Election 2016 - Village Magazine

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Issue 42

February 2016

Election 2016

More of the same, disappointingly.

n 2011 we wrote in this space, “You would think

from our recent history of some of the most noto-

riously bad governance on the planet, that we

would have learnt that our political classes need

to be replaced. In fact, this election time we see

no new ideas”.

Sadly democracy in Ireland needs an overhaul every

bit as much now as it did in 2011. Village is disappointed

at the quality of politics, across the range. It’s easily

diagnosed:

Fine Gael is open to regressive policies and crony-

ism. However, at least on its own terms it deserves

credit because it has consistently stuck to its agenda

of (unimaginative) economic orthodoxy and because

Enda Kenny has proved relatively competent, in the face

of scepticism, including from this magazine. In 2011, we

stated, “ Perhaps it is a unique merit of Fine Gael that

if it is elected with a mandate, this time it may actually

govern as it has campaigned. The electorate will be able

to assess whether what it voted for was what it wanted”.

This edition of Village explores at length the extent to

which the coalition government delivered on its Pro

gramme for Government. It’s a fair test and it shows

that, beyond promoting economic stability, the Govern-

ment has been a disappointment.

Labour certainly does not have the Fine Gael appeal

of consistency. It never does what its manifestos prom-

ise. Worse, a number of its senior TDs have allowed

themselves to appear smug and ideologically jaded or

even, in Alan Kelly’s case, dangerous. Because of the

elasticity of its conscience Labour has long attracted

the wrong type of representatives.

Fianna Fáil is tainted by its reckless past and the inco-

herence of its platform. It believes serving the people,

parish and business in equal measure is viable. It has

learnt little beyond the need to regulate the banks.

Sinn Féin’s commitment to a Left agenda is unclear

bearing in mind its deﬁning preference for irredentist

nationalism over ideology, its centrist pragmatism in

the North and its willingness to coalesce with Fianna

Fáil. Its performance at local-authority level is not

impressive or particularly leftist. It is cultist, and ambiv-

alent about democracy and transparency, and its

leaders lie casually about its, and particularly its leader

Gerry Adams’, past.

Renua seems like a somehow unendearing chip off

Fine Gael’s Christian Democratic block, with a penchant

for propriety.

The Independent Alliance (dubbed Shane Féin) is

utterly incoherent of policy and membership. If ex-

stockbroker Mr Ross and turfcutter Michael Fitzmaurice

ever breathed an atom of the same political air, Village

cannot imagine where it was.

Village has a weakness for the Social Democrats,

whose mild platform is essentially the same as

Labour’s, though strangely more pro-business, but

whose small membership is more prepossessing.

Its antipathy to water taxes is expedient but

regrettable.

The radical Left offers the huge appeal of integrity

and seriousness but its opposition to property taxes is

inexcusable, and its focus on opposition to the loathed

water taxes rather than a broader anti-inequality plat-

form, including opposition to the iniquities of Nama,

corruption and the resurrection of the developer

classes has diverted its revolutionary ideology.

The Green Party’s policies are often radical, and its

agenda mature, but it is not hard-minded and it

achieved so little in the last government that it is difﬁ-

cult to be enthusiastic.

To the extent that we have not afforded space in this

edition of Village to the policies and protagonists of

most of these parties, it is because they simply don’t

offer enough to justify it.

Village believes equality of outcome, sustainability

and accountability are the most important policies; and

it is difﬁcult to be optimistic about their immediate Irish

prospects.

Laboured machinations over the ﬁscal space are

ephemeral, though most of the other media address

little else.

Reﬂecting the need for a vision of society as well as

economy this edition focuses on the coalition’s delivery

across a number of departments that promote equality,

sustainability and accountability, though we do have

articles by Constantin Gurdgiev, Michelle Murphy and

Sinead Pentony on the iniquitous handling of the frag-

ile economy.

We consider Education, Health, Social Welfare, Envi-

ronment including climate change, Small Firms policy,

and Accountability. These departments make life worth

living. We systematically assess whether they achieved

the goals set by the Government for each of them when

it took ofﬁce.

In the end the conclusion is that they have under-

performed. And so therefore has the unimaginative,

regressive and stolid Government behind them.

Against this backdrop, we would again not presume

to advise readers where to direct their votes.

However, we can say the non-ideological, non-

visionary parties of the pragmatic centre hold little

appeal, even when mitigated by somewhat more

thoughtful ones.

A coalition of the parties of the Left, radical Left and

the Greens would, as always, best promote Village’s

agenda, if no doubt imperfectly.

Village Magazine promotes

in its columns the fair

distribution of resources,

welfare, respect and

opportunity by the analysis

and investigation of

inequalities, unsustainable

development and corruption,

and the media’s role in their

perpetuation; and by acute

cultural analysis.

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4 February 2016

2016 REPORT CARD

COVER STORY

  Joe O’Hr

  

Ptrici Clln

  Michel Smith

  

Michel Smith

  

Michel Smith

  John Gibbons

  Dvid Frrell

EDITORIAL

  

NEWS

  

  

Ken Foxe

ELECTION SPECIAL

  Eoin O’Mlley

  

Joe Higgins

  

Frnk Armstrong

  

Michel Collins

 COVER STORY 

Frnk Connolly

  Michel Smith

  

John Gormley

GENERAL DELIVERY

COVER STORY

  

Constntin Gurdgiev

  

Anton McCbe

  

Sinéd Pentony

  

Michelle Murphy

  Nill Crowley

POLITICS

  

Lorrine Courtney

  

Ivn Bcik

  

Ursul Kilkelly

OPINION

  

Ailbhe Smyth

  



Conor Lenihn

  

Eoin O’Mlley

MEDIA

  

Gerrd Cunninghm

CULTURE

 Kevin Kiely



  Desmond Fennell

ENVIRONMENT

  

Michel Smith

  George Monbiot

INTERNATIONAL

  

Anthony Coughln

  Frnk Armstrong

  Lorn Gold

  

CONTENTS











Clariﬁcations

✓ Village 







✓ Village

Village

written

February 2016 5

THE DUBLIN INDEPENDENT

Mannix

FLYNN

VOTE

DUBLIN BAY SOUTH