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Re: Certainly. he's been on dodgy ground for a couple months. Stephen Send a noteboard - 23/01/2011 07:19:03 PM
Still, he should be gone by March. Now we are faced with the more conservative Fine Gael, and or the centre-left Labour. Neither party have been overly impressive recently, though my first preference will probably go to Labour.

I was under the impression that there'd almost certainly be a coalition government of those two, but that still remains to be seen, then? Of course, I was also under the impression that Fine Gael was less conservative than Fianna Fail, so shows what I know.


Well, I think every time Fine Gael have been in government, it's been with Labour as a junior partner. This time there is the potential for Labour to get at least on a par with Fine Gael which might change their outlook if a coalition were to form. Also, they have been agreeing on very little recently, other than opposition to the current crowd.

Fine gael are probably more economically liberal, but socially conservative compared to Fianna Fail. They traditonally had a Christian ethos, as opposed to Fianna Fail's republicanism, and had their origins in the pro-treaty side in the irish civil war, while Fianna Fail came from the anti-treaty side.

Still, both parties are reasonably centrist, but prior to the current crisis Fianna fail would have had a broader spectrum of support.

And on a somewhat related topic, I was intrigued to read some foreign news article - NYTimes, I believe - which quoted Gerry Adams about the Irish government crisis, without even so much as a mention of him being in Northern Ireland. How does that work, exactly, the relations between Northern Irish Sinn Fein and its Republic of Ireland counterpart?


He's the president of Sinn fein for both parts. It's the one party. He's technically an MP but has never taken his seat, in line with the Sinn Fein policy. He was an MLA until last year, I believe. He's going to be running for the Dail in this election.
Yes, that must be disconcerting. is there any indication of a solution coming soon, or will it likely be fresh elections?

Oh, I wish it was so simple that it could be solved by fresh elections. Judging by all polls, new elections will only make things even more difficult, not less. To summarize the problem, the largest Flemish party by a mile is a conservative party which wants lower taxes and more independence for the regions, while the largest Francophone party by a mile is a socialistic party, which wants higher taxes and as little change as possible in the way the regions work. Which is proving just as impossible to reconcile as you might think, but according to all polls, new elections would only give more votes to both parties.


