Would you vote for a non-white Taoiseach?

WhiteWashMan

Tha Gopher wrote: »

I accept your point gracefully.

Her policies were sh1t, but she sure as hell managed to keep them as the status quo for 11 odd years. Point taken.

funnily enough, I met someone who was senior in the civil service int eh UK when MT was prime minister, and while he didnt like her personally, he said that he had to admire her as a politician.

She never had the best of memories apparently, and used to spend the hours of 12-2am having all of her speeches, arguments and points pretty much beaten into her by her team, and she was up at 6am for the next days work.
personally, i cant survive on 8 hours of sleep let alone 4...

Tha Gopher wrote: »

Because I was about 5 years old when she left office.

so therefor you refuse to base your opinion on any facts, only on second hand opinions? strange.

Tha Gopher wrote: »

And privatisation of state companies has proven to be a rather gigantic pain in the hole for the general public in Britain.

I dunno, having lived in teh UK for several years, albeit not under a public run companies time, I have to say that I had no problem with any of the privatised state companies.

what pain in the hole has there been?

Plug

Not for diamonds.

arybvtcw0eolkf

If the OP mean's would I vote for an immigrant taoiseach, no I wouldn't.

biko

Nelson Mandela for Irish Prez and/or Taoiseach!

Kur4mA

seamus wrote: »

Provided they're Irish by birth or naturalisation, it wouldn't matter to me what colour their skin is.

+1

IvyTheTerrible

I think it's gas that people are pussy-footing around about what to call people of colour but it's perfectly ok to make sweeping generalisations about women being rubbish in positions of power.

Sexism is inequality too boys!

And on topic, for me, it's best person for the job (as long as it's not Bertie or Biffo..)

Rob_l

I wouldn't vote for a man who wore odd socks I think we should be able to check candidates socks are matching prior to voting.

Rob_l

Mairt wrote: »

If the OP mean's would I vote for an immigrant taoiseach, no I wouldn't.

And rightly so an immigrant taoiseach would not have the nations or the Irish people's best interests at heart but would lean perhaps much more to a softer policy on refugee's and immigration something we do not need.

~Rebel~

EamonnKeane wrote: »

The problem is that an immigrant would most likely have only spent a few years in Ireland and wouldn't know the country as well as an Irish person

I think this could be a positive as much as its a negative. Would be nice to have someone who doesn't fall into the very Irish problem of "ah sure thats just the way it is, it'll be grand". An Irish solution to an Irish problem is all well and good, but someone from outside with a different outlook could possibly come up with the right solution for an Irish problem.

Essentially I think, if they're the right person for the job, they're the right person for the job. Nought else matters.

Kev_ps3

No!
If the person is black then the chances are that he/she isnt in the country a long time. I want a leader who was born here with a strong Irish identity. I know some blacks have been here for a while but they arnt really Irish are they.

seamus

Kev_ps3 wrote: »

No!
If the person is black then the chances are that he/she isnt in the country a long time. I want a leader who was born here with a strong Irish identity. I know some blacks have been here for a while but they arnt really Irish are they.

"chances are"? So instead of actually looking at the nationality of the person, you'd just say, "Nah he/she's black, probably not Irish, feck off".

What about Samantha Mumba? Black (ish) and Irish. Shock!

If you're not even looking at a person's background when voting, then please remove yourself from the electoral register, for all of our sakes.

I say naturalised people are OK as well as native-born because there's a good chance that they're here long enough to "get" the Irish and will have the nation's interests at heart.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

As long as his name wasn't Bertie and he wasn't running for Fianna Fail, then yes - I would.

FunkZ

Man if Dr. Dre or Snoogy Doogie were in the run up I'd well vote for them.

~Rebel~

seamus wrote: »

"chances are"? So instead of actually looking at the nationality of the person, you'd just say, "Nah he/she's black, probably not Irish, feck off".

What about Samantha Mumba? Black (ish) and Irish. Shock!

If you're not even looking at a person's background when voting, then please remove yourself from the electoral register, for all of our sakes.

I say naturalised people are OK as well as native-born because there's a good chance that they're here long enough to "get" the Irish and will have the nation's interests at heart.

