North-West Politicians, Who do you trust ?..

Paddy20

Am I alone, when I state that there is not a single politician in the North-West, that I trust.

Can you give me the name of a politician, from any party that you truly believe in, maybe I am being cynical or just brutally honest, when I state that not one has my confidence.

I believe they are all playing a 'Look after myself game', and the average voter/citizen can go to hell, as the N.W. is a lost cause, and has been since the formation of the Irish Republic.

Perhap's the time has arrived for some straight talking.

What is your view ?..

P. :cool:

il gatto

You're wrong Paddy20. It's the "look after myself, and a few select buddies/cronies" game.:D

Paddy20

il gatto wrote:

You're wrong Paddy20. It's the "look after myself, and a few select buddies/cronies" game.:D

Seem's as though there is not One politician in the North -West that is trusted by anyone ::eek:

I am not surprised .

P. :cool:

Wishbone Ash

They don't elect themselves Paddy! Democracy has an input. Would people vote for someone that they don't trust?

Paddy20

Wishbone Ash wrote:

They don't elect themselves Paddy! Democracy has an input. Would people vote for someone that they don't trust?

Unfortunately, the answer is yes, especially in my 'home area' of the Twin-Towns .

P. :cool:

Civilian_Target

Who do you trust eh? Make it personal, why not!

The answer is in life, you can trust no-one but yourself, and sometimes you can't even trust yourself!

Like bank managers, politicians have to look after themselves - they have to inherently be self-centred to get where they are (in their business, that is. Outside politics they might be the nicest people under the sun).

Maybe the question you want to ask paddy is who I could vote for? Whose politics am I both sufficiently aligned with and which personality do I trust sufficiently to give them a vote. I dunno who, to be perfectly honest.

When's the next election?

Paddy20

Civilian_Target wrote:

When's the next election?

Within a year, I think :eek:

P. :cool:

il gatto

Eight months time I think. Eight months till the current crop of lying, crooked, self serving scum find themselves in opposition. Hopefully.

Wishbone Ash

il gatto wrote:

Eight months time I think. Eight months till the current crop of lying, crooked, self serving scum find themselves in opposition. Hopefully.

If they are in opposition, they will still have been elected. If you think that they are "lying, crooked, self serving scum" would you not prefer to see them lose their seats?

Paddy20

il gatto wrote:

Eight months time I think. Eight months till the current crop of lying, crooked, self serving scum find themselves in opposition. Hopefully.

Hmmm, bit strong that IMHO, but where do we go from here. There must be one politician that some people have a little trust/faith in

Will someone name someone who is worth a vote ??...:(

I will admit that I do have one Political Party that in our current climate, I should vote for, but it is a catch 22 for me, as my only hope is they keep the real egotistical idiots under control, pending the emergence of a new credible alternative ?..

P. :cool:

il gatto

I wouldn't expect them to lose their seats as their individual support, however misguided, is too strong. I think a spell in opposition is what's needed, for people to see there is an alternative, and for the current government to taste defeat for a change, and realise you can't ride roughshod over the population and get away with it all the time.
If you want my opinion, Labour's Declan Bree is worth a vote. He can be a bit hardline socialist for many sometimes (in last weeks Weekender with a veteran of the Spanish Civil War ffs:D ), and he's continually villified by local media as a s#it-stirrer, but he's never been found to take a bribe, and apparently his expense receipts are the only ones to show realistic tallies. That's more than can be said for alot of others.

Paddy20

il gatto wrote:

I wouldn't expect them to lose their seats as their individual support, however misguided, is too strong. I think a spell in opposition is what's needed, for people to see there is an alternative, and for the current government to taste defeat for a change, and realise you can't ride roughshod over the population and get away with it all the time.
If you want my opinion, Labour's Declan Bree is worth a vote. He can be a bit hardline socialist for many sometimes (in last weeks Weekender with a veteran of the Spanish Civil War ffs:D ), and he's continually villified by local media as a s#it-stirrer, but he's never been found to take a bribe, and apparently his expense receipts are the only ones to show realistic tallies. That's more than can be said for alot of others.

Congratulations, il gatto,

You are the first to name someone who is worth a vote, I am not familiar with the individual or if he is relevant to this North-West thread, but good on you for posting his name At the very least it is a Thumbs up for Labour.