That does seem like a difficult situation. Is there much a middle ground between any of the Flemish and Francophone parties other than the largest two? And where do the German speakers fit into that whole configuration?
"I mean, if everyone had a soul, there would be no contrast by which we could appreciate it. For giving us this perspective, we thank you." - Nate
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So the Irish government has basically imploded. Stephen - 23/01/2011 04:47:10 PM 1641 Views
I am now confused Camilla - 23/01/2011 05:34:31 PM 1014 Views
You won't be the only person Stephen - 23/01/2011 06:21:23 PM 908 Views
You do realize Britain is pretty much the envy of the Western world at the moment? Legolas - 23/01/2011 06:27:05 PM 1041 Views
Re: You do realize Britain is pretty much the envy of the Western world at the moment? Camilla - 23/01/2011 06:34:47 PM 977 Views
I did. There was more violence than in ours, that's true (ours have none so far, knock on wood). Legolas - 23/01/2011 06:41:34 PM 955 Views
Re: I did. There was more violence than in ours, that's true (ours have none so far, knock on wood). Camilla - 23/01/2011 06:43:41 PM 895 Views
Those protests were only violent by British standards. Tim - 23/01/2011 11:54:15 PM 976 Views
Really? Camilla - 24/01/2011 12:03:38 AM 867 Views
But... Wibble - 24/01/2011 07:28:17 PM 927 Views
Re: But... Camilla - 24/01/2011 07:30:39 PM 1175 Views
What protests? Wibble - 24/01/2011 07:26:49 PM 1023 Views
Re: What protests? Camilla - 24/01/2011 07:28:40 PM 867 Views
Re: What protests? Nebhead - 25/01/2011 09:23:17 AM 1001 Views
There's a new objection Camilla - 25/01/2011 11:38:25 AM 935 Views
I didn't object... Nebhead - 25/01/2011 11:47:11 AM 820 Views
Re: I didn't object... Camilla - 25/01/2011 11:49:36 AM 786 Views
If you look at the bottom of that list... Nebhead - 25/01/2011 11:58:24 AM 866 Views
And Britain had to live with the Conservative Wilderness for 15 years before it could get there *NM* Roland00 - 24/01/2011 02:43:16 AM 477 Views
Should I start chiming in on Norwegian politics now that I'm here...? Joel - 24/01/2011 12:42:03 AM 898 Views
Why not? Camilla - 24/01/2011 08:49:07 AM 963 Views
'Cos I doubt you'll like what I have to say, for one thing. Joel - 26/01/2011 01:55:13 AM 979 Views
Re: 'Cos I doubt you'll like what I have to say, for one thing. Camilla - 26/01/2011 08:42:04 AM 1018 Views
I misconstrued your sarcasm, sorry. Joel - 26/01/2011 10:23:40 AM 1169 Views
That's been a while coming, hasn't it? Cowen seems to be losing it. Legolas - 23/01/2011 05:48:30 PM 942 Views
Certainly. he's been on dodgy ground for a couple months. Stephen - 23/01/2011 06:27:27 PM 1016 Views
Re: Certainly. he's been on dodgy ground for a couple months. Legolas - 23/01/2011 06:33:26 PM 956 Views
Re: Certainly. he's been on dodgy ground for a couple months. Stephen - 23/01/2011 07:19:03 PM 1059 Views
Re: Certainly. he's been on dodgy ground for a couple months. Legolas - 23/01/2011 07:57:05 PM 908 Views
Re: Certainly. he's been on dodgy ground for a couple months. Stephen - 23/01/2011 09:29:03 PM 1011 Views
Re: Certainly. he's been on dodgy ground for a couple months. Legolas - 23/01/2011 09:46:20 PM 968 Views
I think Adams is an Irish citizen, and not a British one. Tim - 23/01/2011 11:45:34 PM 928 Views
Re: I think Adams is an Irish citizen, and not a British one. Stephen - 23/01/2011 11:53:12 PM 932 Views
The part that I find strange is... Tim - 23/01/2011 11:58:27 PM 906 Views
Re: Certainly. he's been on dodgy ground for a couple months. Stephen - 23/01/2011 11:45:39 PM 809 Views
I found out something else today which makes it even better. Tim - 24/01/2011 10:37:45 PM 1094 Views
I was reading your post and going "what about the Chiltern Hundreds"? Legolas - 24/01/2011 10:44:32 PM 924 Views
Today's news: it got better again! Tim - 26/01/2011 07:51:51 PM 981 Views
Oh, alternatively we could elevate him to the House of Lords. Tim - 26/01/2011 11:08:44 PM 943 Views
Awesome idea. Something like "Baron Adams of Londonderry", I'm thinking. *NM* Legolas - 27/01/2011 07:54:26 PM 458 Views
We made his arch-rival a Lord, after all, so it would only be fair. Tim - 28/01/2011 08:26:15 AM 880 Views
"This is the voice of a life peer" Michael - 28/01/2011 02:18:04 PM 1013 Views
Here you go Elaine - 25/01/2011 12:55:33 PM 1034 Views
