Bertie Finally Calls Election

Irish Taoseach Bertie Ahern announces election after weeks of speculation in the Dail Bertie Ahern, has finally done it and disolved the 29th Dáil. Polling in the General Election will take place on Thursday 24th May. The Taoiseach went to Áras an Uachtaráin this morning to seek the dissolution from the President of Ireland. Bertie’s decision follows months of speculation, and campaigning for the election, which had to be held no later than early June.Recent polls suggest its gonna be a close one, and no single opposition party has a clear advantage. As I write Marian Finucane is speaking to Enda Kenny. Check out the RTE’s broadcast on the web at rte.ie/live. Kenny seems enthusiastic, “It’s a pleasure to hear the news that the game is finally on on this beautiful sunny day.”Now that’s what I like to hear.He has promised that if he is given the mandate from the electorate he will fulfill his promises (and their are many) on the economy, the nurses strike and all the myriad other issues he proposes to magically resolve.

Polling could be a considerable influence on election results

Narrow margin in favour of alternative coalition

An alternative government made up of Fine Gael and Labour, with the possible support of the Greens, has pulled ahead of the current Government in terms of popular support, according to the Irish Times /TNS mrbi opinion poll.

YouTube and Democracy: politics embraces the Internet

It seems the political parties are finally catching up with the runaway sprint that is d’Internet. Puffing, gasping-red faced with gut hanging out, and lagging 15 laps behind, the fellas up in City Hall have finally got the message; yes, the internet can help you in the race for the Oireachtas.

One invaluable innovation is You Tube: a web site where one can post movies, albeit in a somewhat lower quality format. You Tube is fast becoming one of my daily ports of call (while I have my morning coffee and read the Guardian Unlimited) The Fianna Fail political parade definitely seems to be up for it. They posted the following film of their Ard Fheis only hours after it was broadcast, prime time, on RTE 1-Ireland’s national tv station.

Now, everybody always pats Bertie on the back after these tirades but to tell you the truth, I don’t believe Bertie has much going for him in the Oratory department. His speeches to the party faithful always seem a bit forced to me.

But hey why don’t you judge for yourself.

Bertie Addresses Fianna Fail Ard Fheis		A You Tube video released on d’Internet recently

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I found this recently on ABC about presidential nominee Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton.

2008 Campaign Goes Negative on YouTube

Unauthorized Anti-Clinton Ad Shows YouTube’s Potential ‘08 Influence

A striking, new and unauthorized negative campaign ad for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., that attacks his presidential nomination rival Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., is the latest sensation on the popular video sharing site You Tube.The 74-second ad is a creative take on director Ridley Scott’s controversial 1984 Super Bowl commercial that launched Apple as a brash alternative to market leader IBM.

			If you only click one you tube on this blog, click this one A facinating insight into how politics, negative advertising and mud-slinging can damage electoral candidates in the U.S.

Battle Royale for Sarko

French presidential candidates Royal and Sarcozy are set for a political tete-a-tete extraordinare next Sunday

The French exercised their franchise in the first of two rounds of voting to select their next president last Sunday and two big reasons pushed them to swamp the polling stations. The first was a collective will to avoid a repeat of the 2002 election when voter apathy allowed Jean-Marie Le Pen, the leader of the extreme right National Front, to overtake the mainstream parties and earn a place on the run-off ballot against incumbent president Jacques Chirac.

The Green Party

A disappointing year so far from greens

Trevor Sargent TD	John Gormley TD	Eamon Ryan TD	Paul Gogarty TD

I have been disappointed with the Greens performance so far this year. With so much ammunition (furnished by the current Fianna Fail government) concerning waste, water, power, the marine and overall poor investment in Ireland’s infrastructure one would have thought they would have been one of the most vocal parties in the Dail. The Irish Times, Ireland’s paper of record has predicted big things for 2007.

Five years ago, the Greens won six Dáil seats with slightly less than four per cent of the vote and if opinion poll figures carry though to the current election, they could end up with 10 or more TDs this time around. At this stage of the proceedings, the Greens look like an essential component of any secure Rainbow coalition and will very likely find themselves being wooed by Fianna Fáil at the same time.

Sargent has said he will step down if the Greens go in with Fianna Fáil, it seems like this habit is catching, but that he is willing to serve as a minister in such a coalition. It’s an intriguing, some would say jesuitical, proposition from Sargent who is generally seen as a choir-boy innocent in the cynical hurly-burly of Irish politics.

The Green leader showed up at Dunlaoghire to the farmers’ market to comment on ‘organic sellers’

Fianna Fail

Bertie Ahern Boss	Dermot Ahern	Michael Ahern	Noel Ahern	Liam Aylward	Seamus Brennan

The Usual Suspects

Notice the first four pictures are all Ahern’s. So, granted, they’re not all related, but it does suggest to me that Fianna Fail is a big family.

They have also governed Ireland through the country’s economic boom (although many attribute this to EU subsidies kickstarting this growth). The money factor will be a big BIG factor in the upcoming election in Ireland and I am confident that they will make much of this in their election manifesto.

However, FF have been dogged by controvercies (Haugheygate, Laylorgate etc.) and much is made of the entrenched attitude of government to transparency of its institutions. Tribunals have been numerous and damaging for the ruling party. But when it comes to track record, as Clinton said, “It’s all about the economy stupid.”