No political party interests me..

2paki

im of legal age to vote and im very interested in politics but the thing is no political party in this country really intersts me, Sinn Fein do a bit because they are the only ones really fighting for a united ireland but they are left-wing and im more right/far-right in my politics and there is no party to represent me and im dishartened.. If we had a BNP style party in this country then id be happy but until we do im a non-voter.

lost_lad

How on earth are Sinn Fein fighting for a united ireland? They had a chance at peace in northern ireland (peace required before we get north back - but doubtful we ever will) and blew it for monopoly money!!!
They no more want a united ireland then paisley does!!!

And BNP (The rascist bigot party?) for Ireland? Really?

billy the squid

2paki wrote:

im of legal age to vote and im very interested in politics but the thing is no political party in this country really intersts me, Sinn Fein do a bit because they are the only ones really fighting for a united ireland but they are left-wing and im more right/far-right in my politics and there is no party to represent me and im dishartened.. If we had a BNP style party in this country then id be happy but until we do im a non-voter.

may i ask a serious question? but what is it you find apealing about the brittish BNP party?

If you are looking for right wing you could either vote for the PDs or independents, depending on what constituency you are in.

or you could get 30 of your mates to turn up at the local authority building and have them nominate you to run for election yourself.

MadsL

have them nominate you to run for election yourself.

/*shudder*

lost_lad

billy the squid wrote:

or you could get 30 of your mates .

Yeah Good one...

Gael

2paki wrote:

im of legal age to vote and im very interested in politics but the thing is no political party in this country really intersts me, Sinn Fein do a bit because they are the only ones really fighting for a united ireland but they are left-wing and im more right/far-right in my politics and there is no party to represent me and im dishartened.. If we had a BNP style party in this country then id be happy but until we do im a non-voter.

We do. They're called the Immagration Control Platform.

http://www.immigrationcontrol.org/

You could join them. Don't expect to enter government anytime soon though.

lost_lad

"If the Problem of 20th Century was east-west, capitalism versus communism, then the problem of the 21st century is surely north-south and the related issues of migration and asylum".

John Dardis S.J. European Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service

Above from the site.

Is that being used out of context?

Roisin Dubh

2paki wrote:

im of legal age to vote and im very interested in politics but the thing is no political party in this country really intersts me, Sinn Fein do a bit because they are the only ones really fighting for a united ireland but they are left-wing and im more right/far-right in my politics and there is no party to represent me and im dishartened.. If we had a BNP style party in this country then id be happy but until we do im a non-voter.

When you say you are rightwing do you mean:

A:You want the Catholic Church to return to political power and telling us not to have sex and to be good little boys and girls.

OR

B: That the unions should not have so much power and there should be more privatisations and competition, as well as tougher immigration controls.

If B then voting PD is probably the best thing to do. Along with SF they have ideology (albeit on the economic right rather than left while supporting a secular state) and so represent real choice rather than the usual ideology-starved parties other than labour which is just a less left wing version of SF except without the Republicanism and terrorist links.

MadsL

voting PD is probably the best thing to do.

Confirming my suspicions that the PDs were the closest thing we have to the BNP there Roisin.

Roisin Dubh

MadsL wrote:

Confirming my suspicions that the PDs were the closest thing we have to the BNP there Roisin.

No they are not! When did you last hear Michael McDowell or Mary Harney spewing their hatred at ethnic minorities like Muslims, like Nick Griffin of the BNP caught on camera calling Islam an evil and wicked faith a while ago?

MadsL, you don't have to be a BNP-style party to favour free-market economics.

Sand

no political party in this country really intersts me, Sinn Fein do a bit because they are the only ones really fighting for a united ireland but they are left-wing and im more right/far-right in my politics and there is no party to represent me and im dishartened.. If we had a BNP style party in this country then id be happy but until we do im a non-voter.

