A poll is a snapshot, capturing a moment in time. A still image, and a blurry one at that. The margin of error (usually around three percent) means the picture isn’t always crystal clear. The margin of error can also tempt newspapers, hungry for exciting headlines, to pump up a statistically insignificant gain or loss in… Continue reading Snapshots, moving pictures, and unknowns
Tag: Fianna Fáil
RTÉ and the political lobby
“Labour want US style political advertising” It wasn’t the biggest ever story, but the Sunday Times liked it enough to pay me for it. It even got a bit of social media traction at the time. And it was based on three lines at the end of an internal RTÉ memo. In May 2010, a… Continue reading RTÉ and the political lobby
The Wild Irish
“Politics with Hidden Bases” looked at Irish TDs, and found Fianna Fáil TDs are more likely than average to have Gaelic surnames, while Fine Gael have an above-average number of Old English surnames. The explanation offered is that in patriarchal households, so you vote like your Da, not your Ma, and the Gaels are rebels.… Continue reading The Wild Irish
Grassroots
On the day Irish newspapers led with a historic first placing for Labour, James Lawless blogged a not-bad analysis of Fianna Fáil’s current woes from the perspective of an ordinary cumann member. James believes his party is no longer corrupt, but distinguishes corruption from graft. He criticises ‘Carpetbaggers’ loading up on expenses, or jostling for… Continue reading Grassroots
Willie Woes
Green party senator Dan Boyle used his twitter account to express his frustration after the government won a Dáil vote of confidence in Defence minister Willie O’Dea earlier today. The Cork-based politician said he was “not happy with what happened today” using the online messaging service. “As regards to Minister O’Dea I don’t have confidence… Continue reading Willie Woes
Rock Bottom
Anyone seeking for a metaphor for all that is wrong with Ireland at the moment need look no farther than the Dublin docklands. There, you will find the proposed new headquarters for Anglo Irish Bank, a building planned in happier days, before the bank imploded and was nationalised. A government strapped for cash as tax… Continue reading Rock Bottom
Home Thoughts While Abroad
I spent most of the week in London. From what I saw in newspapers and on television while there, Gordon Brown seemed preoccupied by the ongoing row over MPs expenses. He lost another minister on Wednesday, though Kitty Ussher was keen to say in her resignation letter that she had done nothing wrong, and was… Continue reading Home Thoughts While Abroad
Two Hundred Words to John Gormley
Dear John, Right now, you’re probably wondering where to begin. Half your membership wants you to pull out of coalition on Tuesday, the rest want you to stick the course. The wiser course is probably to knuckle down and get on with it. But to make that work, you need to change some things. First.… Continue reading Two Hundred Words to John Gormley
Just One Ireland
Fianna Fáil has the support of one in five voters, if the latest Irish Times poll is to be believed. Labour are three points ahead of them, and Fine Gael lead the pack with 36%. Independents are supported by one in ten, Sinn Féin by one in twelve, and the Greens by only 3%, a… Continue reading Just One Ireland
What Dan Boyle really meant in Tralee
Dan Boyle went down to Tralee last week to say ‘something controversial’. Boyle must have been aware of poll findings, and told his Kerry audience it was time to review the programme for government. ‘Most of the Green Party elements of it have now been implemented,’ Boyle said. ‘It is a document that is in… Continue reading What Dan Boyle really meant in Tralee