Time for a National Government

future_plans

If one is to believe the line the papers are taking, then the country is on the verge of bankruptcy. Insolvency is imminent. Investors are jumping ship. Cashing in. Bailing out. €10 billion in the last 7 days. Whatever way you want to put it. At the same time, the unions are on the brink of calling national strikes. Things seem to be coming to a head. Crisis on the horizon? Unlike anything we've seen here in generations. While the boys up in Leinster house lob rockets across the hall at each other. Doing a lot of ranting and running....getting nowhere too fast. Our Taoiseach enjoys a game of hurling in Thurles. If the company I work for was in crisis....I don't think I'd be able to make it to a weekend sporting event! It's time for action Brian...call on FG and Labour. You need them. All we've seen from FF is incompetency. Like an civilian being told to land a crashing plane. Time to be the bigger man Brian and ask for help.

ronaneire

When things were good no one seemed to have a problem. Now that the Country and the rest of the World is in dire straits lets get the ones out that done good...

--amadeus--

2 incompetent heads better than 1?

IF there were radical and brilliant solutions being suggested by the opposition but ignored by the Govt I could see your point. But there isn't.

I see part of your point though - less focus on scoring points off each other and more on the issues might be useful. But the ideas in the Dail are stale and the decision makers too bogged down and institutionalised. If you are going to go down the "National Govt" route then you need to broaden it out from just TDs - bring in reps from SMEs, Unions, Industry, etc and have a genuine national government that isn't bound by the rules and conventions.

future_plans

--amadeus-- wrote: »

If you are going to go down the "National Govt" route then you need to broaden it out from just TDs - bring in reps from SMEs, Unions, Industry, etc and have a genuine national government that isn't bound by the rules and conventions.

Stole my thunder. Meant to include that point also. Wouldn't do any harm to have some Michael O'Learys, Denis O'Briens, Union leaders, University heads on board in some format.

--amadeus--

ronaneire wrote: »

When things were good no one seemed to have a problem. Now that the Country and the rest of the World is in dire straits lets get the ones out that done good...

I'm not sure that most people would agree that the current Government has ever "done good"

ronaneire

--amadeus-- wrote: »

I'm not sure that most people would agree that the current Government has ever "done good"

They didn't vote themselves into Government?

--amadeus--

41.6% of the popular vote <> "most people"

future_plans

It's hard to defend this Government now after this Anglo Irish disgrace. Perhaps nobody from FF was directly involved, however it happened on their watch. I voted FF in the last election on the back of confidence in my local candidate. He has since left the party.....

In any case, even if their track record was acceptable up to the last election. Circumstances have changed dramatically.

ronaneire

I totally agree with you about Anglo Irish, and those who were involved hopefully will pay the price for it. Also if what Eamon Ryan has said is true, all of the people who have owe back the bank vast amounts will be chased for it. How god only knows.

"41.6% of the popular vote " and the who had the next highest vote?

future_plans

ronaneire wrote: »

Also if what Eamon Ryan has said is true, all of the people who have owe back the bank vast amounts will be chased for it.

I feel he's just paying lip service there. Love to see it happening, but doubt it will.

r0nanf

future_plans wrote: »

In any case, even if their track record was acceptable up to the last election. Circumstances have changed dramatically.

I don't think you can say that they had an acceptable track record. Do you think this whole thing just happened in the past few months? The seeds for this mess were sown with every populist choice that Bertie and friends made over the last 10 years. Bertie was told 3 years ago by Alan Ahearne on PrimeTime that this would happen, and he was laughed at and told to "just jump off a building and commit suicide if it's so bad". This was coming for a long time, however most people in this country continued to vote with their back pockets.

That "better the divil you know.." bullsh*t is what got us into this mess as our general populace refuse to ever hold FF to account. Labour/FG will walk into power later this year, take the hard decisions and get f*cked by the electorate at the next election. The ball will roll the same way it does everytime. It's Joe Duffy politics.

future_plans

r0nanf wrote: »

I don't think you can say that they had an acceptable track record. Do you think this whole thing just happened in the past few months? The seeds for this mess were sown with every populist choice that Bertie and friends made over the last 10 years. Bertie was told 3 years ago by Alan Ahearne on PrimeTime that this would happen, and he was laughed at and told to "just jump off a building and commit suicide if it's so bad". This was coming for a long time, however most people in this country continued to vote with their back pockets.

That "better the divil you know.." bullsh*t is what got us into this mess as our general populace refuse to ever hold FF to account. Labour/FG will walk into power later this year, take the hard decisions and get f*cked by the electorate at the next election. The ball will roll the same way it does everytime. It's Joe Duffy politics.

I wasn't saying their track record is acceptable. Merely that even if one did find it acceptable up to the last election, the performance since then has been abysmal.

I think that Bertie quote was only made about 18 months ago. And i hear that he's down advising the South Americans these days!! If it wasn't so serious, one would be inclined to laugh!

r0nanf

The advisory role to central american countries is hilarious, you couldn't make it up. All he's missing is ties to Zanu PF...

Dannyboy83

r0nanf wrote: »

The advisory role to central american countries is hilarious, you couldn't make it up. All he's missing is ties to Zanu PF...

ROTFLMAO:D

I posted it in another thread, but nobody got it.

Anybody ever seen the Simpsons Episode when the town are conned into buying the MonoRail?:D:D

HydeRoad

I don't believe in a National government.

A national government will put two political parties together who are sworn rivals. I see no circumstances where FF and FG will co-operate together, without constant fighting, at the expense of good forward planning, and without continuously point scoring, and trying to defend their own party line.

More importantly, though, a national government will weaken a resurgent Labour party, who are the only legitimate party at the moment with a demonstrably different ideology to the main centre-right parties of FF and FG. Whatever your political persuasion, Labour are the only definable and credible party to be a change from what went before, and need a strong political base from which to effect change, not the weakened position a national government would offer them.

zootroid

Fine Gael won't go for a national government, not after what happened after the Tallaght stratagy. And who could blame them? Fianna Fail got us into this mess. For years there were warnings over the over-reliance on the construction industry, the government didn't listen. Government agencies are absolutely toothless, and are either incompetent, don't have the powers to do anything, or won't do anything. The cynic in me goes for the last option, as I keep hearing in the press how directors of banks and other large companies sit on the boards of state authorities and semi-state companies. The words conflict of interests mean nothing to these people. This all happened on Fianna Fail's watch. Let them try sort this mess out without favours from anyone else.

zootroid

And if a general election were to be called, with Fianna Fail losing too many seats to remain in government, well that would be fine with me too.

PeakOutput

HydeRoad wrote: »

I don't believe in a National government.

A national government will put two political parties together who are sworn rivals. I see no circumstances where FF and FG will co-operate together, without constant fighting, at the expense of good forward planning, and without continuously point scoring, and trying to defend their own party line.

More importantly, though, a national government will weaken a resurgent Labour party, who are the only legitimate party at the moment with a demonstrably different ideology to the main centre-right parties of FF and FG. Whatever your political persuasion, Labour are the only definable and credible party to be a change from what went before, and need a strong political base from which to effect change, not the weakened position a national government would offer them.

i seriously seriously hope that labour are not the ones who benefit from this socialism is a step back not forward

a fg led coalition with labour would do well i feel. the ideologies are not what is wrong with ff(although unfortunately the ideologies are going to take a big hit on the back of this) if it was the same people in goverment under a labour flag they would still be incompetent

future_plans

A General Election now would cost too much and waste too much time. V O'Toole was suggesting a National (ish) Government yesterday with FF, FG and Greens. Labour would be a viable and quality opposition.