Well thank christ for that. I can see how you might view your self imposed disenfranchisement as a problem for you, but given as the other options are a vote for terrorism or the BNP I cant see how this is a problem for anyone else? If anything its a bonus.

MadsL, you don't have to be a BNP-style party to favour free-market economics.

Cmon, everyone knows the Nazis were out there with the Anarcho-Capitalists in economic and social thinking!

mike65

MadsL was being sarcastic I think (hope).

Mike.

cdebru

when 2 paki says right wing i think he means more the black/brown/blueshirt type of right wing rather than an economic ideology

Gael

cdebru wrote:

when 2 paki says right wing i think he means more the black/brown/blueshirt type of right wing rather than an economic ideology

Yes. In a sense, it's a good reflection of Irish politics that he's feels no party represents his beliefs.
I'm not sure if the Immigration Control Platform are a fully fleged political party. They have run in elections but they portray themselves more as a lobby group than anything else. Though I'm sure Aine Ní Chonaill would love to have him.

Mad Cyril

Roisin Dubh wrote:

No they are not! When did you last hear Michael McDowell or Mary Harney spewing their hatred at ethnic minorities like Muslims, like Nick Griffin of the BNP caught on camera calling Islam an evil and wicked faith a while ago?

MadsL, you don't have to be a BNP-style party to favour free-market economics.

Has Nick Griffin ever been formally honoured by the KKK? A certain "justice" minister has.

Roisin Dubh

Mad Cyril wrote:

Has Nick Griffin ever been formally honoured by the KKK? A certain "justice" minister has.

For bringing Irish citizenship law into line with the rest of Europe.

MadsL

For bringing Irish citizenship law into line with the rest of Europe.

Except for an estimated 220m people of 'White' descent still eligible for Citizenship.

Sleepy

TBH, I'm largely in the same position (minus the racist bit). There really isn't any party I could fully stand behind in Irish politics. I like the PD's approach to crime but hate Harney for adopting FF's cronyism, I like Labour's ideas about social spending but hate their support for the trade unions, SF I despise, FF I see as a bunch of incompetent buffoons with no real policies, FG I'd see as a more honest version of FF but in league with the farmers (an industry I believe should be forced to be competitive or let die gracefully instead of propped up with good money being thrown after bad). The SWP are lunatics, the Greens have no grasp of reality and so I'm left with no-one to vote for.

It's a lesser of two evils situation every time I go to vote. My last votivote in a general election went on the basis of: Ok couldn't stand for Dana to win so she's no 17, next the Sinners 16, 15 and 14, then FF, etc. etc. until Michael D Higgins got my no 1. Not out of any great admiration for the man or his policies, purely down to the fact his policies were the least offensive to me.

Is this really the way to elect a government?

Nuttzz

If you cant stand someone why give them any preference at all?

Sleepy

Because by voting in the manner I do, you can ensure that your vote cannot benefit those you least want to see in power.

For example, were I to vote only for 2/3 people and if those 2/3 preferrences are all knocked out early, my vote doesn't influence the final result. This could potentially be of advantage to a candidate I despise if a final seat comes down to transfers. In a 'lesser of two evils' situation I would prefer that my vote actually goes to the lesser of two evils. In reality, the more moderate candidates tend to get my higher preferences and usually one of my top 3/4 preferrences will get my vote, I just like to hedge my bets.

galactus

2paki is expressing a quite understandable lack of faith in the main political parties.

In my opinion the right wing offers us nothing new. What is the essential difference between FF and the PDS for example? Meanwhile, FG's main selling point seems to be that they're not FF.

I'd be more on the left myself since I think we need a more rapid pace of change.

While I'd encourage 2paki to involve him/herself in politics I do have huge reservations over his/her username (blatantly racist) and the fact that he/she would think of supporting an irish-style BNP party.

2paki, if you want to be a racist that's your choice. But is that to be your legacy?

"Here lies 2paki. He hated non-whites".

Boggle

2paki is expressing a quite understandable lack of faith in the main political parties.

