Madam, – Leo Armstrong’s call for a new political party (July 13th) seems to be without purpose.
Like many, Mr Armstrong is good at listing the problems which our country faces and the hardships inflicted upon so many as a result of Government policy. Yet Mr Armstrong provides not a single idea, tested or untested, as a basis for his new party. He seems confident that merely giving out about established parties will garner him support. But apart from policies on which Mr Armstrong is not too hot, what about competencies? Has Mr Armstrong ever done anything beyond merely writing to newspapers?
Furthermore Mr Armstrong says he wants to replace Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. If so, is he willing to accept as members, Fianna Fáil voters and members who are primarily responsible for the current state of the country? Will he demand an act of contrition from all former Fianna Fáil voters? If these are the people he is going after, then it will become nothing more than a mere splinter group of Fianna Fáil, and we’ve seen how that works out. More importantly, if he seeks those who were once motivated to vote for Fianna Fáil, then he is merely rebranding the incompetency within that party.
Finally, if he is looking for a name for his new party, might I suggest “I can’t believe it’s not the PDs”? – Yours, etc,