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lemonadesweetheart posted:Kenny has been on the ropes for years now but I'm not sure FG remembers how to function without him. I think he'll last until the next general election in a few weeks time. Im still not entirely convinced the IA will pull the plug, they've made a but of ruckus over the last few months but have stayed in regardless - the ball looks to be in FF's court and I have no idea what they are waiting for
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Feb 16, 2017 12:55
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A few of the IA are too comfy being in power and don't want the music to stop
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Feb 16, 2017 14:12
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kustomkarkommando posted:the ball looks to be in FF's court and I have no idea what they are waiting for In my jaded, cynical goon view it's waiting for Varadkar to be leader so they can fire up the rural base with anti-gay dogwhistles. In reality no one wants to deal with the flaming shitshow that Brexit will throw at us. Although I've love to see Mike Pence's reaction to Varadkar coming over. Maybe slip a tiny LGBT flag inside the shamrock bowl. Regarding the latest McCabe scandal, are reports made to TUSLA made in confidence? If so, wouldn't that mean the Gardai, through TUSLA leaks, have a mechanism to defame someone with allegations of sex abuse and not get sued to high hell? Why aren't politicians/legal eagles freaking the gently caress out over this thing then? School Nickname fucked around with this message at 14:36 on Feb 16, 2017 |
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Feb 16, 2017 14:27
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Varadkar and Coveney remaining tight lipped, Pat Deering makes his stance clearer: https://mobile.twitter.com/MartinaFitzg/status/832259597381545984 Probably more of a pressure technique than anything, I don't think either Varadkar or Coveney want a heave through a no confidence motion and just want to push Kenny into following through with his commitment to stand aside before the next election
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Feb 16, 2017 18:43
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The Irish Times posted:Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar and Minister for Housing Simon Coveney have attempted to calm backbenchers seeking Mr Kenny’s departure within days. A 12 week timeframe would let Kenny overtake Costello as the longest ever serving FG taoiseach to add to his current record as the only FG leader to secure two consecutive terms as taoiseach. Fitzgerald seems like an unlikely winner after the last week and her odds of success have plummeted but indications Noonan and Kenny could throw themselves behind Coveney as part of an "anyone but Leo" strategy are interesting. Also Paschal Donohoe, who was third favourite, has ruled himself out of the running
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Feb 17, 2017 11:24
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As much as I want a gay taoiseach to run our gay little country I want one that isn't a loving blueshirt.
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Feb 17, 2017 12:24
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Southpaugh posted:As much as I want a gay taoiseach to run our gay little country I want one that isn't a loving blueshirt. Don't worry, I'm sure Martin will get a chance to gently caress everything up and have a public inquiry into his personal finances too!
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Feb 17, 2017 12:27
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Can't really choose between Coveney or Varadakar tbh.
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Feb 17, 2017 12:34
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https://twitter.com/gavreilly/status/833018266725523458?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw https://twitter.com/rtetwip/status/833291363378556929 RTE posted:A spokesperson for Leo Varadkar has said the social protection minister agrees with the timeline for Enda Kenny's departure set out by Minister for Housing Simon Coveney today. Varadkar got a couple of tongues wagging for being a bit too eager to force Kenny's hand but it seems he and Coveney broadly agree on a time frame. Interesting that in his comments Coveney said a "potential" change in the Taoiseach which could mean that Kenny could resign as FG leader but remain in office up until the much talked about 12 week time frame before stepping aside to let the new leader into office. Also new polling from the sindo  Coveney has narrowed his polling gap between Varadkar quite nicely
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Feb 19, 2017 17:00
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So is 20% just the ceiling on support for Sinn Féin under the current leadership? Is there another reason they've failed to pick up more support from Fine Gael's collapse?
