Lucinda’s Reboot Is More Of The Same
Today Lucinda Creighton finally announced she is setting up a new party in 8 weeks time
Sitting in front of a back drop emblazened with the word “Reboot” she and her cohorts explained that they would be running candidates in the next election and would be offering an alternative to government parties.
Hang on a minute… an alternative ?
How exactly are a group of Fine Gaelers and a few Labour people cobbled together an alternative, when they have exactly the same thinking as the Fine Gael, Fianna Fail, Labour party members who made such a mess of the country in the first place?
There is no new thinking here, just a new extension of the old political dynasties. The clue is in the name behind them. “Reboot” gives away the game that’s going on here.
Anyone who ever used a computer knows that a reboot means you shut down the system because it is malfunctioning, and then you restart the exact same system and continue (until it breaks down again)
What are we really being sold here?
This is not a “new” party. This is not an “alternative” of any value. It is another con. This is the oldest trick in the book, and it has been played on the Irish people before by the status quo parties that have always run our country
If you want to impose your will in Ireland you only need to become the largest party with a workable majority or coalition; this can be achieved with as little as 25 – 30% of the voters that turn out – which means on a 60% turnout you only need to hang on to a party faithful of 18 to 20% of the voters.
So, if you want to rule you must do 2 things: firstly you must prevent a groundswell of opposition uniting against the status quo parties; and secondly stop your party faithful switching allegiance. You are seeing here how they achieve this with this “new party” announcement.
If FG (or FF) want to stay in power the best way to do it in times of unpopularity is to start a new party from your own members. This hoovers up all the wavering party faithful into a small party that they are comfortable in as it is basically the same, and FG (or FF) know they will go into coalition with this offshoot. It also catches many of the undecideds willing to give anything a chance as long as it doesn’t say FF/FG or Labour on the cover.
This is the con, it is designed to simply prop up the status quo in times of trouble. This is not an accident, and all it yields is more of the same long term agenda and no real change for the people.
Yes, it is a reboot, but a reboot of how they conned us with the Progressive Democrats to keep Fianna Fail in (what they feel is) power.
We note Eddie Hobbs has been roped in to add some media star quality, and although we have the utmost respect for Eddie’s work we wonder will he go the same way as fellow economic commentator George Lee who had the same idea becoming a TD in June 2009 only to resign 8 months later through frustration when none of the promises were kept.
If the people really want to end this merry-go-round of status quo political dynasties all contributing to the same disastrous agenda they need to see through this charade. People need to vote the old guard out and vote for something that will truly give them back their power. Vote for “people initiated referendums” and recall of politicians who do not represent you. We had this in our first constitution, these parties took it out.
DDI is the only party that wants to change the political system and put this direct democracy back into our constitution. When you vote please vote for a real change, not another con.
1 Comment
AJ ffrench MILI Landscape Architect
Political Platform
As for your founding principles? Here are 10 key issues/vital challenges not reflected or even mentioned in your platform; you might enlighten yourself and ‘Re-boot#’:-
1. public realm / commonweal and the Common Good > lack of key, inventive professionals in public sector (Landscape Architects, Ecologists, Planners in sharp contrast to other EU / OECD states; Malaysia, Australasia, Canada, Norway, USA)
2. chronic deficienciencies in social justice/immigrant care
3. rampant income inequality and housing/homelessness,
4. inefficient/ineffective land-use/ spatial and infrastructure planning at regional and local levels
5. chronic human capacity/resources problems in public sector (e.g. local government haemorrhaging 35%+ job vacancies > recruitment embargo)
6. food + energy resilience and security,
7. communitarianism and voluntary sector: genuine political support
8. capital investments in agriculture, forestry, horticulture marine: managing resources
9. rural development and green tourism: leveraging to optimal communal benefits
10. Irelands relations with EU and OECD
And, the Cinderella in the room: absolutely and disgracefully nothing on Ireland’s and Europe’s key ENVIRONMENTAL challenges! Nothing to say about the greatest problems of our time of the 21st. century for humanity? Where is ‘ReBoot#’ on Enda Kenny’s, Alan Kelly /Phil Hogan’s appalling record on CLIMATE CHANGE and related environmental crises? For an aspiring political leader and a ‘new party’, to not address the existential zeitgeist of our time, for planet Earth and Ireland is a serious dereliction of duty: a failure to communicate even a basic understanding. You seem completely, ‘behind the curve’! So much for servant leadership.
Centrist / narrowly-focused – a niche-market ‘new party’?
Grounds for confidence in the Irish electorate? Hardly! And all this from a former Irish junior minister for Europe (former FG spokesperson on European Affairs).? For many this evokes thoughts of ‘fool me once….it seems that this ‘party’ is truly a half-formed thing. I respectfully suggest you and your advisers go to ‘boot-camp’ to study some Schumacher, Douthwaite, Marinaleda (Spain), Cloughjordan Eco-Village (Tipperary). Maybe then you’ll disavow the crony capitalism and failed economic orthodoxy of Neo-liberalism (‘Chicago School’) that has and continues to destroy much of the planet’s resources and societies, including Ireland. Or is ‘Re-boot#’ continually addicted, like many Irish capitalists, to the ‘Growth Delusion’ of late 20th. Capitalism?
Less than 12 months from the next General Election from a much-respected professional, careerist politician! Explicitly vague ‘values’, somewhat gombledee-gook economics, no social policies (e.g. “lifestyle” standard – is that ‘Sindo’-supplement lingo?) and absolutely nothing on planning and environment, which were instrumental in our demise (apart from an apparent late wake-up call to expand our investment models- not to focus on property/construction); but nothing on Site Valuation or Dereliction fines/taxes. Yes to SME’s, but Eureka, many, many green economics have been screaming that since the 1970’s (ref. Douthwaite, Mondrian, Schumacher, Juan Gordillo).
Public Sector
Oh and as for making the public sector “public” – what on earth does that mean in practice? chronic human capacity/resources problems in public sector. For example, local government sub-sector is haemorrhaging 35%+ job vacancies since 2008 > recruitment embargo! (In one Dublin council division there’s a 50% vacancy rate, but it’ not allowed recruit!)
As for making the public sector “public” – what on earth does that mean in practice Are they even aware of the current, chronic human capacity/resources problems across the entire public sector. For example, in the Local Government sub-sector – already burdened with increased functions, duties and work packages – it is haemorrhaging jobs at a circa 35%+ (job vacancies/ 9,000 less employees since 2008; and more redundancies planned by DoECLG/Minister Howlin). There is an evident brain-drain and ageing workforce, with incentivised early retirements, appallingly low morale and little or no promotional prospects. The Government’s recruitment embargo is raw, inappropriate and needs urgent focused- relaxation.
So, there’s no sense or need to performance rewards – you missing the crucial issues: human resources capacity to delivery quality workplace functioning and services. Rewards are actually already being implemented under PMDS and related reforms. Are you not aware of this?. Ignorance of these and related facts displays a barely-conceived contempt and indifference to the realities of public sector workers’ lives.
Yours Sincerely,
____________________
Aidan J. ffrench MILI
Past-President, Irish Landscape Institute
Irish Urban Forum (2005-2009)
European Federation of Landscape Architects (Brussels) (2005-2010)