It’s time for festiv e goodwill from all sides... not ev en the politicians want an election

ANYBODY who has ever done an election canvass will have heard the accusation: “There must be an election because we never hear from ye from one end of the year until the other.”

But isn’t that what most people want? Every five years we go to the polls to elect TDs who we think will have the least negative impact on our lives.

We hope they will get on with the business of running the country and otherwise stay out of the way unless we call them.

The idea of them stealing Christmas is more than most of us will be able to fathom.

A plague on all your houses.

But there’s another side to the story.

They don’t want it either. Behind all the ideological battles and campaign rhetoric, politicians are people too.

They have presents to buy, Santa lists to write and trees of their own to decorate. So do the people they rely on to deliver leaflets and knock on doors.

Depending on the size of the constituency, most will have a core group of up to 20 people who go out to bat in the hope of getting their guy/ girl elected.

Some will hear the toughest stories of hardship while others will take awful abuse.

“It’s hard enough to get people in good times, I’m not sure I can even ask them in the dead of December,” said one TD.

Sources in both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil say if it happens, this will be a campaign like no other. The traditional door-to-door canvas won’t work.

Aside from anything else daylight is scarce. The canvassers’ guide warns not to call during big sporting events or, depending on the demographic, big episodes of programmes such as ‘Coronation Street’. The optimum time is “early evening” between 5pm-7pm. But in December daylight is scarce and the number of people home by 5pm is even scarcer.

Putting up posters in the cold and wind is a challenge and they can forget about the shopping centre blitz.

So when the politicians go on radio over the next 48 hours and pronounce that they don’t want a general election, they are being honest. At the same time the two main parties have their manifestos more or less ready to print.

Fine Gael launched a ‘rolling political programme’ at its national conference in Cavan a few weeks ago.

And despite the widespread expectation that it will use Leo Varadkar’s now infamous ‘Republic of Opportunities’ as its election slogan, sources suggest we may be treated to a whole new catchphrase.

Meanwhile, the backroom boys in Fianna Fáil have updated their ‘Ireland For All’ proposals that went down well last year.

Micheál Martin’s party began holding selection conventions during the summer and has a significant portion completed, including in the leader’s Cork South Central homestead.

So an election is logically possible. But nobody wants to be in a count centre on Christmas Eve.

It’s time for a bit of festive goodwill on all sides.