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Feb 19, 2017 17:20
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forkboy84 posted:So is 20% just the ceiling on support for Sinn Féin under the current leadership? Is there another reason they've failed to pick up more support from Fine Gael's collapse? There's not much cross over between potential FG voters and potential SF voters, a centre-right party with historic connections to the pro-treaty civil war faction doesn't exactly have warm feelings about Sinn Fein - Kenny's recent refusal to rule out a possible coalition with SF sent the party into a tizzy of condemnation. Most of the movement is probably former FF voters from the commuter-belt who swapped allegiance to FG drifting back to the party. SF are in a bit of electoral predicament, the last election brought the collapse of Labour but SF positioning themselves as the left wing party of protest still only meant they mopped up about a 1/3 of the collapsed Labour voter. With the AAA-PBP emerging as a more aggressive protest party and the Labour vote being pretty much tapped out the resurgence of FF poses a challenge to SF. There have been indications as well they are acknowledging this and re positioning as a party of measured opposition and standing back slightly from their more combative stance, they recently shifted position to say they where open to being junior partners in a coalition (they previously said they would only enter a coalition if they where the senior partners) and differentiated themselves from the rest of the left during the debate over the White House visit (AAA-PBP , Labour and the Greens called for a boycott while SF didn't - and Gerry said he would still attend if invited). Losing a seat in Donegal in the last election and the chances of FF scooping back some more rural republican voters might put SF on the defensive kustomkarkommando fucked around with this message at 17:49 on Feb 19, 2017 |
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Feb 19, 2017 17:43
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So I've been away from Ireland for a few years now, has any substantial difference emerged between FG and FF?
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Feb 19, 2017 17:49
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Savings Clown posted:So I've been away from Ireland for a few years now, has any substantial difference emerged between FG and FF? I think FG being the party of austerity/"fiscal responsibility" in recent years has made it a more recognisable liberal conservative party in a European centre right vein - a lot of Varadkar's speeches have focused on FG as the party of promoting "economic freedom" and an "enterprise economy" with a state that rewards hard work and allows people the freedom to "order [their] own life" FF remains FF but the liberal economic stream in FG has been ascendant - though it is probably worth pointing out Coveney had been more keen on rent controls and pushing for "compassionate" state intervention and has warned about FG becoming the Irish version of the nasty party
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Feb 19, 2017 18:00
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julian assflange posted:People worried that this isn't a good time for an election because of the Brexit négociations. Wouldn't make a difference they have done gently caress all about it other than talk about the border.
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Feb 21, 2017 14:31
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Savings Clown posted:So I've been away from Ireland for a few years now, has any substantial difference emerged between FG and FF? FF have been moving to the left a bit to try and take SD/LAB/SF voters and differentiate themselves from FG's centre-right austerity credentials. They're now backing the introduction of a Universal Basic Income, for example. I think the narrative that FG's "economic recovery" has been confined to the upper middle class is a powerful one, and is a large reason behind FF's uptick in polling.
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Feb 21, 2017 15:46
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irlZaphod posted:The only talk about the border has basically been the Government sticking their fingers in their ears and repeating "No hard border" over and over again. We are having a red, white and blue Brexit that will result in a seamless and frictionless border. 
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Feb 21, 2017 15:58
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Maybe I am an idiot, but the Dail exchanging (yet again!) the shower of shites that is FG for another tested and proven shower of shites that is FF, is just yet another reason why I don't want to live on our gay corruption island anymore. But, then again, I immigrated to America (legally), so hail Trump I guess  edit: OP congrats on the goat selfie for Gerry, this is the best SF representation on SA that I could have hoped for. Captain Gordon fucked around with this message at 01:30 on Feb 22, 2017 |
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Feb 22, 2017 01:27
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irlZaphod posted:The only talk about the border has basically been the Government sticking their fingers in their ears and repeating "No hard border" over and over again. Just wait until the border is actually getting finalized, some EU countries will demand Ireland to have a hard border to prevent the UK from abusing it. And Ireland will have to do it. I so want to see Thersea May that morning.
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Feb 22, 2017 02:58
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happyhippy posted:Just wait until the border is actually getting finalized, some EU countries will demand Ireland to have a hard border to prevent the UK from abusing it. "At long last, another entry point for the Deep Ones will be blocked."
