Dan Boyle: "It does not .. matter which of the political parties are in government"

[Mar Tweedy]

Quote taken from here : Cooperation needed for economic recovery, says Boyle / Latest news / News / Home - Green Party / Comhaontas Glas

The thing that is screaming at me from this or at least has me screaming is this:

"It does not really matter which of the political parties are in government; a balance has to be achieved between controlling public expenditure, levying fair taxation and maintaining a significant level of capital expenditure to bring about economic recovery.

So is he suggesting we shut up shop, forget politics and form a one party state? This is pure rubbish to justify the Greens staying in Government. Even were we all to accept the parameters Dan Boyle is setting down - controlling public expenditure, levying fair taxation and maintaining a significant level of capital expenditure (and not all commentators/politicians/economists even agree on that) there is still HUGE scope for a DIVERSITY of opinions on how to administer this.

We might still have a cervical cancer vaccination were there a labour govt for example. Does Dan Boyle think we are all stupid enough to believe this tosh or is he stupid enough to believe it himself?

[TradCat]

I could be said that the options are so few that no alternative government will change much. But it is a democratic imperative to punish those who are responsible for having us so exposed to the disaster. Fianna Fail and those who prop them up need to be hammered at the polls.

[anlkestony]

Dan Boyle should be shot with the balls of his own sh**e. He wasn't democratically elected by anyone. an appointed senator so he should shut the fluck up with his crap

[Christine Murray]

the man negotiated the current programme for government, imo its long past salvage = greens got play revolving chairs with the big boys and totted up some junkets and press releases. unjustifiable politspeak.

[cyberianpan]

I've heard him speak on the topic of the limitations of government before

As in that there is lots the government simply can't do (control the weather, the economy)

And then there is lots that they do that they simply have to do (go with the tide, do what's responsible)

The genuine discretionary wriggle room is limited


cYp

[Christine Murray]

ln this case the wriggle room is not alone limited by current events; but by an expedient relationship that is little more than an ff marriage of convenience.

[droghedasouth]

For a supposedly intelligent man, this is a remarkably stupid statement.

Firstly, it is usually made only by FF apologists ( ah sure they are all the same).

Secondly, the catastrophe that we are embroiled in shows that politics are important,
that different parties will make different choices in finding the balance that he describes,
that different parties will favour different interest groups.

[SPN]

So is he suggesting we shut up shop, forget politics and form a one party state?

No he isn't, as would be clear of you took the time to read what he actually wrote.

Political cooperation in Ireland will be more difficult to achieve, especially in the area of fiscal policy.

It does not really matter which of the political parties are in government; a balance has to be achieved between controlling public expenditure, levying fair taxation and maintaining a significant level of capital expenditure to bring about economic recovery.

Fine Gael wish to excessively cut public services, which is not something the Labour Party would be happy with. The Labour Party tends to be over protective of the public sector, to the extent that it would not implement necessary reforms. This is something that would not have Fine Gael jumping for joy.

If opposition parties cannot agree with each other on fundamentals, the idea of a government of national unity encompassing all of the parties in the Dail seems remote.

Until the opposition get their act together and either put forward a credible joint platform for economic recovery, or state clearly which of Labour's populist nonsense will not be in an agreed Programme for Government, then there is no viable alternative to keeping the current shower in Government.

Fine Gael and Labour need to put up, or shut up.

Even were we all to accept the parameters Dan Boyle is setting down - controlling public expenditure, levying fair taxation and maintaining a significant level of capital expenditure (and not all commentators/politicians/economists even agree on that) there is still HUGE scope for a DIVERSITY of opinions on how to administer this.

Those are probably the only things all credible commentators agree on.

And the "diversity" chasm between what Fine Gael are calling for and the half baked rhetoric of Labour is such that we have no real idea of what we would get if they went into Government together.

We might still have a cervical cancer vaccination were there a labour govt for example. Does Dan Boyle think we are all stupid enough to believe this tosh or is he stupid enough to believe it himself?

We never had the cervical cancer vaccination in the first place, and the problems that are being found with it all over the world probably mean we never will.

[jpc]

Anyone who gave the greens a second or third preference vote did not give it with the intention of the Greens being able to jump in with FF.
Boyle and Co will learn that soon enough.

[Christine Murray]

l see no genuine reform, amendments and private members bills are still ignored when introduced by opposition, speaking time is still reduced in the case of smaller parties and greens seem to just sign off on legislation that is already in train. lts stale and mostly predictable stuff, though l am looking forward to the soon to be published planning act 2009 (one in a long series of planning legislations)