Where was the talk of “parity of esteem” when Fine Gael was leading the polls? – Irish weather

A novelty of the post-electoral political landscape is that the life of the new government will coincide very closely with the five-year cycle of local elections and the European Parliament. This likely means that there will be few opportunities for voters to express their opinions or for new names to prove themselves on the political scene before the next parliamentary elections which will probably take place in the summer of 2029 — apart from presidential elections in 10 months and perhaps in some referendums.

This consideration may loom large in the minds of some senior members of the Labor Party, such as its leader, Ivana Bacik, and two former officials, Ged Nash and Alan Kelly. I can well understand the attraction of the position for them.

But the problem with entering into a coalition with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael is that from day one they would be under the sustained and thunderous left-wing barrage of Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats, the people before profit.

Moreover, as coalition partners, they would be most concerned with their political survival and avoiding the bleak fate of the Greens – a factor which could well lead them to prematurely abandon some principled points aimed at restoring the credibility of the left.

Given the fragmented state of the likely opposition, the obvious, safer and more sustainable alternative for Fianna Fáil is to lead a coalition with Fine Gael, with the committed support of a group of experienced centrist independent TDs – with or without some of them. Independents occupying certain ministerial functions. Most independents are opposed to premature dissolutions of the Dáil and many will act accordingly.

There is always the danger that the Dublin establishment and media will view the demands of regional independents as “parochial pomp” or “parochial pomp”, but view the concerns of urban TDs over regeneration programs as “progressive” and “socially concerned”.

This brings me to another phrase that has appeared in the last 48 hours: “parity of esteem”. Perhaps the “charity of amnesia” is what is needed. With Fine Gael leading the opinion polls a week into the election campaign, with 25 percent support in this newspaper’s poll published on November 14, there was no question of parity of esteem for Fianna Fáil, which seemed to trail them at 19 percent. hundred. There was no question of a rotating taoiseach then, and there was little political solidarity displayed, to say the least.

But it’s now. Fianna Fáil has 48 seats, Sinn Féin has 39 seats and Fine Gael has 38 seats. The two major parties have 86 seats between them, two seats short of a narrow majority. With the support of a reliable group among independents, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have the mandate that the majority of Irish voters have always favored: to form a centrist government free of ideological tensions and pretensions.

Having come from Fine Gael and having held a position in Fianna Fáil for eight years, I think I have a good understanding of how these parties view each other. They have much more in common than what divides them. There is no substantial moral or ethical gap between their values, as some of their supporters like to believe.

Where they seem to have the most difficulty is in the area of ​​housing policy. With a clear five-year horizon, this is an area where they could make a huge difference – if they grasp the constraints on housing supply. This is an area that requires radical change. Relying on the unfortunate combination of customs and prefectures masquerading as our local government system to solve our housing supply problem is hopeless.

Is housing policy today considered “Angola” as Brian Cowen of the health portfolio said? While reading Eoghan Murphy’s memoir, Running From Office, I came across an interesting reference to a melancholy statement by a senior customs official that life was simpler when they only had to worry about of the environment and local government rather than responsibility for housing. policy. Unless radical steps are taken to accelerate the supply of housebuilding, and unless a minister with the appetite and ability to drive this change is appointed, the new government will be seen as a failure.

We absolutely need reform of compulsory purchasing. We must free up land for building and fight against urban abandonment and underdevelopment. The new administration absolutely must participate in the debate on asylum seeking at the European Union level to put an end to the racket that associates asylum seeking and migration – a racket which continues to cost billions of euros. We simply cannot face a housing crisis if we take in 30,000 asylum seekers on top of other migrants every year. Forget fancy election promises. Continue your daily work.