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Feb 22, 2017 03:57
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GreyjoyBastard posted:"At long last, another entry point for the Deep Ones will be blocked." The Shadow Over Derry
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Feb 22, 2017 06:08
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So historically speaking what actually was the difference in ideology between the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael? My rough impression is that FG was a sort of 'normal' conservative christian democratic party, and the FF was a more centrist, ideology-less conglomerate of corrupt interest groups?
icantfindaname fucked around with this message at 11:14 on Feb 22, 2017 |
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Feb 22, 2017 06:14
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icantfindaname posted:So historically speaking what actually was the difference in ideology between the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael? My rough impression is that FG was a sort of 'normal' liberal-conservative christian democratic party, and the FF was a more centrist, ideology-less conglomerate of corrupt interest groups? Highly-historically speaking the parties grew out of other groups/parties that were pro-treaty (FG) or anti-treaty (FF) in the early Free State years and people always cite that as why they have no political differences but I'm sure it's more nuanced than that and that those who had stronger socialist ideals would wanted a stronger form of independence from Britain. Any sort of left ideology wasn't going to survive Church pressure in Ireland (e.g. controversy over Noel Browne's mother and child health bill, over recognition of the Spanish republic) and Dev wasn't that way inclined so FF wasn't going to go significantly left anyway. FG had some links to a fascist group This is a super speculative analysis based on stuff learned in school so I'm certain there's way more nuance. Then again, god-botherers vs brown envelopes could be all the nuance needed.
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Feb 22, 2017 09:33
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Captain Gordon posted:Maybe I am an idiot, but the Dail exchanging (yet again!) the shower of shites that is FG for another tested and proven shower of shites that is FF, is just yet another reason why I don't want to live on our gay corruption island anymore. You know, I used to be all 'gently caress this lovely country, I'm outta here!' for a long time too, but having lived in Australia, Britain and America for a while actually made me appreciate that Ireland ain't anywhere near that bad.
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Feb 22, 2017 15:39
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Ireland owns tbh.
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Feb 22, 2017 15:48
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Yeah to be fair for all Ireland's problems our politicians are, by and large, good people. There are serious problems with low/mid level corruption, and professional ignorance amongst ministers, but very few are downright evil. The same can't be said for the the more extreme Tories in the UK or the most egregious Republicans in the US. I'll take Enda Kenny's bumbling country bumpkinness over Theresa May or Mike Pence any day.
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Feb 22, 2017 16:21
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While they may not be at the same level as Theresa May, Pol Pot or Idi Amin, they are still pretty loving bad and I would never call them good people.
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Feb 22, 2017 16:43
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English and American politicians are more likely to have true ideologues that want to change the world, whether that be the introduction of a Welfare state and government ownership or a cyberpunk dystopia where corporations can have people shot for coming to work late. Irish politicians are almost all just interested in what they can make on the job. That is my biased and relatively ignorant understanding, I'm sure there's some more nuance.
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Feb 22, 2017 17:31
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lemonadesweetheart posted:While they may not be at the same level as Theresa May, Pol Pot or Idi Amin, they are still pretty loving bad and I would never call them good people. Our cultural/political neighbours in the democratic Anglosphere are probably a slighter more useful comparative yardstick than dictators in Africa 40 years ago. Given that, having the 'least bad option' is something worth appreciating from time to time.