Agreed. Look at Sean Og O'HAilpin. "Non-white" and more Irish then most pasty white Irish people. Pretty much as Irish as its possible to be really.

Tar.Aldarion

Gay taoiseach for 2024!

FunkZ

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

Gay taoiseach for 2024!

Not while I'm alive! *Shakes fist*

Ah i'm just kidding!

But really no. No chance.

Red Hand

...would you vote for a ginger Taoiseach?

And by ginger I mean a really grating taffy haired ginger.

suimhneas

why not couldn't be more useless that the one we have. but as for states would be worried that they are voting for either the first woman president or the first black one not who is best for the job. Just like us their next one could not be any worse than the one they have already

ferdi

a black taoiseach or an english taoiseach?

Red Hand

An English Black Taoiseach who's father was a Unionist from Norn Iron.

With Ginger hair.

Terry

Kev_ps3 wrote: »

No!
If the person is black then the chances are that he/she isnt in the country a long time. I want a leader who was born here with a strong Irish identity. I know some blacks have been here for a while but they arnt really Irish are they.

LMAO.
Paul McGrath and Phil Lynnott, anyone?

thebman

WhiteWashMan wrote: »

I dunno, having lived in teh UK for several years, albeit not under a public run companies time, I have to say that I had no problem with any of the privatised state companies.

what pain in the hole has there been?

Try to order 50Mbps broadband in the UK and you'll find out. Try to do it here and you'll have even more fun.

The railways in Britain were a disaster when they were privatized. Its a well known problem that occurred and whenever you grumble about Irish Rail to the Brit's, they'll pretty much talk about how lucky we are to have a service with no major accidents like signal failures.

edit ---

On topic: I couldn't give a crap as long as I agreed with the persons policies. It would take more convincing if they weren't born here.

I don't think it'll happen any time soon because I think our main political parties probably won't accept a black person as leader of them anytime soon unless they can prove they are just as corrupt as the other members of the party.

There was quite a few train crashes in Britain a good few years ago.

Someone can correct me on the above if I'm wrong BTW, I could be.

prodigal_son

Tha Gopher wrote: »

re the general public, Ireland is full of FF loyal twats who would vote Ian Paisley as Taoiseach as long as he was a member of FF. I sh1t you not, if Bertie was jailed for 3 years for the present allegations he could still come back and be re elected.

Personally, Id sooner see a black transvestite in office than Bertie if they could do a better job and be less corrupt. 3 times, ffs this country should be nuked with some type of chemical weapon that only attacks people withn a higher count of idiot cells in their brain.

Its nothing to do with what party you support, Its the whole political system is corrupt. If you believe Bertie Ahern is the most corrupt person in politics, you need to step away from the tv for a second and think about it.

If you think the alternative government by other parties would be less corrupt and run the country better, then you need to take off your rose coloured spectacles.

Fact is, Labour, FF, FG and the greens, will all, and have all sold out at some point. Its the Irish attitude toward money, and its a pandemic across multiple societies, not just politics.

I cant see Enda, running the country any better, this is as good as it gets for us, without a radical shake up, and a new party. Enda seems locked in a personal vendetta with bertie, and seems unable to leave personal feelings out of politics.. great man to run a country???

Holsten

If they were born here and have a fairly strong connection to Ireland then yes, probably.

If they arrive here then no, not a chance.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Holsten wrote: »

If they were born here and have a fairly strong connection to Ireland then yes, probably.

If they arrive here then no, not a chance.

What if they were any good? What if they wnated to manage our national soccer team instead? yes/no?

The Chessplayer

jackncoke wrote: »

well,i dont know.Portlaoise actually has the first coloured Mayor in Ireland.
I can imagine some of the older generation being very sceptical of a coloured TD but i cant imagine the majority of the country having an issue with it.

Your missing the big picture,the next Taoiseach will be a BIFFO,just like myself!!

That's right and he (the mayor of Portlaoise) has shown himself to be a bit of a plonker.

Race would not be an issue in an Irish election. You cannot compare the Irish electorate to that of America.

Kold

It's quite clear we can't manage ourselves, time to apologise to Britain methinks.

purple'n'gold

crianp wrote: »

I don't mean for this to be inflammatory or racist in anyway but I am writing an article for my blog at the moment about the american election and I speculated( emhpasis on speculated) that the majority of people in Ireland would not vote for a non-white Taoiseach?

