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Voting for another happy consensus?
Read more about: Irish Election, Irish Election 2007, Irish Politics 
Again in that Doughty Street discussion one thing became clear was the huge inertia that exists within the Republic’s political system. Hopes of political renewal are often quickly dashed when, as Fintan O’Toole notes in his CiF blog this evening, the election result gives into weeks of internal horsetrading, and out comes an amalgam of government parties who’s capacity to make clear executive decisions are further curtailed by the preordained priorities of the social partners. Consensus government at its very best? Or the prosaic politics of a corporatist state? The former, perhaps. Or at least so long as the economy remains bouyant.
This is a comment from an American observer of Irish politics.
At this distance, it is amusing to observe how commenters are saying that the only mathematically possible combinations for a government will be FF-Labour, or FF-PD-Green, or FF-SF, or FG-Labour-Green-Ind, or maybe FF-PD-Ind.
Supposedly the expected numbers do not allow any other combination that gets to 83, consistent with the core principles of the parties involved. Indeed, even the possible combinations will stretch the tolerance of the partners to the utmost limit, as either FF and FG will each have to make tough policy choices in order to find a coalition partner or partners.
Really?
Then, puzzle me this: In Irish politics, what two parties are closest in viewpoint, and how many seats are they likely to have between them?
In a rational political world, Fianna Fail would not have to go either Right to the PDs or Left to Labour or SF, because a much more compatible partner (in terms of policy) would be readily at hand.
In a rational political world, Bertie would be Taoiseach, Enda would be Tanaiste, and a their new political party (what’s Irish for Soldiers of the Future?) would have about 114 seats in the 30th Dail.
Eat your heart out, Pat Rabbitte, go build a real opposition party. Find a seat on our side, Mike, Mary, Liz, and Fiona, just not to close to the front, please, at least not right away.
It would be amazing, wouldn’t it?
And I might add:
Neither Pat Rabbitte nor Labour would again be in government until well after Paris Hilton actually was menopausal!