = happy home-owning and landlord class, who vote more consistently than any other age or socioeconomic bracket, and make up ~45% of the electorate.
And then on stuff like healthcare, there’s virtual consensus across the parties, and seemingly things like criminal justice, public infrastructure, immigration and climate change aren’t really a consideration.
Has it occurred to Fintan that Irish voters might not want a different result?
SF dropped over 5% of first preferences from the last election. Thats not exactly voting the same is it?
Edit: it just reread my contradictory comment. I’m still trying to figure out where the SF vote went to. Lab/SD vote grew (8%), but SF/Green vote shrank significantly (9.6%). Overall the election was a slight move to the right.
We are a nation of cowards.
The real problem I have is that we are likely to have a coalition government in power for a generation. Sinn Fein has stalled. There’s no correction here, the government will not be held to account.
Yep i keep voting for anyone but ff/fg and yet those arrogant cunts keep getting in
I think the overlap of people wanting things to be different and those voting FFG is probably not that large in fairness.
The majority of people are not voting FF or FG. In fact the current political landscape and coalition is a result of their dwindling popularity.
It might take longer then people would like to break the cycle but it’s hard to have a dramatic shift without some giant sharp disaster as a result of the sitting government
Or maybe the cohort of people that he sees wanting change are not the same people as those voting for the ‘more of the same’ parties 😱😱
110% spot on.
Let’s keep splitting the vote and punishing the junior. That will show em
The FFG base are content, and will continue to do well.
By punishing the junior parties over and over we reset the whole progress and are somehow surprised that the FFG voter base remains
What we see here is the I’m alright Jack older generation pulled the ladder up on the young people by voting the same useless cunts in again. We need new political parties focused on youth to try to convince the youth that it’s worth voting for change.
I honestly don’t know anyone who voted FF or FG
Newsflash Fintan, Irish voters don’t have one hive mind. Each voter has their own unique thoughts and opinions on which party they want to form a government.
The Irish voters that are happy with the status quo (seemingly the majority) are not out protesting about how great they have it, so the unhappy voters get the spotlight.
I think the opposition has nothing to offer anyone working in a well paid job, and we are some of the best paid workers in the world.
Our already high taxes should be helping run the country and by saying we’re going to take more taxes from you and less from this other group that is paying less already is not very palatable, even if you think you can spend it better.
Older voters don’t want sinn fein in power. It’s up to the younger generation to get out and vote.
Loads of voters weren’t convinced that the opposition could improve things enough for them to be voted en masse. It’s really that simple.
Quite often the approach in this sub exemplified it. The accounts here posting the daily comments telling people who not to vote for rather than who to vote for and why.
Maybe if we talked with the people who vote FFG and not to the fucking echo chamber.
Actually Fintan, I keep doing the same thing and get exactly what I want!
This is why quotas should be set by total voters registered, not proportionally to turnout. Not voting is just as legitimate a political act as voting. If the election is run and turnout fails to reach 50%, anyone who has already reached the qouta should get a seat, all other candidates should be eliminated and excluded from the redo election for the remaining seats, that we do the next week just as we would with a by-election
“The people what change! 😬😬” Correct me if I’m wrong, but people want an improvement in governance. “Change” is talked about as if it’s not possible for alternative governments to massively make a huge mess of everything. A lot of people are turned off my magic wond solutions, the more fantastical change you promise, the less genuine your promises become.
Who’s to say they want a different result when they didn’t vote according to that? The results speak for themselves surely?
2 things stood out for me this GE.
1. Continuous re-election of FF/FG is idiocy because they will not change. It has been shown time and time again that when put to choice between working towards prosperity of people living here vs multinational corporations/investment funds paying almost no tax and actively siphoning money out of the country, they will always chose to support latter. They (FF/FG) have been shown that they can’t be trusted with public money and decision making when it come to projects for public good. All that’s gonna happen now is they will pick the next patsy junior party to run the coalition and sacrifice them in next GE to stay in power again.
