NEW YORK BOSTON |#Popular: Irish Celebrity Gossip Irish in US Politics Irish Festivals Irish Roots Irish Entertainment Offbeat Irish

Home Page > Blogs > News blogs > Periscope > Can Ireland be saved? Newsweek asks the question as election looms

Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Can Ireland be saved? Newsweek asks the question as election looms

Posted on Monday, February 21, 2011 at 07:29 AM

Larger Text

E-mail

19 Comments

RSS

Archives

"Can Ireland Be Saved?" is the bold headline that "Newsweek" runs this week when looking at the Irish election.

Certainly not by the current government is the first answer.

In the new Irish Times poll, satisfaction in with the Irish government is at 4 percent, which tells you all you need to know about what will happen on Friday when the election takes place.

These guys make the U.S. Senate look like Ronald Reagan in terms of popularity.

We know what is going to happen on Friday.

Fianna Fail, the party which has taken the largest percentage of votes in every Irish election since 1927, will likely be reduced to the third largest party in the state, with an outside chance that Sinn Fein could even pip them for that.

This will be an earthquake of an Irish election, where all the known factors in previous elections will be gone with the wind.

As for Fianna Fail, the 78 seats after the last election could be as low as 20-25 on this occasion, not quite annihilation but not far from it.

That wind is now squarely behind the Fine Gael opposition leader Enda Kenny, who will be Ireland's next Prime Minister.

All that needs to be decided is whether he will preside over a single party government, one with a few independents giving Fine Gael their 84 seat number for a majority, or a coalition with the Labor Party.

The second of those two possibilities is the most likely in my opinion.

In that case it will be up to Kenny and his cabinet to save Ireland.

That may sound overly dramatic, but it is not. The economy is in such bad shape, so many Irish are leaving the country and so much needs to be worked out with the International Monetary Fund and European Union that the next leader can expect many sleepless nights.

Kenny could be up for it. He is used to doing the impossible. After the 2002 election he took over Fine Gael when the party had only 31 seats and seemingly locked out of power for ever.

He rebuilt Fine Gael to where they are now within shouting distance of single party government for the first time ever.

Ireland will need that magic touch come Friday's resuts.

E-mail

19 comments

Next Page 1 of 2 pages

jacersagain | Feb 23, 2011, 04:42 PM EST

Searlit, now that you mention it, I can see why you'd worry: Methinks you’re right there re Enda. Under his 5-point plan, he’s gonna dump every 1 out of every 4 public servants (including frontliners like nurses, docs, ambulance ppl, police and those who process claims for unemployment and old-age pensioners weekly dues) on the unemployed list. We better keep our health, there’ll be no one under Enda around to look after us, mind us or to give money to the EU/IMF scroungers :-(

Report abuse

Searlit | Feb 23, 2011, 11:44 AM EST

I hope you're right jacersagain. I'm worried about Enda Kenny wanting to privatize health care, and the EU allowing GE foods to be imported. You Irish will have to keep yourselves healthy if you're going to keep saving the rest of us.

Report abuse

jacersagain | Feb 22, 2011, 05:24 PM EST

Who said Ireland needs saving? Weren't we the ones who saved many souls? Weren't we the ones who made America? Weren't we the ones greatest at donating to poverty causes? Aren't we the ones who are gonna save the EU/IMF? Who said Ireland needs saving???? Eh?

Report abuse

jedswims | Feb 22, 2011, 05:10 PM EST

she will flounder for a while but never go under....they are way too intelligent and proud to let that happen...

Report abuse

Towngate | Feb 22, 2011, 10:40 AM EST

WELL OF COURSE IRELAND CAN BE SAVED! ~ This election is just to deside who will put in the call to London!

Report abuse

mamaginnty | Feb 22, 2011, 10:06 AM EST

F.G. and Labour are already cutting each others throats, so how is a coalition going to work. Both parties are quick to say it was all F.Fs. fault that things are so bad now, that F.F. dropped the basic wage, F.F. cut the welfare money, F.F. cut the childrens allowance, F.F. cut cut cut. Now how come Kenny of F.G. says he will have to cut more, that things are going to get even worse. They blame the 1 party but are going to cut even more. The first party F.F were bad enough, but F.G and Labour are going to make it worse. Most of the irish voters just do not know who to vote for. The newspapers are full of who they think will win, myself I think come Saturday they could be in for a shock. S,Feinn can not make head of government, but if they have enough seats in the Dail they are not afraid to stand up to the government. S.F. are the only ones who are taking the basic industrial wage and no expenses claim. This alone is sickening the big parties, fair play to them, I know who I am going to vote for.