That's the site I found too. Tim - 25/01/2011 01:25:56 PM 877 Views
Right. Elaine - 25/01/2011 01:42:49 PM 1107 Views
well, the only interesting thing in swedish politics is a wikileaks document and the reactions... jh - 23/01/2011 06:21:00 PM 998 Views
That's interesting Stephen - 23/01/2011 06:32:05 PM 947 Views
What is inappropriate about trying to keep out barbaric unskilled people? Tom - 23/01/2011 10:59:53 PM 969 Views
The inappropriateness is the generalisation in the claim Camilla - 23/01/2011 11:16:52 PM 933 Views
Generalizations are inappropriate when they are disproven by statistics, and appropriate when proven Tom - 24/01/2011 07:33:14 PM 891 Views
I've looked into the statistics a bit more. Tom - 24/01/2011 09:11:52 PM 906 Views
I take it you're talking about the Middle East in its most narrow sense here. Legolas - 24/01/2011 09:56:22 PM 944 Views
... the fact that they are asylum seekers, and their skill certainly shouldn't matter in that case. jh - 24/01/2011 07:08:14 PM 835 Views
Schweden schafft sich ab, eh? Tom - 24/01/2011 07:31:33 PM 1100 Views
Not to mention... ßelals Girl - 26/01/2011 07:55:26 PM 829 Views
ßelals Girl - 26/01/2011 07:46:19 PM 954 Views
Hopefully they'll stop using Irish officially as a way to cut down on unnecessary costs. Tom - 23/01/2011 10:57:08 PM 887 Views
I'd support that Stephen - 23/01/2011 11:26:20 PM 958 Views
Ironically, if you de-officialised Irish you could get EU money to help preserve it. Tim - 23/01/2011 11:48:14 PM 862 Views
I never realised that Stephen - 23/01/2011 11:54:43 PM 889 Views
But why, why? Tom - 24/01/2011 08:35:43 PM 848 Views
Because it's the only thing justifying their insistence they're not British? Legolas - 24/01/2011 10:03:54 PM 906 Views
But all language learning should be purely voluntary (after what parents teach their children). Tom - 25/01/2011 03:05:28 AM 882 Views
What, so you don't think students in high school should be taught foreign languages? Legolas - 25/01/2011 06:34:21 PM 882 Views
Irish is the mother tongue of about 7,000-15,000 people at most. Tom - 26/01/2011 05:04:00 AM 918 Views
Wikipedia says it's more like 40k-80k. Legolas - 26/01/2011 06:41:41 PM 1299 Views
And Elaine, Stephen, or any other Irish people here: do feel free to comment. *NM* Legolas - 26/01/2011 06:42:36 PM 461 Views
Inflated statistics from what I've read. Tom - 26/01/2011 09:45:51 PM 854 Views
They might be, indeed. Elaine - 27/01/2011 01:08:09 PM 1083 Views
More to the point, are YOU interested in learning Irish? Tom - 26/01/2011 05:15:18 AM 831 Views
Calling Ireland the new Sodom and Gomorrah, are you? Legolas - 26/01/2011 06:02:05 PM 988 Views
I don't think it's as fun as Sodom and Gomorrah, at least not post-crisis. Tom - 26/01/2011 09:48:54 PM 952 Views
Re: I don't think it's as fun as Sodom and Gomorrah, at least not post-crisis. Legolas - 27/01/2011 08:42:21 PM 839 Views
Presumably because they agree with J.R.R. Tolkien and Tómas Sæmundsson about language's importance. Tim - 24/01/2011 10:16:05 PM 998 Views
So Australians and New Zealanders are really English then? Austrians are just Germans? Tom - 25/01/2011 03:01:14 AM 949 Views
I never said I agreed . Tim - 25/01/2011 08:19:11 AM 919 Views
I would suggest that a distinct dialect does the job just as well majander - 25/01/2011 02:23:59 PM 946 Views
That's a very good point. Tom - 26/01/2011 05:06:32 AM 921 Views
Indeed. Legolas - 26/01/2011 06:06:00 PM 985 Views
The thing is, people who feel really strongly about that usually insist it's a separate language. Tim - 28/01/2011 04:20:57 PM 807 Views
It's really more about having a unique silly costume to wear at Miss Universe pageants. Tom - 26/01/2011 05:09:10 AM 791 Views
You're confusing what we sell to gullible American tourists with what we actually value . *NM* Tim - 28/01/2011 04:15:01 PM 408 Views
What the hell happened to the Celtic Tiger Country? *NM* Blaine - 24/01/2011 05:47:12 AM 527 Views
Thrown away on bling and tat, unfortunately. Elaine - 24/01/2011 01:01:27 PM 818 Views
The Celtic Tiger is dead, Ireland had a GDP contraction of 14% in the last two years. Roland00 - 24/01/2011 01:47:06 PM 906 Views
It's still there, but it aimed a bit too high and got a bit scorched. Legolas - 24/01/2011 10:07:36 PM 780 Views
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