No sh1t sherlock...! The reason this occurs is because the politicians have zero accountability, zero credibility and feck all houour.

Just look at the promises from the last election - how many of those have been actually fulfilled?

Sleepy

Boggle wrote:

No sh1t sherlock...! The reason this occurs is because the politicians have zero accountability, zero credibility and feck all houour.

Just look at the promises from the last election - how many of those have been actually fulfilled?

Now that would make for an interesting website. Collate the manifestos of every elected TD and check off those promises they have achieved. I'd say we'd be looking at maybe a 10% hit rate?

If someone has the resources to develop this site I'd be more than happy to donate some time to it.

galactus

Boggle wrote:

No sh1t sherlock...! The reason this occurs is because the politicians have zero accountability, zero credibility and feck all houour.

Just look at the promises from the last election - how many of those have been actually fulfilled?

Yes, hello to you too Boggle. :rolleyes:

I don't agree with you that all politicians have zero integrity but certainly some of them. That scumbag Lowry is in a class of his own of course.

If you believe (as I do) that "you get the type of government you deserve" then fingers should also be pointed at the electorate.

I'm not defending FF - far from it. Sheep-like support of FF is the main problem with politics in this country.

Sleepy

And would you look at that: www.pantsonfire.ie is available

https://billing.blacknight.ie/order/orderwiz.php?v=1&submit_domain=register&tld_extension=ie&submit=Lookup%2BDomain&domain=pantsonfire

Boggle

Yes, hello to you too Boggle.

Sh1t - forgot the smiley!! Sorry if you took it as a dig of some sort...

If you believe (as I do) that "you get the type of government you deserve" then fingers should also be pointed at the electorate.

Yes, but short of running yourself, then how do you fix the issue?

I'm not defending FF - far from it. Sheep-like support of FF is the main problem with politics in this country.

I would suggest sheep like support of all parties, regardless of their track records are the main problems...

Boggle

And would you look at that: www.pantsonfire.ie is available

Shoot - firewalled. Any chance you'd stick a few examples on as a matter of interest?

Sleepy

You misunderstood Boggle, I meant that the url is available if someone were to start up the site.

Gael

Sleepy wrote:

TBH, I'm largely in the same position (minus the racist bit). There really isn't any party I could fully stand behind in Irish politics. I like the PD's approach to crime but hate Harney for adopting FF's cronyism, I like Labour's ideas about social spending but hate their support for the trade unions, SF I despise, FF I see as a bunch of incompetent buffoons with no real policies, FG I'd see as a more honest version of FF but in league with the farmers (an industry I believe should be forced to be competitive or let die gracefully instead of propped up with good money being thrown after bad). The SWP are lunatics, the Greens have no grasp of reality and so I'm left with no-one to vote for.

It's a lesser of two evils situation every time I go to vote. My last votivote in a general election went on the basis of: Ok couldn't stand for Dana to win so she's no 17, next the Sinners 16, 15 and 14, then FF, etc. etc. until Michael D Higgins got my no 1. Not out of any great admiration for the man or his policies, purely down to the fact his policies were the least offensive to me.

Is this really the way to elect a government?

Well nothings perfect I suppose. I remember hearing a Winston Churchill quote along the lines of
"Yes democracy is a terrible system of government, but it's still a hell of a lot better than all the systems that went before it."

Gurgle

Imho parties should be banned entirely as they all lose sight of their principles and degenerate into fascists of one kind or another after a couple of decades.

Independant candidates only please, and lots of them. They at least tend to have something they want to achieve beyond the glorification of the party, power to the leader and pocket linings for all.

aodh_rua

Sleepy wrote:

Now that would make for an interesting website. Collate the manifestos of every elected TD and check off those promises they have achieved. I'd say we'd be looking at maybe a 10% hit rate?

If someone has the resources to develop this site I'd be more than happy to donate some time to it.

Fine Gael keep their manifestos online.