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Re: Certainly. he's been on dodgy ground for a couple months. Stephen Send a noteboard - 23/01/2011 11:45:39 PM
I doubt there will be any alternative. Or at least i'd hope not, because that would mean Sinn fein in government.

Gotcha. *looks at opinion polls on Wikipedia* Ah, yes, I see the Green Party is going to be a quantité négligeable... so no possibility to include them and round out the coalition, then. That does leave precious few alternatives.

Yes, it unfortunately does.
True, the constitution was basically drafted by Eamonn De valera and a priest, whose name escapes me.

Heh. Nice.

Very. I believe Labour want to redraft the whole thing when they get in.
Minimal government interference type. So I guess that's right wing liberal.

Okay, the European kind of liberal. I wasn't sure.

Fine Gael are affiliated with the European People's Party, and Fianna Fail with the European Liberal Democratic and reform Party, if that clears much up for you.

Right. So not really like in Germany, then, not even if you switch them around. Oh well, I guess trying to see the same patterns in the politics of all European countries is a bad idea anyway.

Yeah, up until recently we've never had a substantial left wing political force in the country, something unusual in most Western democracies.
People from Northern Ireland can claim dual nationality. It's part of one of the peace treaty things. As he's from Belfast he can claim both nationalities.

Ah, that makes more sense. Still interesting, though, I doubt there are many people in the world who can claim to have been a member of two different countries' parliaments.

And most of them are probably Irish. Several members of the first Dail were non-sitting MPs. Constance Markiewicz was the first woman to be elected to any parliament when she was elected to Westminster.
Yes, my Wikipedia searching has left me somewhat dumb founded.

I'm always willing to explain if there's any interest, but like I said, it might take a while, depending on what exactly the question is. I think even most Belgians don't know exactly how many regional governments we have and what the powers and responsibilities of all of them are.

