cant see any politician proposing a rule 'in stone' anytime soon....
Thatcher got caught on that one in 1981......
Ok let's look at the locals then.
FG had a huge lead over Labour. Take my own Rathfarnham Ward for example:
ElectionsIreland.org: 2009 Local - Rathfarnham First Preference Votes
Twice as many votes for FG over Labour. White has a secure seat in a General Election however I'm calling the by election for Fine Gael
If Lee wanted to be in Labour he would have switched party!
As a FF living in DS I believe that this is a great chance for the Party to take back the second seat but only if we run the right candidate.
Last by-election we ran the wrong, yes George Lee had a landslide and public opinion was against FF but Shay Brennan was weak in every aspect from his campaign to his TV interviews. He was look like a Fool.
If FF want to win they need to run the right person and that person is Senator Maria Corrigan. She has the experience and know how and has build up a strong vote remember that she gave Alan Shatter a run for his money in the 2007 General Election and thereby nearly taking the third seat for FF in Dublin South.
My Money is on Corrigan to win the seat if FF let her run, otherwise Alex White will take it......
No Corrigan won't win the by-election. This will be a shoo-in for White. Put your shirt on it.
Brennan and Corrigan will make a respectable FF ticket for the next general election. One of them will get in.
If there is a future, it will be Green.
FG did when he was a pretty face off the telly, now he's a loser who couldn't hack it with the big boys. A whinger who ran away because no one held his hand. And worst of all, a man who spat in the faces of 27K voters because his ego was too big to work on a team.
Even the PDs, the party of bruised egos, wouldn't have him if they were still around and only a fool would vote for a candidate with a track record of running away from the job.
Maybe he should team up with Mary Robinson - they'd make good 'running' mates.