P. :cool:

il gatto

He's an Alderman on Sligo Borough Council and has been elected as T.D. for Sligo-Leitrim (when that constituency still existed) on a few occassions. Unfortunately he has stepped on a few toes in Sligo by bringing to attention several unsavoury issues and gets laughed down or slated by other polititions. Many of the issues (the Borough Council selling property that belonged to the O.P.W., the Harbour Board (now disolved) letting someone put a waste pipe across their property for £300 when consultants estimated they should charge £28,000-£30,000) have been legitimate, but the net result seems to have been that people see him as a sh#t stirrer, despite these things being in their interest. As some polititions and big businessmen have been on the wrong side of his activities, they have propagated a widespread dislike for him. The local media have not helped by making a big deal of any mistakes he's made, and by wording articals in such a way as to make him look unreasonable or silly, despite his often taking an unasailable position. Careful choice of language is often as misleading as an out and out lie.
I'm not a member of any party, and have only met the guy in passing. I have no interest in his election other than I trust him alot more than most of the other candidates put before me every election. My comments here are my considered view on the situation, and not some ill conceived conspiracy theory devised by a rabid party activist.

Civilian_Target

TBH, Sean Maloney always seemed like a fairly reasonable guy in the North East, a bit too quiet perhaps but seemed like a solid choice. I'm not sure he's standing for election this time too. Jim Lynch always seemed like a fairly good choice, he's certainly had some interesting ideas on Letterkenny's urban development, but I don't think he's standing for Dail either. One of the few people with an interest in preserving the current town centre instead of migrating the town to a load of sheds by the river. And of course, Damien Blake, who's been reasonably active in these forums may be a good choice, it makes it easy to ask questions!

I also will happily vote for the local MEP, Jim Higgins, I've been in contact with him regarding European Software regulations and he's been responsive, sympathetic and when push came to shove, voted as I'd asked, when many Irish MEPs voted the other way without questioning the issue! [EDIT]I believe he's also part of the drive to regulate (ie. reduce) mobile phone roaming charges within the EU[/EDIT]

I wouldn't vote for most of the Fianna Failers or IFF though, or any of the Shinners! I certainly wouldn't vote for McDaid, Keavney or Blaney - in my opinion McDaid's a self-serving disgrace, Keavney's a puppet and Blaney, don't get me started!

muffler

Civilian_Target wrote:

TBH, Sean Maloney always seemed like a fairly reasonable guy in the North East, a bit too quiet perhaps but seemed like a solid choice.

You've been away too long or suffer from amnesia

Civilian_Target

He's retired then?
He stood for the last election...

muffler

He was certainly never quiet for too long. Had to be in the limelight all the time and was constantly issueing all sorts of "sensational" press releases to the local media to ensure that he stayed top of the pile.

Belonged to more political parties than I had 5 course dinners.

Dont get me wrong, I know Sean alright and a right decent guy he is as a private individual but he was never my cup of tea as a politician.

In any event Sean is now in Spain (I am open to correction on that)and that was the last I heard of him. I dont think he contested the last elections though.

Damien Blake hasn't posted here for some time now and if you are reading this Damien forget about the suggestions not to post here and come back and fill us in on this matter

Paddy20

Sean Maloney in my dealings with him proved himself to be totally commited to the people, but unfortunately it is my sincere belief that he discovered the real truth about 'insider politics' and did not feel comfortable, or prepared to play the dirty political game.

Therefore he opted out and I certainly do not blame him. However, he is sadly missed.

I can only hope that he will surface again in the political arena where he is needed.

P. :cool:

Damien Blake

muffler wrote:

He was certainly never quiet for too long. Had to be in the limelight all the time and was constantly issueing all sorts of "sensational" press releases to the local media to ensure that he stayed top of the pile.

Belonged to more political parties than I had 5 course dinners.

Dont get me wrong, I know Sean alright and a right decent guy he is as a private individual but he was never my cup of tea as a politician.

In any event Sean is now in Spain (I am open to correction on that)and that was the last I heard of him. I dont think he contested the last elections though.

Damien Blake hasn't posted here for some time now and if you are reading this Damien forget about the suggestions not to post here and come back and fill us in on this matter

Hi guys!

Haven't posted here in a while, but have been keeping an intermittent eye on the board to see if there's anything I can help with.

I think it's probably best I stay away from this topic, for obvious reasons But I will say this- if you don't think politicians are trustworthy, there's an easy way to fix that. Next general election is May/June next year, and the next local election will be in June 2009. I got involved because I wasn't happy with the way things where, and felt I would be better getting involved than looking back in a few decades time and wishing I had.

To clarify one point- Sean Maloney stood down at the 2004 elections, and now (to my knowledge) spends most of his time in Spain.

muffler

Good man Damien, we had you lined up in our sights there for a while but the scandal has nearly died away again .

Its good to see you posting again. It gives us all a different viewpoint.

I have to say that I trust politicians but then again telling the truth was never one of my strong points

Paddy20

I am becoming increasingly concerned at the antics of Dr James McDaid.

IMHO his political career is over, as to why the reasons are on public record..

P. :cool: