The Portuguese suicide | 53 comments (52 topical, 1 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: The Portuguese suicide (4.00 / 3)

People who criticised Fianna Fail for being neo-lib were being inaccurate. Fianna Fail actually has a strong tradition of state led enterprise and national self-sufficiently and built up much of the economic infrastructure of the country(1933-73). It was actually partly this interventionist streak which led them to over-enthusiastically engage to "save" the banks. A true neoliberal would have let them go bust/default/restructure.

Although in later years (1979-2003), the neo-lib wing of Fianna Fail came to greater prominence, Bertie Ahern actually exiled McCreevy to Europe for being too enthusiastically neo-lib and the neo-lib Progressive Democrat party never got more than a single figure percentage of the vote, and has now disappeared altogether.

Fine Gael, the party now in power, on the other hand, has always been more conservative and wedded to a class system in which the professional classes are outrageously over-paid. It is Fine Gael who are enthusiastically embracing the shock doctrine as an opportunity to dismantle the "bloated" public sector largely built up under Fianna Fail governance.

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Fri Jun 17th, 2011 at 12:54:55 PM EST

Re: The Portuguese suicide (4.00 / 5)

Elections are lost, not won.

If there's no one to the left of the party in power people vote for the next best thing, which is the party to the right.

This doesn't get them the result they want, but it takes most of them a couple of years to work this out.

And when there's no option to vote for what they do want on the ballot, it's not as if they have much of a choice anyway.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Fri Jun 17th, 2011 at 06:52:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Portuguese suicide (none / 1)

The Irish five party system does give a reasonable degree of choice, its just that the intellectual calibre of the candidates on offer leaves a lot to be desired. Most have swallowed the Austrian doctrine either enthusiastically or on a TINA basis. It is the intellectual decline of Keynesian-ism and social democracy, at least in terms of public discourse,which has resulted in the right being able to generate a TINA narrative - that and the turd way social democrats...

Index of Frank's Diaries

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Fri Jun 17th, 2011 at 08:25:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Portuguese suicide (none / 0)

There is NO choice in Irish politics. Lipstick wont dress up the failed elite no matter the shirt colour. I was called delinquent by friends because I spoiled my vote in last Irish election - saying on Ballot. 'This is a choice? What a Joke!'. I am proud to say that. Reall Democeacy Now!

by irishhead on Tue Jun 21st, 2011 at 01:27:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The Portuguese suicide (none / 0)

"If God had intended us to vote, he would have given us candidates."

Bumper sticker during the Clinton/Dole presidential contest.

History is a Weapon

_{aspiring to genteel poverty}

by edwin (eeeeeeee222222rrrrreeeeeaaaaadddddd@@@@yyyyaaaaaaa) on Thu Jun 23rd, 2011 at 06:12:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

The Portuguese suicide | 53 comments (52 topical, 1 editorial, 0 hidden)

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