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Feb 22, 2017 17:31
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Kenny has kicked away making any definitive timetable statements until after Patrick's day
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Feb 22, 2017 19:48
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Blut posted:Yeah to be fair for all Ireland's problems our politicians are, by and large, good people. I fundamentally disagree with that. Sure, they may not wage wars, kick out immigrants or poo poo on minorities, but they are by far not good people. The big 3 - Charlie Haughey, Bertie and Biffo - robbed the country blind and walked away untouchable millionaires. Irish top brass politicians are the epitome of "gently caress you, got mine", with their head shoved so deep in Reagan-like capitalism, they might as well be American. On top of that, our country has almost no checks and balances on decisions made by individuals in goverment, with recent decade's examples being Irish water, the sale of Irish natural resources under the table and the Hill of Tara motorway. I am not saying that all those decisions are inherently wrong, but they definitely did not go through a due process - some gently caress made the decision, sent a few brown envelopes and it was a done deal. That is some straight up hosed banana republic bullshit. khwarezm posted:You know, I used to be all 'gently caress this lovely country, I'm outta here!' for a long time too, but having lived in Australia, Britain and America for a while actually made me appreciate that Ireland ain't anywhere near that bad. I understand where you are coming from, but I think that's because being an immigrant anywhere sucks. I feel it a lot here, even though I am a white male living in liberal dream state of California. That said, there is no way in hell I would be able to earn any decent money or afford a house or even a car working an IT job in Ireland. I would probably be a wage-slave for the rest of my life to some celtic tiger era cuck manager that doesnt have an ounce of competence about them, but got the job because they know someone in the org (which is, coincidentally, how our politics work). No, gently caress that, I would rather have the Orange Pissbaby as my president (as long as he doesn't deport me, lol)! This whole post comes off as a rant, and I am sorry for sounding like that. The whole Irish politics thing is a touchy subject and it was a huge contributor to me immigrating. I would never consider coming back, because I simply do not see any change on the horizon - the literal retards who voted for FG are going to vote for FF next, ergo, the circlejerk of poverty, misery and bipartisan oligarchic politics will continue forever. Captain Gordon fucked around with this message at 00:23 on Feb 24, 2017 |
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Feb 24, 2017 00:19
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Captain Gordon posted:
I guess I don't see the great difference in that regard between Ireland and most places? Politicians are always cynical assholes, but good god living in England was a loving eye opener, crazy expensive, social services that seemed increasingly hosed up and underfunded and that arrogant, xenophobic atmosphere that you always got in England that seemed taken to an extreme around the time of Brexit. America was interesting but I really missed the little aspects that I never considered before, stuff like being able to operate easily without a vehicle or not being beholden to your job in so many ways. I also had a bad experience with a gun I don't think I would have gotten elsewhere. Australia was the best but living up north in Queensland had a lot of the same problems that America had in terms of infrastructure and gently caress me, you really got acquainted with Australia's painfully obvious racism problems there. Melbourne is very nice though. Point is, Ireland's not bad at all on the whole, even if the politicians are chancers I always get the feeling there's a greater understanding that certain aspects of the welfare state aren't to be touched than in other parts of the Anglosophere.
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Feb 24, 2017 00:37
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I'd rather have our retarded grifter politicians than tories and the like
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Feb 24, 2017 09:49
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I love that the last act of Kenny will be to get orange tanning gunk all over his hand.
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Feb 24, 2017 12:17
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Bedshaped posted:I love that the last act of Kenny will be to get orange tanning gunk all over his hand. Fiver says Trump calls him Edna
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Feb 24, 2017 14:04
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khwarezm posted:Point is, Ireland's not bad at all on the whole, even if the politicians are chancers I always get the feeling there's a greater understanding that certain aspects of the welfare state aren't to be touched than in other parts of the Anglosophere. I think thats the core thing about Irish politicians. Their thinking process seems to be, for the most part, "1. How do I enrich/better myself and 2. It'd be nice if my constituents did well too I guess - because thats also good for me in the medium/long term". Which isn't great obviously. But its a hell of a lot better than the insane dogmatic lets gently caress over the poor / gently caress over the immigrants / gently caress over the non religious / etc actions you get from politicians in the rest of the Anglosphere. Irish politicians might not be good people in a Mother Theresa vein. But they're definitely by and large good people when compared to other politicians. Captain Gordon posted:That said, there is no way in hell I would be able to earn any decent money or afford a house or even a car working an IT job in Ireland. I would probably be a wage-slave for the rest of my life to some celtic tiger era cuck manager that doesnt have an ounce of competence about them, but got the job because they know someone in the org (which is, coincidentally, how our politics work). No, gently caress that, I would rather have the Orange Pissbaby as my president (as long as he doesn't deport me, lol)! In general working life is much, much better for most people in Ireland than it would be in the US. At least in Ireland your boss can't fire you for no reason, you get your 29 days a year of leave at a minimum, if you get fired there's a functional welfare system etc. Not to mention things like healthcare and 3rd level education costs in the US that screw lower earners. Wage-slavery is definitely far more of a problem in the US. If you're an upper middle class professional you might be better off in California. But for anyone lower middle class, or god forbid working class, they're much better off in Ireland. Its not a Scandinavian level Social Democracy yet, but its a hell of a lot further along that road than the US or the UK thankfully.