2. 40% of voter base not bothering to even vote. All they had to do was get of their asses and vote to have some sort of change in how the country is run. Granted, people who are abroad couldn’t vote but I have hard time believing that 40% of voters are all living abroad.
As such, for next 5 years I refuse to take anyone seriously who complains about how country is going downhill for everyday person if they either didn’t bother to vote or voted for same FF/FG candidates who put the country in this situation to begin with.
The older generations vote in the droves whilst the younger ones are have had the optimism and fight strangled out of them.
There is no excuse for not voting but having the vote held on Black Friday, also a very busy day for work Christmas parties. A deliberate tactic to put a few roadblocks up for younger folks who would no doubt be working insane hours in retail, making it difficult to vote.
The age demographic shows the older votes favour FF/FG whilst the younger votes want change. FF/FG are now effectively the same party that will buddy buddy up to stop any opposition government forming.
The only thing the younger generation have over the older ones is time. It will take time for them to die off before change can happen. For some it will be too late. The irreparable damage will be done as some will be renting for life, unable to grow as a human, unable to find true love, unable to start a family. Whilst the stubborn oldies have their mortgage paid, their retirement age approaching, and their views so concrete they’ll never change.
Happy with a government that has sold off Irish land to foreigners. Just over 100 years after many died getting our countries freedom from a foreign oppressor, this government opened the door for young Irish people to be exploited by another foreign landlord.
They were happy for a government that colluded with the Catholic Church to protect rapists and abusers, sealed the documents so no one would ever be held accountable. Again even decades later protecting these sub human scum.
1,000,000 people on hospital waiting lists. Harris lying about scoliosis waiting times for kids. Himself being Minister for Health when the cervical health check scandal happened resulting in many women dying, children growing up without a mother and not one bit of humanity from that man who oversaw it.
Record homelessness. Over 5,000.children homeless. People forced to live in their cars, people forced to sleep on the streets. “Something must be done about this” FF/FG keep spouting. With €40 billion pledged to the help to buy scheme which will now be eligible for second time buyers, the government is effectively siphoning that money off to private investors guaranteeing a rise in house prices. Remember, this is a government who think €500,000 is an affordable house.
Laughing at teachers. Those who decided to shape the younger generation, whos salary can’t afford an affordable house are laughed at by billionaires and politicians. Disgraceful.
Climate change is something this country couldn’t give a shit about. No chance of hitting our 2030 targets which will result in a massive fine. An island that is allergic to wind, solar, wave energy. Bowing down to privatised energy companies that used the war in Ukraine as an excuse to raise prices and still post record profits.
A rental market propped up by HAP, an employment market propped up with employment permits, a health service that looks to be bending so much it could break at any minute. A justice system that punishes someone who smokes weed over someone with explicit pictures of children.
A city centre that has been left for the bottom rung of society to take over.
Bent over for multi national companies to move here only to waste every penny that we get from them. No infrastructure improvements, no train to the airport, pathetic number of Luas lines, and bus system that consistently let’s people down, rural parts of the country are left to fend for themselves.
But that’s democracy. Vote to keep your comfortable little slice of life at the expense of the kids you decided you needed so many of.
No empathy, no compassion, just comfort.
Or Irish voters keep hoping for realistic alternatives but keep getting the same options.
Not everyone who votes for the status quo is happy about it but they clearly don’t believe the opposition can deliver an improvement. That’s a failing of the opposition not the voters.
We did something different this time round and that was decimating the Greens who were the sole party in Dail Eireann with good, original ideas and proposals for the betterment of Ireland. A change for the worse indeed.
I think they as a whole they knew exactly what they were doing and it is a vote for “stability and to continue as we are”.
the people who voted this way
* probably have a house
* probably have a job that pays the bills
* things have gotten more expensive but still affordable
they are not risking that and hoping that Sinn fein are competent and will not mess up the status quo.
A lot of people are jumping in to get angry about how Fintan is basically just complaining about a vague lot of nothing. The thing is, that’s literally his job, and I for one think he’s pretty good at it. If you want to start your day with a bit of petty but erudite negativity, he’s your man.