Is Leftist Politics dead?

[Piercepenniless]

The Left suffered the most in this General Election?

The three parties pooling together couldn't even compete with FF. What does this tell us about the Irish electorate? About the kinds of issues that galvanize them? Did we vote for or against fear? For the status quo, because we're afraid of any alternative? Or against the politics of fear implied by the Leftist-Moderate manifestoes predicting doom and gloom?

The people voted against change because the kind of change the Left offers is always very costly, but really is there any difference between FF and FG when it comes down to it? FG piggybacked on many issues in order to make a case against FF, but the only card they could play was the Public Services one; otherwise, they couldn't compete with Bertie's popularity, and they certainly couldn't impugn the economy, which he can take the credit for(?).

What remains then for Left-to-Center parties? Are they going to just bide their time and hope the economy goes belly-up, so they can blame FF, or do they still have valid issues for the electorate? Is their role now to be the checks and balances? To keep FF honest? Or to hound them into perennial defence mode?

[Pidge]

I don't see it as a left, right or liberal loss. The debate focused on Taoisigh, and it was difficult for smaller parties to break through.

[Defeated Romanticist]

I take umbridge at the title of this topic. I'm a Liberal but I most certainly am not a lefty

[DSCH]

I'm not sure I understand the meaning of the title "Is Liberalism dead?" in the context of the opening post.

[Pig Destroyer]

Maybe we should invade an American politics forum and start a debate on whether the hammering the Republicans got at the last congressional elections constitutes the final defeat of the anti-treaty parties.

[Piercepenniless]

I take umbridge at the title of this topic. I'm a Liberal but I most certainly am not a lefty

Can you explain how they differ? Or maybe explain what it means for you to call yourself liberal.

[Piercepenniless]

Maybe we should invade an American politics forum and start a debate on whether the hammering the Republicans got at the last congressional elections constitutes the final defeat of the anti-treaty parties.

?

[Piercepenniless]

I'm not sure I understand the meaning of the title "Is Liberalism dead?" in the context of the opening post.

That's not surprising.

[smiffy]

I'm not sure I understand the meaning of the title "Is Liberalism dead?" in the context of the opening post.

I'm guessing the original poster is probably an American. See, in support, the weird paranoid stuff about Frank Luntz and some grand U.S.-backed conspiracy to underminge 'the left' in Ireland (ignoring the fact that Luntz pushed the FF-Labour option, which could to argued to be a more 'left' choice than any coalition in which FG is the dominant party), the rather American understanding of 'liberal' as a synonym for 'left-wing', which it isn't in a European context and the spelling of 'center'.

Alternatively, it might be paypal, back from the dead.

[Piercepenniless]

Nope, sniffy,

I'm a thoroughbred paddy, born and raised here, but have lived in the US for a while.