Sir, - The people have spoken, but what did they mean by once again leaving us in the position of being governed by Fianna Fáil plus either a somewhat larger rump of the PDs or some of the rag-bag of Independents? Once again Fine Gael and Labour are excluded from power and look like becoming a permanent Opposition.
What a mess our once vaunted electoral system has got us into - it seems to be all about tactical voting. Before the election, we were advised by Vincent Browne to vote for the Greens if we wished to deny FF an overall majority. Eamonn Gilmore has said that voters switched from Labour to the PDs to try to achieve this aim. Mary Harney says we have given the PDs a mandate to be in Government.
Any electoral system which denies people the right to vote for a Government, rather than merely electing TDs, is clearly flawed. What is needed is a list system or a combined list/constituency system as in Switzerland and Germany. Tactical voting would then be unnecessary.
However, we need another vital reform for a list system to work properly, that is: national government. Every party would then have a share of power and would work together for the good of the country. There would be no parliamentary opposition, but that could be provided by the people, who would have the right to call a referendum on any law enacted by the Oireachtas.
This has worked well in Switzerland for a very long time and there is no reason why it couldn't work here. - Yours, etc.,
ROGER GARLAND,
Butterfield Drive,
Dublin 14.
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Sir, - Michael McMullin (May 27th) wrongly claimed that John Bruton's response to Fintan O'Toole consisted exclusively of personal insults. Fintan O'Toole's assertion that "Fine Gael, in other words, is finished" was a personal insult to Fine Gael supporters like myself and it fully deserved the strongly worded and prompt reply from John Bruton.
If Mr McMullin reads John Bruton's article, he will see that it set out distinctive core values for Fine Gael. It also asserted that a Left-led coalition would be unelectable.
In a subsequent radio debate with Fintan O'Toole, John Bruton showed that Fine Gael's centrist and balancing role is vital to presenting the voters with a realistic alternative to a Fianna Fáil-led government. In my own view, the role of Fine Gael is so central that, if the party were to dissolve itself this week, we would have to reinvent it next week.
John Bruton has drawn our attention to this and I am a Fine Gael supporter who is grateful to him for that. - Yours, etc.,
Cllr DECLAN ALCOCK,
Graiguecullen,
Carlow.
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A chara, - Mrs Lesley Whiteside is quite right (May 27th) to point out my generalisation "nobody has a difficulty in transferring to Sinn Féin". I was however, commenting on the high level of transfers from all candidates to our candidate in Dublin South-West; these, of course, were not needed as Seán Crowe was elected on the first count.
I assure Mrs Whiteside that Seán Crowe and the other Sinn Féin TDs and councillors have always been and will continue to be a voice for justice and equality - and as the third largest party on this island our democratic credentials are sound.
I am sorry that Mrs Whiteside has a problem with transferring to Sinn Féin but I am satisfied in the fact that many other people are quite happy to do so. - Is mise,
Cllr MARK DALY,
Tallaght,
Dublin 24.
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Sir, - If Fine Gael is serious about rethinking its ethos and direction and the communication of these to the electorate, it must postpone its leadership contest and open the election battle to its own grass-roots. The immediate effect of any leadership election is a rallying round the leader. Any ard fheis held in the aftermath of such a contest is more coronation than serious political convention. Thus, an early leadership battle will stifle, not open, the reflection and reconstruction that is now needed.
I have the distinct impression that the Fine Gael dinosaurs (who led the party into its disaster over the last five years) are now shouting down the newer TDs in favour of a "quick fix" leadership contest. I sincerely hope that these younger and more imaginative types hold firm and rally the grass-roots towards the kind of revival that Fine Gael obviously needs. - Yours, etc.,
BEN TONRA,
Delbrook Manor,
Ballinteer,
Dublin 16.
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Sir, - Dr Garret FitzGerald (Opinion, May 25th) cannot discern the reasons for Fine Gael's disproportionate loss of seats. Here are two:
1. The small size of the party in Dublin and its unsuitable election tactics (too many candidates).
2. The failure of Fine Gael to seriously appeal for transfers other than from Labour voters.
The greater effective choice of political party in the new millennium represents a tremendous improvement in Irish democracy, as does the wider range of options for Government. Unfortunately, Fine Gael has steadfastly kept its head in the sand and refused to contemplate the end of the two-and-a-half party system. - Yours, etc.,
BRENDAN LYNCH,
Seafield Crescent,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
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A chara, - Ghlac mé an chomhairle a thug Trevor Sargent dúinn (Bealtaine 22), agus rinne mé manhole cover as póstaeir Frank Fahy, ach níl pus Frank pioc níos galánta ina luí ar an tsráid ná mar a bhí ar crochadh ó na soilsí bóthair. - Is mise,
BREANDÁN DALTON,
Ros Ard,
Gaillimh.