The Irish electorate do not vote for Taoiseach, that is the duty of elected TD’S in Dail Eireann.

Chunky Monkey

Somebody said they didn't like the word black and preferred to say coloured. Erm have you asked a black person how they felt about that? Anyway coloured was a term used for mixed raced peeps (legally in South Africa).

People in Hertfordshire were pretty distressed when auld Maggie got re-elected too. A lot of British people and others living in Britain at the time think she was a right wagon. I don't know much about her so have no opinions on her myself.

I wasn't born here but I'm Irish a charla.

I haven't registered though. All of them come out with the same speel.

Immigrants know how s*** it is at the bottom, they may have more sympathy for those who need help the most. Also the majority of immigrants I've met are incredibly hard working and er, not stupid. And they don't have the 'ah sure it'll do attitude' that Rebel mentioned is so endemic in this country.

Chunky Monkey

The Chessplayer wrote: »

Race would not be an issue in an Irish election. You cannot compare the Irish electorate to that of America.

I take it you're Irish, white and Catholic then.

Dinter

If I got a ballot paper today and it had some black fella on it that I'd never heard of then obviously I wouldn't vote for him. No more than if he was a no name Aryan wunderkind.

However if he were up for Taoiseach (If the electorate voted for Taoiseach) then chances are I'd have heard of him and could vote on the basis of his policies.

To be honest I feel like taking myself off the register. Politics in Ireland is a corrupt crock of sh1t.

Can anyone give me an example of an Irish politician resigning over failed policies etc?

humanji

I'm with Billy Connolly on this: Anyone who wants to be in politics should automatically be barred from it. It doesn't matter what colour your skin is or where you were born, you're obviously a deviant and I won't trust you. The position of Taoiseach should be like jury duty!

randylonghorn

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

Gay taoiseach for 2024!

He was going well last time I saw him on tv, but I doubt he'll last that long.

Tha Gopher

WhiteWashMan wrote: »

so therefor you refuse to base your opinion on any facts, only on second hand opinions? strange.

Again, my apologies. I was five years old or under.

WhiteWashMan wrote: »

I dunno, having lived in teh UK for several years, albeit not under a public run companies time, I have to say that I had no problem with any of the privatised state companies.

what pain in the hole has there been?

There is a scandal involving some privatised state utillity fcuking up on a near monthly basis. I cant even be arsed replying to that one.

As for the US, it says alot about the electorate when a daytime chat show host throwing her weight (no pun intended) behind a particular candidate being something that is seen as important to a candidates chances.

rubadub

Kev_ps3 wrote: »

No!
If the person is black then the chances are that he/she isnt in the country a long time. I want a leader who was born here with a strong Irish identity. I know some blacks have been here for a while but they arnt really Irish are they.

Terry wrote: »

LMAO.
Paul McGrath and Phil Lynnott, anyone?

both of them are as white as they are black. Like Obama.

Chunky Monkey wrote: »

Somebody said they didn't like the word black and preferred to say coloured. Erm have you asked a black person how they felt about that? Anyway coloured was a term used for mixed raced peeps (legally in South Africa).

I have heard people upset about being called black, preferring brown. And have heard people complain about being called white too for similar reasons.

As I was saying earlier, a newly invented term becomes PC, then kids in the schoolyard use it and they have to think up a new one.
What do anthropologists use these days. In school I learnt it as Caucasian and Negroid. Some people would almost regard Negroid as a swear word, but wouldn't bat an eyelid at Caucasian.

smemon

to put it another way, this question is 'are you racist?'

doesn't matter a damn if we have a yellow taoiseach, and if he was born in thailand.

if he represents and listens to the people and does his job, then he gets my vote.

in fact, i think we should outsource our politics to germany and get a german taoiseach. organisation, efficiency, things done on time.

good a plan as any

randylonghorn

rubadub wrote: »

both of them are as white as they are black. Like Obama.

You see, that in itself is dependent on certain sterotypes being assumed ... how can someone be "as white as they are black"? What does that even mean?