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Feb 24, 2017 16:13
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Captain Gordon posted:I fundamentally disagree with that. Sure, they may not wage wars, kick out immigrants or poo poo on minorities, but they are by far not good people. The big 3 - Charlie Haughey, Bertie and Biffo - robbed the country blind and walked away untouchable millionaires. Irish top brass politicians are the epitome of "gently caress you, got mine", with their head shoved so deep in Reagan-like capitalism, they might as well be American. FG and FF are losing ground to the left over time, the further we get from the civil war the smaller the differences between the two parties get, change is inevitable. The "Literal Retards" you mention need to be given an alternative to their shyster second cousin who is the local FF/FG'er. This is coming in the form of a growing left. AAA-PBP took West Belfast from Sinn Fein for fucksake. In the next round of elections they'll probably take the social democrat seats in Dublin too. Marriage equality and now the Repeal the 8th campaign are giving visibility to the left on social issues and forcing the larger parties to co opt their language and ideas to remain relevant. Progress is being made.
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Feb 24, 2017 18:32
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I'm still not entirely convinced the AAA-PBP won't split again, especially if the PBP start getting ideas if they retain their seats (and maybe grab another one) next week. They are still a bit off from the Workers Party highwater mark during the old Spring Tide period and they still managed to collapse and fade away Edit: the election before the spring tide even, 89 kustomkarkommando fucked around with this message at 19:20 on Feb 24, 2017 |
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Feb 24, 2017 19:03
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Right so, I threatened a Nordie post back when the thread started so while everyone waits for Kenny to resign we might as well watch everything collapse into a howling black void rather than politely looking away in embarrassment. The Northern Ireland Assembly is the regional devolved legislature of Northern Ireland established by the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. Elections, as with Ireland, are conducted using STV using multi-seat constituencies. As the result of the peace process the Northern Ireland assembly has various unique elements which might seem slightly unusual to the outsider: Joint Leaders: The leaders of the Executive are the First Minister and deputy First Minister (that lowercase deputy is not a typo!). Though this would suggest one is junior to the other both positions are equal in responsibilities and all decisions made by the office must be made jointly. If one resigns the other loses their position. As of the St Andrews Agreement in 2006 the largest party of the largest designation has the right to nominate a First Minister while the largest party of the second largest designation has the right to nominate a deputy First Minister Designation: All Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) must designate themselves open the commencement of an Assembly term one of three options: Unionist (supports Northern Ireland remaining within the United Kingdom), Nationalist (supports Irish unification) or Other. These designations are required for cross-community votes which require both a simple majority and separate majorities of Unionist MLAs and Nationalist MLAs. Cross-community voting comes into play with money bills, changes to the standing orders and the election of the Speaker Power Sharing/Mandatory Coalition: The Northern Ireland Executive (cabinet) is appointed proportionally using the d'Hondt method in a system of mandatory coalition that means any party with sufficient MLAs is entitled to an Executive ministry. Until recently there was no official opposition but after a recent rule change any party that refuses to take a seat they are entitled to within the Executive may take up the title of the Official Opposition which comes with the typical speaking rights associated with the position in other parliamentary systems. Petitions of Concern: A mechanism now much despised designed to protect minority rights. A petition signed by 30 MLAs will force any vote to be conducted as a cross-community vote, a mechanism which has sometimes been used as a blunt tool by parties to kill controversial votes. How The Assembly Last Looked:   EVERYTHING HAS FALLEN APART AND THERE'S AN ELECTION THIS THURSDAY (March 2nd)!THE PARTIES UNIONIST:  The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP): The party of "NO" originally set up by shouty god botherer Ian Paisley to oppose the reformist agenda of the then UUP Prime Minister Brian Faulkner. Opposed the Good Friday Agreement. Overtook the UUP as the largest Unionist party in 2003 by absorbing other small Unionist parties and has since severely eaten into it's votes to solidify its position as the largest party and supplant the UUP as the Unionist establishment. Right wing populist social conservatives - oppose same sex marriage, abortion reform, have many prominent creationist members, opposed the bedroom tax and supported rates freezes. Proudly on the wrong side of everything. Leader: Arlene Foster - a former UUP member who defected to the party and has risen through the ranks rapidly Current Seats: 38 2016 1st preference vote share: 29.2% IN GOVERNMENT  The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP): The Grand Old Party of Northern Ireland who controlled the Northern Ireland Parliament with an absolute majority from its foundation in 1921 to it's abolition in 1973 and remained the largest single party until 2003. Has been in steady decline after it's perceived over willingness to compromise with Sinn Fein saw the Unionist vote increasingly shift towards the DUP. Historically associated with the Conservative Party until 1985, an attempt to revive the link in 2008 to boost the party was a complete failure. Think old fashioned Tories - has a staunch conservative stream as well as a reformist Liberal Unionist tradition that have often clashed over leadership of the party Leader: Mike Nesbitt - Largely seen to be from the Liberal wing of the party. He used to be a newsreader. Current Seats: 16 2016 1st preference vote share: 12.6% IN OPPOSITION - Refused their seats in the Executive after the last election but had already resigned from the executive before the election  Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV): Sick and tired of those god drat lefty liberal DUP politicians and their terrorist hugging anti-Unionist ways? A splinter faction of the DUP who opposed the decision to enter government with Sinn Fein after the 2006 St Andrews Agreement. Pretty much a one man party but he makes up for it in terms of sheer volume. Wants to abolish mandatory coalition and maybe bring back direct rule to stop the terrorists from winning! Think the DUP but even more outraged Leader: Jim Allister - Their single MLA who has won begrudging respect from some for his one man opposition act. Current Seats: 1 2016 1st preference vote share: 3.4% IN OPPOSITION - not entitled to an executive seat NATIONALIST:  Sinn Fein: I think we've covered them already elsewhere in the thread? Overtook the SDLP to become the largest single Nationalist party in 2003 but are seeing signs of possible decline after years of consolidation, Nationalist turnout has been decreasing and their vote share dropped last year for the first time since the party began contesting Assembly elections amid discontent from some that they have secured too little from the DUP in exchange for copper-fasting their position as the dominant party through the Fresh Start Agreement. Their decision to have deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness resign and not to nominate a replacement triggered the current election. Left wing nationalists, democratic socialist of some flavour Current Leader: HE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED Queen In The North: Michelle O'Neill - Recently appointed to replace outgoing assembly leader Martin McGuinness Current Seats: 28 2016 1st preference vote share: 24% IN GOVERNMENT  Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP): Founded in 1970 from a merger of various small local Labour and Nationalist parties, the SDLP advocated for civil rights and opposed the IRA's armed campaign instead calling for a peaceful constitutional nationalist movement based on consent. It's Republican critics have frequently accused it of being too accommodating to Unionism but it remained the largest nationalist vote winner until Sinn Fein overtook it in 2003 amid internal debates in nationalism over police reform. Has been in steady decline since it's popular leader John Hume stepped down and has struggled to maintain it's votes outside of it's traditional Catholic middle class base and it's heartlands of Derry and South Down. The "sister party" of the Labour Party (both UK and Ireland). Social democrats, centre-left but notably staunchly pro-life and opposed to abortion reform. Current Leader: Colum Eastwood - a young'un who has lead the party into Opposition and has attempted to bolster it's Nationalist credentials by growing a beard. Current Seats: 12 2016 1st preference vote share: 12% IN OPPOSITION - Refused their seats in