I'm ignorant, where can I learn more?

The Political compass thing is neat enough, I got

Economic Left/Right: -6.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -1.18

Anyone care to explain?

OP I'm finding forums like this to be very helpful in getting up to speed on what's going on and how politics works. It sure beats the press and RTE - stories and issues are taken apart by posters of all persuasions. I've also picked up some good book recommendations on different threads.

It's interesting that all the scores so far have negative authoritarian scores, a positive one might indicate belief that the Government can get something right

Maybe we (and by that I mean somebody else!) would be better off giving the OP a brief outline of each party, and an explanation of those ministers remaining in Cabinet? It's nice to see everyone's political scores and all, but not really what the OP is looking for. Also, what's the point in her narrowing down her political leanings and only focusing on those who work on the things she's interested in? Surely an explanation of each party, what they do, where they fall politically would be better, and based on this, she can look at what's important to her, and decide who's closest to her interests?

I say "we" at the beginning, because I don't think I'd do a good enough job OP...hence I'll just attempt to get the ball rolling. My knowledge is limited,but there are plenty around here who know far more than me, and I'd definitely encourage them to add to my basic (and possibly incorrect!) statements!

So.

Fianna Fail - current majority ruling party. They were, until today, in a coalition with the Green Party. The Green Party were the minority - in that they only had 2 ministers, while FF candidates filled the rest of the seats. I think FF would be considered left-of-centre. Left wing parties would be considered to be those who are in favour of social change, a system of equality with the State taking care of it's citizens to an extent, with a thriving private sector aswell.Basically, similar-ish to what we have now, and what many European countries would have. Obviously, you have extreme left, which would be closer to Communism, where the State controls everything (I'm paraphrasing Wikipedia quite heavily here).Right wing parties are more...conservative I suppose.

Fine Gael - the opposition.In other words, they did not get enough votes in the last election to put them into Gov. They are similar to FF, in that I think they would be left of centre...there are a few differences, but not many, as far as I can see.

The Greens - a minority (and relatively new??) party. Their membership has been growing over the last few years, with Climate change etc. They got enough votes in the last election to be able to go into Coalition with FF....which was a surprise to many. Obviously their main concerns would be environmental. And green-based! They compromised somewhat on some of their main items in order to join FF in power, which lost them some support as it appeared they were selling out in order to gain power. However they are fairly small fish compared to FF and FG.

Labour - my understanding of this party is very limited. My muddled view is that they are in support of trade unions and the "workers" of the country. I'm not exactly sure how you would describe their political leanings - can someone enlighten?? Either way, they are, I suppose, lower on the ladder than FG, but higher than the Greens. There's a strong possibility...depending on how voting goes, of course!...that they will form the next Gov with FG, as these 2 would be the biggest opposition parties.

Sinn Fein - well. What can you say. A fairly left-wing party (though I'm not clear why). Their interest is Irish Republicanism and little else. Ireland should be a united country that governs it's own affairs with no other involvement from the EU or the UK as far as their thinking goes. (I'm not agreeing or disagreeing, simply stating the fact). They do not support the involvement of the IMF/EU, however their own policies (particularly economic) don't seem to be particularly well-formed or articulated...possibly because their main focus has been the North for so long. They have 1 (or 2???) members in the Dail, and recently one of their members won support in the Donegal by-election.

Independents - these are individuals who run under no party banner in their own area. They rely on support in their local communities. I don't know if you've ever voted, but you get a list of all your local candidates, from every party, and the independents, and you number in order of preference, with 1 being the number you give the most support to. There are currently only 2 Independents in Gov - Jackie Healy Rae and Michael Lowry (am I right???). They can support or oppose the governing parties as they choose, when votes are taking place in the Dail to pass/block certain bills. Often they'll offer support in return for the Gov giving them something they want! There's a possibility that there will be a large number of Independents in the next Gov, along with FG and Labour, which should make things interesting.


That is my basic and very brief understanding of things right now (also as a 28 yr old!!!).As it stands this evening, the Greens are pulling out of Gov with FF. Which should force an election, but that's another day's debate. My information is limited, and possibly inaccurate, so I'd definitely encourage everyone else to add/correct as necessary! In terms of finding out - lurking around here is a pretty good place to start. If all else fails, Wikipedia do some good explanations of the history behind how the parties formed etc. You should definitely consider voting though OP, it's our country at the end of the day. And informing yourself is a very good way to start!!!