Comments on: A Busy Spring?

By: At least one vote in Spring at Irish Election

At least one vote in Spring at Irish Election — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 19:55:11 +0000

[...] Simon was right: Bertie wants a children’s rights referendum in the spring, which therefore might join a potential St. Andrews ratification on the ballot, although the latter process looks stalled at the first hurdle right now. [...]

By: P O'Neill

P O'Neill — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 00:55:14 +0000

Finnegag, I agree, I think putting St Andrews with the election would be a winner for Bertie, exactly the kind of more “presidential” profile that would have worked well. I think the value-for-money thing is part of why they’d want more than one thing on a referendum day if not the election, but also it’s turnout — since it’s hard to imagine much of a No campaign to St Andrews, even with the government funding now required, they’ll be looking at turnout as well as yes-no margin as a sign of endorsement. And maybe more people turn out with more issues, but then those are the more divisive issues. I read one other interpretation somewhere on Sunday, that Bertie now thinks that Assembly elections in the north as the only popular endorsement would be the better bet, because then he’d call a general here around the same date and try and stretch the Shinner resources into fighting two elections at the same time.

By: Finnegag

Finnegag — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 22:01:33 +0000

Good article. What are the odds on either side of the abortion debate (yawn) piping up to demand some definitive amendment on that issue being addressed in a spring referendum. Having more than one constitutional issue to decide on the day seems to have become a popular notion – it’s a kind of perverse extension of our general demand for value-for-money politics. I suppose if we’re going to close the schools and pay people to supervise/count votes, we may as well kill two/three birds with one stone. Or so says the prevaling logic.
I’m sure it’s the very last thing any party wants to engage in a couple of months before a general election but the pro-life movement seems to have been fairly active in recent months.
If abortion itself is too sticky, maybe some kind of proxy vote centring on embryonic stem cell research will do? Again, the Government wouldn’t be keen. The prospect of such a divisive debate could be just enough to convince Bertie that a general election and St Andrew’s referendum double bill might be the least worst option. Anyway, the Northern Ireland issue is a winner for Bertie – unlike so many others – that he could yet come around to the idea of adding throwing that issue into the election mix.