Report abuse

antoman | Feb 22, 2011, 05:51 AM EST

Enda Kenny is a thief and perhaps guilty of fraud.Cut from the same cloth as his predecessors.FG,FF,Labour,the greens all contributed to the demise of this country and the loss of our economic independence.Its time for real change.Out with the old in with the new.I see no other option than to vote for Sinn Fein.

Report abuse

greensod | Feb 21, 2011, 09:40 PM EST

It really makes no difference FG ,FF, Labour, Green,all the same.Ireland was sold to the EU/IMF.But no worries Sinn Fein will get it back in about twenty years.

Report abuse

barneyjo | Feb 21, 2011, 08:30 PM EST

"The twisted wreckage down on main street will bring us all together in the end, and we'll go marching down the road to Freedom!! (Paul Brady)

Report abuse

LoyalCitizen | Feb 21, 2011, 05:11 PM EST

"Can Ireland be saved?"....Not with destroying the judicial system of Ireland first....Successive so called Irish Governments have been using opinions to steal from social welfare recipients for over a decade....Those employed in law have fully co-operated with the crimes and looked the other way.

Report abuse

Taho1221 | Feb 21, 2011, 02:46 PM EST

Niall, I would like to hear your opinion. Ireland is bankrupt and now all but owned by Europe and IMF. This is the major issue for the election and for the people. Why does Enda Kenny and your brother, Fergus O'Dowd still harp on Gerry Adams' past and try to smear him and make it a campaign issue?

Report abuse

LilPaddy | Feb 21, 2011, 02:17 PM EST

Keep in mind, Its always been true when said THAT THE PEOPLE(s) OF THE WORLD... HAVE THE GOVERNMENTS THAT THEY DESERVE... That is true today; and it will be true after this election, and we will only have ourselves to thank... OR BLAME!! And just who is going to get the job of washing the feet of an abused and used nation?? Maybe The Pope and his tribe would be up for the job?

Report abuse

DrTrelawney | Feb 21, 2011, 12:58 PM EST

I don't think the wind is "squarely behind" Kenny at all. I think, rather, the wind is so strongly in Fianna Fáil's face that just by standing still he will be propelled towards a landslide. There is no enthusiasm for this uncharismatic, prissy little weasel. Oh and one other thing. It's "the Labour Party", not "the Labor Party". That's its proper name. So, even when writing in an American publication, one should spell it so.

Report abuse

antoman | Feb 21, 2011, 10:55 AM EST

Politics has failed in Ireland.The politicians have failed the country and shamed the people.Were it not exposed Enda Kenny was quite happy to take a lump sum of E100,000 and a yearly pension of E30,000 from the people of Ireland for doing a four year stint as a teacher..four years!!.The people are disenchanted with politics.What Ireland needs now is a Genghis Khan or Chairman Mao type leadership.An agreeable despot.I therefore propose we ship GeorgeDillon/Woundedbollix over here to rule over the country with a benevolent fist.

Report abuse

WhistleblowerIR | Feb 21, 2011, 10:31 AM EST

@Trigger Accountability? in Ireland? I can only share your hope. Having met with leaders at Fine Gael & Labour, both of whom were allegedly keen to seek accountability in my case, I am beginning to wonder do they know what it means. I resigned from my position as the Risk Manager of UniCredit Bank Ireland in 2007. The matter has been raised in the Seanad and in the Dail, and more recently - in the Austrian parliament, but silence from official Dublin prevails. Village magazine dedicated it Dec-Jan cover story to it, the Sunday Business Post has written about it, and so has the Irish Times. But still, there are no answers... I resigned in order not to incriminate myself over liquidity regulations that came into force in 2007. We were breaching requirements by 1900% (YES, ONE THOUSAND and NINE HUNDRED PERCENT). Turns out, none of the Irish banks were compliant, hence the bank guarantee of Sept 2008. What did the Financial Regulator do? He re-issued the requirements, citing Banking Acts as far back as 1942, but NEVER mentioned that this was law in 2007. Fianna Fail knew EXACTLY what it was doing when it put Alan Dukes, a Fine Gael man, in charge of Anglo-Irish bank; Pandora's box is safe. To read more about my story, please visit my blog. It includes links to all relevant debates and articles: http://whistleblowerirl.blogspot.com/ UniCredit is the main defendant in the Madoff suits lodged by Picard in New-York. UniCredit also owns Pioneer - one of the largest investment managers on the east coast of the US.

Report abuse

Next Page 1 of 2 pages