"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 1729 Views
I am now confused Camilla - 23/01/2011 05:34:31 PM 1096 Views
You won't be the only person Stephen - 23/01/2011 06:21:23 PM 996 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 1119 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 1057 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 1028 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 974 Views
Those protests were only violent by British standards. Tim - 23/01/2011 11:54:15 PM 1128 Views
Really? Camilla - 24/01/2011 12:03:38 AM 958 Views
But... Wibble - 24/01/2011 07:28:17 PM 1020 Views
Re: But... Camilla - 24/01/2011 07:30:39 PM 1267 Views
What protests? Wibble - 24/01/2011 07:26:49 PM 1101 Views
Re: What protests? Camilla - 24/01/2011 07:28:40 PM 955 Views
Re: What protests? Nebhead - 25/01/2011 09:23:17 AM 1094 Views
There's a new objection Camilla - 25/01/2011 11:38:25 AM 1014 Views
I didn't object... Nebhead - 25/01/2011 11:47:11 AM 898 Views
Re: I didn't object... Camilla - 25/01/2011 11:49:36 AM 868 Views
If you look at the bottom of that list... Nebhead - 25/01/2011 11:58:24 AM 953 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 519 Views
Should I start chiming in on Norwegian politics now that I'm here...? Joel - 24/01/2011 12:42:03 AM 996 Views
Why not? Camilla - 24/01/2011 08:49:07 AM 1050 Views
'Cos I doubt you'll like what I have to say, for one thing. Joel - 26/01/2011 01:55:13 AM 1076 Views
Re: 'Cos I doubt you'll like what I have to say, for one thing. Camilla - 26/01/2011 08:42:04 AM 1096 Views
I misconstrued your sarcasm, sorry. Joel - 26/01/2011 10:23:40 AM 1250 Views
That's been a while coming, hasn't it? Cowen seems to be losing it. Legolas - 23/01/2011 05:48:30 PM 1026 Views
Certainly. he's been on dodgy ground for a couple months. Stephen - 23/01/2011 06:27:27 PM 1095 Views
Re: Certainly. he's been on dodgy ground for a couple months. Legolas - 23/01/2011 06:33:26 PM 1038 Views
Re: Certainly. he's been on dodgy ground for a couple months. Stephen - 23/01/2011 07:19:03 PM 1144 Views
Re: Certainly. he's been on dodgy ground for a couple months. Legolas - 23/01/2011 07:57:05 PM 983 Views
Re: Certainly. he's been on dodgy ground for a couple months. Stephen - 23/01/2011 09:29:03 PM 1102 Views
Re: Certainly. he's been on dodgy ground for a couple months. Legolas - 23/01/2011 09:46:20 PM 1059 Views
I think Adams is an Irish citizen, and not a British one. Tim - 23/01/2011 11:45:34 PM 1017 Views
Re: I think Adams is an Irish citizen, and not a British one. Stephen - 23/01/2011 11:53:12 PM 1009 Views
The part that I find strange is... Tim - 23/01/2011 11:58:27 PM 988 Views
Re: Certainly. he's been on dodgy ground for a couple months. Stephen - 23/01/2011 11:45:39 PM 894 Views
I found out something else today which makes it even better. Tim - 24/01/2011 10:37:45 PM 1193 Views
I was reading your post and going "what about the Chiltern Hundreds"? Legolas - 24/01/2011 10:44:32 PM 1003 Views
Today's news: it got better again! Tim - 26/01/2011 07:51:51 PM 1069 Views
Oh, alternatively we could elevate him to the House of Lords. Tim - 26/01/2011 11:08:44 PM 1026 Views
Awesome idea. Something like "Baron Adams of Londonderry", I'm thinking. *NM* Legolas - 27/01/2011 07:54:26 PM 500 Views
We made his arch-rival a Lord, after all, so it would only be fair. Tim - 28/01/2011 08:26:15 AM 971 Views
"This is the voice of a life peer" Michael - 28/01/2011 02:18:04 PM 1102 Views
Here you go Elaine - 25/01/2011 12:55:33 PM 1122 Views
That's the site I found too. Tim - 25/01/2011 01:25:56 PM 956 Views
Right. Elaine - 25/01/2011 01:42:49 PM 1190 Views
well, the only interesting thing in swedish politics is a wikileaks document and the reactions... jh - 23/01/2011 06:21:00 PM 1076 Views
That's interesting Stephen - 23/01/2011 06:32:05 PM 1037 Views
What is inappropriate about trying to keep out barbaric unskilled people? Tom - 23/01/2011 10:59:53 PM 1051 Views
The inappropriateness is the generalisation in the claim Camilla - 23/01/2011 11:16:52 PM 1026 Views
Generalizations are inappropriate when they are disproven by statistics, and appropriate when proven Tom - 24/01/2011 07:33:14 PM 976 Views
I've looked into the statistics a bit more. Tom - 24/01/2011 09:11:52 PM 991 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 1020 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 911 Views
Schweden schafft sich ab, eh? Tom - 24/01/2011 07:31:33 PM 1181 Views
Not to mention... ßelals Girl - 26/01/2011 07:55:26 PM 902 Views
ßelals Girl - 26/01/2011 07:46:19 PM 1025 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 974 Views
I'd support that Stephen - 23/01/2011 11:26:20 PM 1046 Views
Ironically, if you de-officialised Irish you could get EU money to help preserve it. Tim - 23/01/2011 11:48:14 PM 949 Views
I never realised that Stephen - 23/01/2011 11:54:43 PM 973 Views
But why, why? Tom - 24/01/2011 08:35:43 PM 931 Views
Because it's the only thing justifying their insistence they're not British? Legolas - 24/01/2011 10:03:54 PM 996 Views
But all language learning should be purely voluntary (after what parents teach their children). Tom - 25/01/2011 03:05:28 AM 959 Views
What, so you don't think students in high school should be taught foreign languages? Legolas - 25/01/2011 06:34:21 PM 992 Views
Irish is the mother tongue of about 7,000-15,000 people at most. Tom - 26/01/2011 05:04:00 AM 1018 Views
Wikipedia says it's more like 40k-80k. Legolas - 26/01/2011 06:41:41 PM 1392 Views
And Elaine, Stephen, or any other Irish people here: do feel free to comment. *NM* Legolas - 26/01/2011 06:42:36 PM 499 Views
Inflated statistics from what I've read. Tom - 26/01/2011 09:45:51 PM 933 Views
They might be, indeed. Elaine - 27/01/2011 01:08:09 PM 1175 Views
More to the point, are YOU interested in learning Irish? Tom - 26/01/2011 05:15:18 AM 937 Views
Calling Ireland the new Sodom and Gomorrah, are you? Legolas - 26/01/2011 06:02:05 PM 1079 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 1033 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 915 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 1077 Views
So Australians and New Zealanders are really English then? Austrians are just Germans? Tom - 25/01/2011 03:01:14 AM 1031 Views
I never said I agreed . Tim - 25/01/2011 08:19:11 AM 996 Views
I would suggest that a distinct dialect does the job just as well majander - 25/01/2011 02:23:59 PM 1033 Views
That's a very good point. Tom - 26/01/2011 05:06:32 AM 1008 Views
Indeed. Legolas - 26/01/2011 06:06:00 PM 1051 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 882 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 873 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 447 Views
What the hell happened to the Celtic Tiger Country? *NM* Blaine - 24/01/2011 05:47:12 AM 574 Views
Thrown away on bling and tat, unfortunately. Elaine - 24/01/2011 01:01:27 PM 905 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 989 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 877 Views
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