the Executive and joined the UUP in Opposition, have been building links with the party to present themselves as a unified alternative executive. OTHER  Alliance: Created in 1970 as a breakaway from the reformist liberal Unionist pressure group the New Ulster Movement, Alliance is an explicitly anti-sectarian party that drew support from Ulster Liberal Party voters and moderate Unionists alienated from the UUP after the collapse of the Faulknerite reformist tendency. Though it started life as a moderate Unionist party it shifted it's stance on the union gradually and is now officially ambivalent on the constitutional question since the mid-90s, though many traditional nationalist voters still see it as Unionism in homeopathic doses. Often seen as painfully middle class. Liberals - staunchly anti-sectarian and in favour of integrated education, support same-sex marriage but with conscience protections for churches, opposed rates freezes, floated the idea of reintroducing means-tests charges for prescription medication as opposed to universal free prescriptions. Affiliated with the Liberal Democrats. Current Leader: Naomi Long - replaced David Ford as leader at the end of 2016, former MP for Belfast East Current Seats: 8 2016 1st preference vote share: 7% IN OPPOSITION - Not entitled to a seat in the executive under d'Hondt, however Alliance held the Justice Ministry from 2010 to 2016 as part of a political compromise laid out in the Hillsborough Castle Agreement that ensured this post would be filled through a cross community vote with an implicit understanding from the major parties that the post would be held by a neutral third party. Alliance declined to renominate a candidate for the position after the 2016 election.  The Greens: Well, it's the Greens. Technically a regional affiliate of the Irish Green (peep the logo) though they retain friendly links with the English & Welsh Greens. One of the only openly pro-choice parties operating in NI, to the left economically. Managed to pick up their second ever MLA last year. Not much more to say? Current Leader: Steven Agnew - He's gone a bit bald I guess Current Seats: 2 2016 1st preference vote share: 2.7% IN OPPOSITION - not entitled to an executive seat  People Before Profit (PBP): The SWP by any other name. Officially designated as Other though both their MLA's declared themselves as Socialist. As they repeatedly state they are "neither orange or green" and run on a socialist platform, though as an all-Ireland party with representation in the Dáil they have found the biggest success appealing to dissatisfied left-wing Nationalist voters - topping the poll in the traditional Sinn Fein heartland of Belfast West in the last election. Staunch Left-wing eurosceptics, which SF has increasingly focused on as a wedge issue to try to win back voters. Big Old Socialists Current Leader: Technically collective but for registration purposes veteran socialist commentator and activist Eamonn McCann, who won a seat in Derry last year, is listed as leader. Current Seats: 2 2016 1st preference vote share: 2.0% IN OPPOSITION - not entitled to an executive seat THE WEE LADS aka people who wont win a seat but are a thing  UKIP (2016 vote share: 1.5%) exist in NI though this year they are only running a single candidate, they previously had a single MLA after UUP MLA David McNarry left the UUP and became leader of UKIP in Northern Ireland though they failed to hold his seat at the last election. Behold the mythical left-wing unionist party the Progressive Unionist Party (2016 vote share: 0.9%), a working class party with links to the loyalist paramilitary group the UVF who's continued activity pretty much kills support for the party outside of a small base. After the UUP/Conservative pact went down like a lead balloon in 2008 the Tories reshuffled a couple of things and relaunched the party locally as the NI Conservatives (2016 vote share: 0.4%) with a degree of devolved autonomy but still nobody cares. Wait, I thought you had an election last year? We did! But now we're having another one! Why? Well because of boilers. The collapse of the Northern Ireland Executive is linked to the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal which was quietly brewing in the background for several months but only exploded in spectacular fashion in December of last year. The controversy relates to a subsidy scheme designed to encourage businesses to switch to wood pellet burning boilers for energy efficiency. The issue being that for some reason the legislation, which is practically a copy of similar legislation elsewhere in the UK, had the paragraphs capping payments completely deleted meaning that those availing of the scheme where actually making a profit the more