Sir, – Could I encourage Fine Gael to take advice on election strategy from the British Conservatives next time around too? The chaps in London did a spiffing job for them. – Yours, etc,
DARAGH DOWNES,
Howth,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Are we experiencing the whinge of change? – Yours, etc,
JOHN O’BYRNE,
Harold’s Cross,
Dublin 6W.
Sir, – Drapier still doesn't seem to get the fact that a major factor in the election was that those at the bottom suffered disproportionately more than others ("If FF refuses power, it will take some explaining", Opinion & Analysis, March 1st). Drapier should read Vincent Browne ("Coalition of the Right the price of Left's myopic stunts", Opinion & Analysis, February 29th). – Yours, etc,
ALEC QUINN,
Limerick.
A chara, – Would political commentators please stop saying that people voted for a hung Dáil or that they voted for a Fine Gael/Fianna Fáil coalition? People did no such thing. Each voter individually voted for the candidates of her or his choice, or voted against those they actively did not want to govern our country. The result of our individual decisions is a hung Dáil. It is a small point but an important one in discussions between the various political players. – Yours, etc,
VALERIE WHELAN,
Wicklow.
Sir, – Diarmaid Ferriter in "Some rare cases of Irish political backbone" (Opinion & Analysis, February 27th) omitted obvious instances of some of the candidates who contested the election last Friday. I refer to Lucinda Creighton and those others in Fine Gael who voted on principle on the abortion legislation of 2013. The refusal of Enda Kenny to recognise freedom of conscience meant that, in their cases, political backbone meant sacrificing their ministerial and political careers.
Many in Dáil Éireann talk the talk of principled activity. Many in the media decry its perceived absence in political life. Lucinda Creighton and her colleagues walked the walk and in general the media looked the other way. Oliver J Flanagan’s assertion regarding “no place in Irish politics for honesty” may well apply to a political sphere other than that of elected members in Oireachtas and local authority chambers. – Yours, etc,
NEIL BRAY,
Cappamore,
Co Limerick.
Sir, – Are the disadvantaged well-served by a number of TDs who come from a background of advantage? Sometimes one gets the sense that their constituents’ misery is used for their own promotion. – Yours, etc,
JOSEPH MACKEY,
Athlone.
Sir, – In the ordinary world, in which non-politicians live, there is wide acceptance that one may lose one’s job for poor performance, bad management, non-fulfilment of assigned duties or dissembling. In such cases, sympathy for those finding themselves suddenly unemployed is understandably muted. For similar failings leading to similar outcomes, ousted politicians tell us they feel devastated, raw and hurt. Their apparent conviction that something has being taken from them that they consider to be rightfully theirs is striking in its sense of entitlement. It also betrays objectionable hubris, since democracy’s most fundamental mechanism is that the electorate giveth and the electorate taketh away. – Yours, etc,
PATRICIA MULKEEN,
Ballinfull, Co Sligo.
Sir, – What leads Brian Flanagan (March 1st) to believe that the election "has finally broken the two-party stranglehold"?
Before the election, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail collectively held 87 out of 166 seats (52 per cent), and Fianna Fáil was only the third biggest party in the Dáil. After the election, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are again the two biggest parties (by some distance), and will end up with between 94 and 96 out of 158 seats (about 61 per cent) between them.
Far from being broken, the two-party stranglehold was loosened last time, but it now appears to have been reinstated. – Yours, etc,
JACK NORTHWOOD,
Murrumbeena,
Victoria, Australia.
Sir, – On the basis of the first-preference voting, a clear path for a new government emerges – Whingers 67.9 per cent and Non-Whingers 32.1 per cent. – Yours, etc,
KEVIN O’SULLIVAN,
Letterkenny,
Co Donegal.
A chara, – With all the uncertainty arising from the general election and the disappointment of seeing so many voters running from one conservative party to the other, there is still some reason for hope for the future, none less than the electorate’s utter rejection of Lucinda Creighton and her Renua party. Having seen that party demolished by the voters, perhaps it can be hoped that those working in mainstream media will realise how often they are disconnected from the real word. – Is mise,
JOHN ROGERS,
Galway.
Sir, – Fintan O'Toole's otherwise excellent article contained one glaring inaccuracy ("The winner of Election 2016 is social democracy", Opinion & Analysis, February 29th). He incorrectly included Fianna Fáil among a group of parties that argued for "substantially greater investment in public services and not for large tax cuts".
Fianna Fáil’s proposed income tax cuts were almost as substantial as Fine Gael’s. Taxpayers earning up to €70,000 would have been given exactly the same tax break under the models proposed by both parties. Those earning between €70,000 and €100,000 would actually pay less tax under Fianna Fáil’s model than under that proposed by any other party, excluding Renua.
