It's that time again and people around the country are clamouring for votes, nominations, and endorsements in the run up to the up and coming Council Elections. I'm not sure about you, but I always cringe at the thought and the reality of Councillors, and potentials coming to my door, asking for my suppot and my vote. Admittedly, I always get a bit obnoxious towards them as I feel that few, if any, are qualified to hold political office (would you let a dentist give you a heart transplant just because he said that he had the tools to do it and a steady hand?)I certainly have my scruples when debating political nominees. Often, it leads to fiery debates about democracy and the hegemonic nature of politics. But enough about that...
One of the reasons that I decided to make this post today was because I have just finished listening to an interview conducted by the Limerick Blogger with Independent candidate Pat O'Sullivan, who will run in the Limerick City South constituency. He made an interesting point regarding the role of politicians in local politics. Along the lines that party politics loses focus of the needs of the people in specific areas. Essentially, he endorsed the paroachial tendencies of many politicians in the lower tiers of government. And I am starting to think that he had a point...
I completely despise the way in which Party Politics in Ireland has fallen into shameful despair over the last couple of years. The annual party manifestos of so many of our leading and moinor parties are plied with the same rhetoric that does not stand close to the original ideologies that these groups once possessed, in some cases established themselves upon. However, one of the advantages of Political parties is that they are the entities which develop policy packages for the nation, rather than the local. This, I believe, is one of the major flaws in Irish politics today. Our policies are founded on an ad-hoc basis whereby politicians, parties and government design legislation in a reactive rather than proactive fashion. Ideaology seems to mean nothing. Socialists are not socialists, Republicans are neo-liberal imperialists with a view to complete globally and thus open their gates to patronising FDI. But what Pat O'Sullivan said made me think long and hard about the role of local governments and the role of national government. Does Party Politics even belong in Local Government? Do people, at the Local level, care or require Party pandering, or do they just require someone to look after their needs without the overriding Party whip guiding how their towns develop? I leave it to you to think about...
Disclaimer: This is not an endorsement of Pat O'Sullivan or any political candidate for this years Council Elections. I couldn't even vote for him if I wanted to...