fuel they used - earning the scandal the nickname "Cash For Ash". With Northern Ireland struggling to cope with a crunched budget the revelation of a multi-million pound overspend outraged a lot of people. Then the whistleblowers started. Several people came forward to say they had raised concerns about the overspend and had attempted to contact then Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster about the issue, who had subsequently become First Minister. With questions swirling about why Foster took no action her successor Jonathan Bell broke ranks and gave a TV interview claiming Arlene Foster and several DUP special advisers had deliberately prevented him from closing the scheme and there was an attempt to alter official records to shield Foster from the blame. At the same time continued digging by journalists revealed multiple businesses connected to DUP advisors who had profited from the RHI scheme raising the spectre of a bit of dodgy dealings. With increasing pressure mounting on a public inquiry to investigate the issue Foster doubled down and refused to temporarily step aside pending an investigation. The Opposition tabled a no-confidence motion in Arlene Foster that, although it gained a simple majority as the DUP's partner in government Sinn Fein abstained, failed due to a lack of cross-community support. Sinn Fein over the holiday period warned of repercussions if Foster did not voluntarily step aside, she continued to refuse. On 9th January then deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness resigns, kicking Foster out of her job as per the Joint leadership mechanism. Sinn Fein have made it clear that they have lost patience with the DUP and it has become increasingly apparent that the RHI scandal is the last straw in increasing tensions between the two parties that have been on a low boil for several years as the Assembly lurched from one scandal to a another. Sinn Fein subsequently refused to nominate a replacement for Martin McGuinness leading to a new election being called for March 2nd as per standard processSo what happens after the election? Nobody knows really. Educated guess is that barring any significant electoral shifts Sinn Fein and the DUP will retain their positions as the largest respective parties. SF have repeated that they will not enter an Executive with Foster as First Minister and have presented a raft of demands which must be addressed, many of them outstanding issues from the previous piecemeal agreements that have kept the Northern Ireland executive ticking over. The DUP are officially refusing to "feed the crocodile" but are making some slightly more conciliatory noises, but most likely not enough to appease Sinn Fein. If no programme for Government can be agreed and no First Minister and deputy First Minister nominated technically we have to go back to a second election - but smart money is on the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland James Brokenshire presenting emergency legislation at Westminster to temporarily suspend the devolved assembly, a move which could mean a multi-year breakdown in regional politics and another period of political confrontation. SO THE TROUBLES ARE COMING BACK No. kustomkarkommando fucked around with this message at 23:19 on Feb 26, 2017 |
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Feb 26, 2017 23:12
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Are the Greens to the right or to the left of Sinn Fein?
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Feb 27, 2017 02:17
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cargohills posted:Are the Greens to the right or to the left of Sinn Fein? The Greens opposed the Stormont House Agreement which was a framework agreed by Sinn Fein and the other parties for bringing in the Conservative welfare cuts already implemented elsewhere in the UK, the agreement had mechanisms to offset some of the cuts through hardship funds but the Greens argued it didn't go far enough - Sinn Fein came round to that position after the 2015 general election and the Greens backed their attempts to block the passage of welfare reform, though they weren't best pleased with the final package SF negotiated with the DUP. They oppose cutting corporation tax, which SF supported (they have got a bit cagier about it recently). Both of them advocate for rent controls and a living wage. The Green are soft-left and more to the centre than SF rhetorically but there isn't a massive distance between SF and them on the big economic issues in NI at least, though SF aren't really bringing up economic issues at this election at all
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Feb 27, 2017 03:02
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