Pre-Election Politics

There is very little time left to write anything 'political' that isn't going to be swamped by the multitude of candidates who will be prostrate before us in the coming 10 weeks or so.  I should know,  I was one of those creatures back in 2002.  I wish all progressive candidates well.  Its a hard slog.

I hope that all candidates approach this election with a sense of optimism. This is a very different election from the one fought in 2007, or indeed the one I ran in - 2002.  During both of these contests, the conservative parties felt able to point to the successes of the system.  There was a largely compliant media and parties of the progressive left were, as usual, fighting each other while trying to position themselves as 'responsible' and ready to coalesce with either Fianna Fail or Fine Gael.  It was the Greens who eventually took that plunge in 2007.  Like the Lib Dems in England, they have found that the Conservative Right swallowed them up and spat them out.  Sinn Fein and Labour had a lucky escape on that occasion.

Now, if the parties and candidates choose, there is something of a blank canvas on which to shape politics into the future.  This is not to dismiss the fact that any incoming government has to deal with the economic circumstances that we find ourselves in.  There are restraints.  So much has already been done to commit us to austerity and hardship.  But, like all negotiations, all is not always as it seems.  Opponents actually respect toughness.  An incoming government with a fresh mandate and credible counter proposals can and must go back to the IMC, EU et al and work out a better arrangement.  Let the economists among us work out the detail. All progressive politicians need to do is put forward the shape of what is required to ensure fairness and equity - to build instead of shrink.  We never again have to worry about economists and conservative politicians trying to dismiss alternative approaches as unworkable.  Their bluff has been called.  Their approach has failed and failed utterly on every level.

Whatever about the big economic picture, this election is wide open in terms of political and institutional reform.  No need for modesty here.  The boat can and should be pushed out as far as possible.  Every candidate has an opportunity to tell the electorate that he or she won't work the system as before.  The electorate can observe that their incoming public representatives will be focusing on national issues.  The best service that candidates can offer the public at this time is to tell them that the day of the local man/women/fixer is over - but don't worry about it, a better way is coming.  2011 holds the potential as the year when the Gombeen man was consigned to history; when institutions - all institutions- will be called to account for what they do and do not deliver for the people; when participatory democracy becomes a reality.

Its a massive opportunity folks and one that deserves something a bit more than the usual 'I am this, I have done this..' approach from candidates.  There are many people out there who are way ahead of the political parties on all of this.  The nonsense that has been perpetrated for years that the deregulated free market system and the politics that supports it  is the only show in town has now been exposed and increasing numbers of people are seeing this.  The failure of progressive parties so far is evident in that far too many people are falling for Fine Gael's claim that they offer an alternative.  They need to be exposed on that and in the process, the Labour Party need to be convinced that they have more to offer than a guarantee of stable conservative government.

I hope that all of this can be done without name calling or sectarian disagreement on the Left.  That would be a first!  But, I believe that we are not that stupid.  If ever there was a time to bury our differences, it is now.  There is still some time for a constructive dialogue among progressive political parties, groups and individuals before blantent electioneering gets in the way.

This is an election that progressive people can enjoy.  We can and should feel liberated to let loose and engage with everybody, to educate and be educated.  In that way, if this particular election doen's quite work out, another will follow close behind.