In total, 94 per cent of taxpayers would have paid the same or less tax under Fianna Fáil’s model than under Fine Gael’s. And just as in Fine Gael’s proposals, those earning most would get the biggest reward, before even taking into consideration the effect of their proposed abolition of water charges.
The borrowed robes of prudence assumed by the party for the duration of the election campaign would best fit an emperor. – Yours, etc,
BARRY FLANAGAN,
Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.
Sir, – The people have spoken. They have said that “We live side by side with people of differing beliefs, opinions, perspectives and aspirations. We negotiate, compromise, argue and make-up on a daily basis. Now let our ‘leaders’ try it.”
It is time to move from adversarial politics to the politics of negotiation, compromise and true representation. Will our politicians grasp this opportunity? We will wait in hope. – Yours, etc,
PEGGYANN McCANN,
Lismore, Co Waterford.
Sir, – When the smoke clears and wiser counsel prevails, we will have a government which should be far more accountable to Dáil Éireann and the people. Perhaps this will ensure more democracy and the end of the dreadful legacy of the Civil War. I say “three cheers” for that. However, we must all examine our consciences and ponder why more than one in three eligible voters failed to vote. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL J LOWEY,
Dublin 18.
Sir, – In view of the election result, what’s the possibility of another new party, “The Independents’ Party”? Electing its leader should be interesting. – Yours, etc,
MICK O’BRIEN,
Kilkenny.
A chara, – Its poor showing in the 2016 election should give the Labour Party two things to consider. First, if you don’t follow through on election promises, it will be very difficult to get voters to believe you the next time round. Second, and not for the first time, the Labour Party misunderstood the mandate it received in the 2011 election. The vote it received was intended for it to provide a strong left-wing opposition to the traditional centre-right parties, not to prop them up by going into coalition with them. Had it gone into opposition five years ago, it could possibly have been one of the largest parties in the country by now. By going into coalition with the right, it created a vacuum on the left that has been filled by Sinn Féin, AAA/PBP and Independents. While Labour will no doubt console itself that it put the country before the party, this will be scant consolation to its many ex-TDs who are now without a seat. – Is mise,
JOHN KELLY,
Bennekerry,
Co Carlow.
A chara, – The results of this election suggest to me that we may have become an increasingly divided society. We are experiencing scandalous rates of homelessness, unregulated increases in private rents that force us out of homes (myself included), and lending regulations that exclude many from ever being in a position to buy a home. This election has at least raised the volume of the voices of those who were not represented by the last government. Let’s hope we will be heard. – Is mise,
EMMA O’FRIEL,
Celbridge,
Co Kildare.
Sir, – The election results represent an “earthquake” only if you’re from the privileged, low-tax, high-income brigade. The rest call it “getting even”. – Yours, etc,
JOHN HANAMY,
Ballinacurra, Limerick.
Sir, – We as an electorate voted Bertie Ahern and Fianna Fáil back into power, despite stories of winning large amount of sterling on horses, etc. We paid dearly for this lack of foresight in the following years. Leading up to this election, I had hoped that we might have gained a little insight from past experience. Sadly, we have not. We have punished the Labour Party for its perceived lack of input into the government, although in reality it implemented two-thirds of its policies as the minority partner. We have now voted in a mishmash of candidates who will find it impossible to form a stable government between them, even with some noble talk of putting the country first. The fate of the Labour Party would suggest that this would be very foolish. Play the game of politics, boys. Sure it’s the best little country in the world to be self-interested! – Yours, etc,
PATTI ROCHE,
Dublin 2.
Sir, – Perhaps now is the time to ditch the old simple-majority concept of democracy and replace it with powersharing of the type agreed for the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive, which was overwhelmingly endorsed by the people of Ireland, north and south, in the Belfast Agreement.
It means that the electorate determines accurately the composition of the executive, all the parties are represented in the executive and agreement is the hallmark of executive or government action.
Sinn Féin could hardly argue with that. – Yours, etc,
MALACHY THOMPSON,
Renmore,
Galway.
Sir, – An advertising break during the RTÉ election results coverage featured an advertisement for a car that offered a choice of five or seven seats. I am sure many of the candidates would have liked to be in a position to avail of such an offer. – Yours, etc,
Dr VIVIAN BRENNAN,
Athenry, Co Galway.
A chara, – Enda and Joan were the wrong people to talk about the recovery. They alienated people through no fault of their own, but whatever it is about us Irish, we need to connect with those imparting the message, and in these two cases, we didn’t. – Is mise,
PAT BURKE WALSH,
Ballymoney,
Co Wexford.