Should FG split and their TDs merge with PDs and Labour??

Chaos-Engine

I've been watching much tele and listening to the radio the last 2 days non-stop. All the talk of who will led FG and where is the party to go from here.
In my view and in the view of some political commentators FG should dissolve and go its seperate ways. The party is a mix of IFA, Christian Democrats(Bruton camp), Social Democrats(Noonan camp) and Pro-Treaty grannies(the only core FG vote)...

The Christian Democrat/IFA quater led by the Bruton's and Gay Mitchell should head off and join the PDs giving them further support. This would create a real right-wing/neo-liberalist party in the Dáil.
The Social Democrat camp should look to Rory Quinn for leadership and join the Labour party. This will galvinise the left creating real choice in Irish politics.

It would be a tragady if FG were to continue as they are and attempt to weather the storm. This isn't good for the party and esspecially not good for the people of Ireland...

I call to all FG members. Make your voices heard and set the scenes for REAL change in Irish politics....
FG is a spent force and should resign itself to reality just as Noonan has done...

Victor

Why are you presenting this as a done deal - "FG to split and merge with PDs and Labour"?

Mills

I like the idea tbh, hopefully this result will bring about some sort of change in irish politics, maybe even get some real differences between the parties(!).

Change that topic title though, I read it and nearly spat my drink out.

deco

Too true...tis a pretty bold topic title....if not completely misleading

Like the idea though...might prevent FF geting into government all the bloody time....

Any other country and we'd have lynched them by now

Chaos-Engine

Question marks added to title should solve my misleading previous title

gandalf

I edited the main thread title to reflect that it wasn't actually fact but a suggestion.

I think the idea has merit. It is obvious that FG will no longer be able to challange FF properly as they are at the moment. Whose going to lead them all the ones I would have seen going for the leadership are typing up their CV's tonight after they lost their seats.

Gandalf.

Chaos-Engine

If there are any Fine Gael supports on these boards(not that it is likely you will admit it j/k ) please tell me what this radical yet highly possible proposle is to you.
Would it work?
I think it can. Bruton has already expressed wishes to lead FG again but in a Christian Democratic direction. This in my opinion will throw off its Social Democrat base it has built up in the last year. By simply electing a new leader the party may well self-destruct itself on redirecting its policy.
The main problem with Irish politics is the fact that there are two pratically identical parties fighting for control. It is now that things may never be the same. I hope that FG doesn't make a come back. I wanted one of the FF/FG to fall. Polarisation is good for the people of ireland. Lets hope that FG realise this too and disband.

Disclaimer: "I in no way am a FF supporter."

swiss

I would describe myself as a Fine Gael supporter, and although I think that the idea you propose is indeed radial and feasible, I do not think it at all likely.

Fine Gael are still the second largest party in Irish politics. This is despite the fact that they managed to win the lowest number of seats for their party since 1948. Fine Gael does indeed have a diverse background to reflect the diversity of people that join the party. It is this reconciliation of different backgrounds that gives the party such a unique place within Irish politics.

I believe that in the last election Fine Gael lost sight of their core polices, those which have guided the party through the last century. Fine Gael have always been advocates of economic and financial prudence, an image that has been lost in the last election due to the ill advised policy of refunding disgruntled eircom shareholders (a very high profile decision).

You are correct when you say that a lot of Fine Gael's core party support resides in country areas. This is due to several reasons, some of which are historical, but most of which originate through the blatant favouritism Dublin in particular enjoys when it comes to the allocation of resources.

Originally posted by Chaos-Engine:

Polarisation is good for the people of ireland

I'm not so sure about this. Polarisation of parties do give people a clear cut choice about party policy, be it left or right wing, conservative or liberal, isolationist or expansionistic. However, policy and politics are rarely so clear cut. I for example see relatively little difference in social policy between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. The reason why I vote for Fine Gael is because I do not see in them the institutionalised corruption that I see as being almost endemic to the Fianna Fail organisation (amongst other reasons).

I also like to have (even a misguided) sense of choice. Why should I have to choose between voting for a party for which I have such grave misgivings, or a party whose political and social aims do not match my own? It is in the countys own interests to have a strong opposition to any government, to form as a sort of a check should they be deficient in any way. In this respect, Fine Gael have been unsuccesful, largely because people were willing to look past the glaring inadequecies of Fianna Fail and into their own pocket to make them vote for the party once more. Not because Fine Gael are a spent force - because they certainly are not.

deco

In 1994 they were asking the same question....

However it just shows how without direction FG have been for so long.

The party need to make themselves a viable alternative to the FF hegemony that exists in this country.

I would regard myself as an FG friendly turned floating voter who is reasonably happy with the out go-ing government.

I heard Billy Timmins on East coast Radio say that FG were basically trying to reach out to all sorts in recent years and had in doing so, alienated their traditional supporters.
I'd have thought that they were a conservative party - alligning themselves with Democratic left in the rainbow changed that utterly for me.
It's clear from the election results that former FG voters headed in droves to the PD's where they could.
And seeing how Pat Rabbitte and Ruairi Quinn struggled-many labour"democratic left" supporters headed to the Greens and Sinn Féin.
Fianna Fáil on the other hand seem to always hold their core support and in these times when the civil war is long forgotten, they are getting the feel good vote aswell.
You will not be seeing any FG PD merger

The next election will tell a better tale-It's too early to draw conclusions from this one, other than the obvious.
This Govt. is facing into difficult fiscal times and what it achieves over the next five years , it will have to answer for.
I suspect it won't be too easy for them, if the waiting lists are still as long and taxes have gone up.
mm

mike65

I've mentioned this in one of the threads over at General Election,
FG need to adopt a centre-right ecomonic approach which would align them with the PDs' not Labour. On social issues they needs to be progressive even if that alienates the sterotypical Meath rancher types. So the best of capitalism with the best of the "Garret-the-Good" era. Okay it won't win them power back anytime soon but I think in the long run thats thier best chance.

Trouble is they may simply go for some quick fix and try to woo Labours 21 seats...

Mike.