LIAM BLUNDELL, political commentator
With one day to go…
Some last minute decision making will be done by many voters, young and old alike, in the final day preceeding this election, which could well earn the title of the most important in the history of the State. The political candidates will be out in force and as we have seen from the previous articles, polls and news updates; Fine Gael could be in for a first one party government since 1987, when Haughey led Fianna Fáil in the 25th Dáil.
Now, 6 Dáil elections later and one in the throws of its imminent birth we find ourselves at the last week of canvassing. Who will get the chance to impliment their policies to rectify the mess left by the previous three Governments? Will it be the favourites, Fine Gael and Enda Kenny, to take the helm of the sinking ship, kept only from the choppy seas by the IMF and EU lifevests? Will it be the Labour Party? Has the “Gilmore Gale “ one last gust left before the 25th of February? Or will Sinn Féin stun the majority and form it’s first Government? Not very likely considering the lead Enda Kenny has built up over the course of this electoral campaign. Michéal Martin has salvaged what is left of the devastated Fianna Fáil, who’s destiny seems to lie in the doldrums.
So lets have a brief run-down of the political parties main policies against each other:
Fine Gael and Fianna Fail would both increase the college fees if elected. nLabour and Sinn Féin would reverse the minimum wage cut and want a greater empasis on tax. Fine Gael would abolish the HSE completely with the others keeping it but with a total re-organisation. My own opinion on this is the HSE needs a total wipeout with less bureacracy (I know some is needed to run the damned thing) and more emphasis on patient care as individuals rather than just a patient being a statistic. All parties agree on dealing with negative equity, albeit differently. Fianna Fáil and the Greens are the only two parties who would not renegotiate with some bank bondholders, Labour, Sinn Féin and Fine Gael would and the three major parties finally agree on something, renegotiate the interest rate paid to the ESF.
Ok, so it wasn’t very brief after all. All I can say is, if I were voting in this election, I would take some sound advice from Jesse Jackson, heard yesterday on RTE Radio 1 and not to vote with rage, but vote with passion.
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