All Politics is Personal

As the American politician Tip O’Neill used to say “all politics is local”. Perhaps if he had been Irish he would have narrowed it down a little to “all politics is personal.” You need only examine the way Irish politicians get re-elected again and again, with many lasting twenty to thirty years in the Dail while spending their entire careers in silence and obscurity within the chamber, to see this slogan in action. Many older people vote for the same party and the same candidate purely because that’s the party and the candidate they always voted for. That was the candidate who went to Aunt Mary’s funeral in 1987, some politicians spend more time attending funerals than attending to national issues. That was the candidate who always sends them a Christmas card, in a prepaid Oireachtas envelope. That was the candidate who got them a medical card.

The personal nature of Irish politics has always been at odds with the impersonal tactics employed by parties at election time. Party political posters are generally generic, bland and uncontroversial. A picture of the candidate, a “Vote Joe Bloggs” banner, a head office derived election slogan and then some party specific colours so people will know who put the piece of paper on the pole.

It therefore surprises me that anyone was really shocked when Fine Gael started a new poster campaign. The posters list failures in the justice system over the last few years such as increases in murder, gun crime and rape. Beside this list is a photograph of Michael McDowell and the slogan “Everything is just Great!” What I find more surprising is the way government TDs are criticising Fine Gael for “personalizing” the election campaign.

It’s not really personal; it is criticising McDowell’s performance as Minister for Justice. It doesn’t say things like “McDowell? Can you trust a man with glasses to have vision?” or “McDowell? Hair today, gone tomorrow.” Those are personal, and stupid. “Your department is a mess” or “Your policies are a failure”, those are business.

Shouldn’t a government minister be held responsible for the performance of their department? If a department fails, should that not be an issue in an election? Should a politicians performance be completely out of bounds at election time for fear of being classed as personal? Fine Gael have other posters out as well. Some around Dundrum show the candidates and wish voters a happy new year. Those are personal as well. To be honest I found them a little comical instead of inspiring.

Perhaps the real reason government deputies are annoyed is the fact that their own party headquarters didn’t do the same for them. Their party headquarters didn’t have the billboards pre-booked for a new year advertising campaign. Their headquarters didn’t plaster the locality with their faces for sales shoppers to admire. Their headquarters didn’t stick Enda Kenny’s face on billboards around the country with some witty slogan or put down like “Would you trust this man to manage your local GAA team?”

Perhaps they are really worried that if campaigns focus more on the performance of individual ministers and deputies over the last ten years instead of just throwing out generic national promises and PR consultant soundbites then the voters may start to associate national failures with local politicians.