If I like certain types of music and tell yo' momma jokes, am I as black as I am white?

someuser90

i'd vote obama for teashock

FruitLover

jackncoke wrote: »

well,i dont know.Portlaoise actually has the first coloured Mayor in Ireland

What colour is he? Is it tatoos, or dye, or what?

Black Swan

Are they most qualified?

EdgarAllenPoo

Simple answer, yes. It shouldn't matter if the person is white or black. If their the right person for the job they get my vote.

dsmythy

If the time ever came then if he was born in Ireland and grew up in Ireland and clearly loved Ireland, then yeah i would consider him at least anyway. Long way off though! I'd say we won't see a black Taoiseach by 2050, probably later. The odd TD MAYBE but not the top dog.

WhiteWashMan

brim4brim wrote: »

Try to order 50Mbps broadband in the UK and you'll find out. Try to do it here and you'll have even more fun.

Im not sure what that has to do with privatised state companies.

brim4brim wrote: »

The railways in Britain were a disaster when they were privatized. Its a well known problem that occurred and whenever you grumble about Irish Rail to the Brit's, they'll pretty much talk about how lucky we are to have a service with no major accidents like signal failures.

IM not sure thats the case. Besides, its not the governments fault that some companies end up being crap. The thing about the rail companies in the UK is that they have several to run various train lines, and then they have companies to maintain tracks etc.
Im not saying that all companies run with golden efficiency, but I do think they run better than they did under a state run policy.

Perhaps we should just not allow private companies to do business, and hand everything back to the government, so they can become unprofitable and serviceable, and all of our taxes go up?

WhiteWashMan

Tha Gopher wrote: »

There is a scandal involving some privatised state utillity fcuking up on a near monthly basis. I cant even be arsed replying to that one.

NO, you made a statement, im asking you to back it up.


Some scandal somewhere?

What? Enron? Oh no, that was a private company. Coz they dont **** up at all.


Ive given my opinions and my reasons why I think you were wrong about Maggie Thatcher not being a good leader.


If youre going to stick your oar into a debate, and give an opinion, be prepared to back it up. and dont give me this, 'i cant be arsed replying to that one' crap becuase quite frankly, you talk out of your hoop constantly, but dont actually give one single shred of evidence to back your points up. No doubt you will be serving this up as your usual examples in feedback as to how i am such an awful persona and power hungry mod etc etc etc yadda yadda yadda snore.

cock robin

Once he's from the same planet I would'nt give a bollox if the next Taoiseach is luminous green. The present f****r could not be from earth. I reckon the mother ship is on its way for Bertie and they are welcome to the c**t. Orange,blue,turquoise I dont care as long as he's honest and sorts out this rock we live on. Actually if he/she does happen to come from afar, he might bring a climate machine with him or her. Then we could be warm and poor. Just like most African's.

constitutionus

eh, you do realise we dont vote for a taoiseach. the gov parties divie that up after the election along with all the other ministerial jobs.

after all you could hardly say ANYONE voted for mary harney to be minister for health

randylonghorn

constitutionus wrote: »

eh, you do realise we dont vote for a taoiseach. the gov parties divie that up after the election along with all the other ministerial jobs.

Oh, I'd say that's only been mentioned about 10 times in the thread so far ...

MIN2511

Chosing to say black or white is no big deal! People take things too seriously, it's when you say ****** or white pig thats rude!
By the way how many of us voted in the last election? I didn't! I don't think it matters, if they are black or white. As long as they do the job!




mods, this is a diplomatic comment. No racism going on

dsmythy

MIN2511 wrote: »

Chosing to say black or white is no big deal! People take things too seriously, it's when you say ****** or white pig thats rude!
By the way how many of us voted in the last election? I didn't! I don't think it matters, if they are black or white. As long as they do the job!




mods, this is a diplomatic comment. No racism going on

Racist!

As long as they do the job? What's it to you if you don't vote?

Chunky Monkey

I'm not getting the obsession with them having to be born here. Like I said I wasn't born here but I'm Irish. There are people who were born here but wouldn't see themselves as Irish. It's a stupid reason to vote for a taoiseach (if we were able to vote for them).

I have asked black people whether they mind being called black. It's part of their identity. If you called them brown they would look at you like you had two heads. If you're really concerned that using a term to describe a group of people might offend them, ask them first before making assumptions.