FF/FG/Green Government - Part 3 - Threadbanned User List in OP

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The whole notion of political tactics and strategy has passed you by. Well don't come running when you get a surprise.

A motion of no confidence has never been won in the history of the state without one party in/supporter of government either leaving government or withdrawing support.

It has only ever happened twice - in 1992 when the PDs left government and in 1982 and in workers party withdrawing support.

Did you forget to read the article before you linked to it?

Despite things getting hostile during 2010 they still included health issues as a valid reason for pairing.

Because the Greens are really two parties. The first was well described as "FG on bikes". The second are water melons who are Green on the outside but Labour on the inside. They accidentally ended up in the Greens after Labour was obliterated in 2016. Some of them split to form the Green Left party but that seems to be a victim of political climate change. The Greens also benefited from SF transfers in 2016 and at least one Green TD won a seat based on these transfers and FG candidates knocking each other out. SF always plays the long game. In 2002, it only had 5 seats. In 2020, it won more seats than FG.

I don't think that SF expected the increase in support and had chosen its candidates before that increase was apparent. Both FF and FG also seem to have based their candiate strategies and selection on the support at the end of 2019. Parties apparently do that. If a floating voter like myself understands that, it doesn't say much for party supporters who are supposed to know these things.

SF was reinventing itself at the time of the last LEs/Euros. It was moving away from the old Adams leadership towards the MLMcD leadership and the new political brand wasn't quite established. The indications were apparent to anyone who wasn't mainlining the effluent that laughably passes for political analysis in media. SF's level of campaigning, as shown by information from the Abu "story" that accidentally caused GDPR problems for FG, and Social Media is well beyond the antics of the Strategic Communications Unit members of FG and the nod and a wink merchants in FF. SF has combined a digital marketing strategy with old fashioned local campaigning. And FG? Varadkar working lines from movies for teenage girls into Dail speeches for likes on Twitter isn't quite in the same class, is it?

The rise of SF and the forced duelling banjos partnership of FF/FG isn't an anomaly. It is the rise of a traditional Left/Right axis in Irish politics with the Right of centre (represented by FG, Martin's clique in FF and Labour) being highly contested and, on the other side, with SF effectively taking over the centre and Left of centre part of the political spectrum.

Regards...jmcc

So when was this? And 300 sounds like a remarkably small sample size for a RedC poll as it generally uses sample size of around 1K.

Regards...jmcc

There's a quote from James Reilly (I think in an Irish Times article) saying that the Black and Tans/RIC commemoration was an FG own goal. There's a serious lack of leadership in FG. FG's biggest mistake, apart from the FG parliamentary party politburo installing Varadkar as leader over the wishes of the FG grassroots, has been to go into government with FF. Even though FF has Housing and Health, the fallout from both of these issues is affecting FG. Had FG been in opposition, it might be doing a lot better in the polls.

Regards...jmcc

It was a mistake they were forced into making. Part of the change brought about by a more organised opposition not prepared to be their whipping boys and girls.

A merger in other words. A tempestuous merger full of all the bitterness of old civil war wounds, but a merger nonetheless. And it is being highlighted more and more by that opposition.

Not the point about Harney. Neither FF nor FG aspire to opposition like some of the entrenched. I disagree on Donnelly. He's never been in command of his brief and only he thinks he's brilliant. Folks down Wicklow way tell me he's likely to be a goner at election time but who's to know.

There was no real ethos in the PDs other than power for the sake of power. Take away that power and such a party collapses. FG wanted to go into opposition according to some reports. SF beating them into third place changed the dynamics.

Regards...jmcc

Yes, it will be interesting to see if the desire to claw back an identity will grow legs. I think it will tear them apart, strikes me that Martin's legacy will be to leave a very brittle party of factions.

Bacik is exactly what the dying Labour Party did not need- another woke, virtue signalling pampered Trinity leftie. But realistically she sums them up

No doubting her Abilities, intellect and legal mind but , she's really not made the slightest difference so far , despite genuinely good Dail performances to be fair but I sense the Damage has been done and just looking at this party from a lay perspective, few of the parties TD'S seem to give a shyte,

I've seen occasions were Bacik was in the Dail on her own during debates, it looks terrible and that Aodhán Ó Ríordáin seems to have gone missing, he'd pop up constantly on radio and TV before Alan Kellys departure, now , barely a whimper out of him (no bad thing, I might add) 😏