Time for a stable government

The report of the starter gun on a General Election sounded last week and already the campaign is well underway. Clearly the election posters were prepared in advance. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail as was once famously said ahead of a certain World Cup odyssey.

Our candidates do not plan to fail, although of course by the very nature of the event, some will fall short of their goal and will not make the next Dail. For us, the general public, does it matter much who is in government after all the votes are counted?

In this country, we have political parties who present manifestos to us and we have independent candidates who stand before us with a list of priorities, usually centred on local issues as opposed to actual manifestos.

However what really matters is the programme for government, as we rarely elect a single party to government, but rather end up with a coalition government, in which the programme for government is an agreed document based on elements of the manifestos of the coalition partners.

Following the last General Election, we didn’t even have that compromise, as we had independent TDs joining a minority government with Fine Gael in which their priorities such as the reopening of Stepaside Garda Station which was a wish of Shane Ross, became part and parcel of the programme for government.

We also, had the deeply unusual, confidence and supply arrangement between Fine Gael in government and Fianna Fáil in opposition, by which, some of Fianna Fail’s priorities were prioritised by government.

So what the country got in the end was a mishmash of policies from various political interests which was fundamentally based around the art of compromise.

As this election campaign starts off, it is very likely that we will end up with a similar outcome at the end, with no party having a clear majority and in need of coalition support from one or two smaller parties or indeed a number of independents.

This tradition of coalition government and a small number of influential independent TDs leads to a lack of political authority in our system of government.

The outgoing government was often paralysed by inaction, unable to take the political direction it wanted for fear of being pulled down by those within, in the shape of the independent alliance or by those without, in either Fianna Fáil or other opposition parties.

Strong government needs a solid foundation and confidence that it can see off any detractors to government policy and legislation. You might argue that coalition and minority government, is a way of ensuring checks and balances to the political system and of being more conciliatory, but does it actually lead to strong leadership and good government ?.

Strong government with a solid majority, absolutely needs a strong opposition to keep it in check, but as we have seen from our recent past and indeed the recent shambolic period of government in the UK, minority governments end up in weak, rudderless administrations unable to deliver for the people.

By many measures Ireland has recovered from the financial crash of 2008, there are more people at work than ever before and the public finances are back on track, even though we have a huge debt issue still to face up to.

Others aspects of Irish life remain chronically challenged, with health and housing, the two most pressing problems to resolve.

Every candidate on TV, on the radio and on our doorsteps in the coming weeks will tell us that they have the solution to these problems and tell us even more loudly how their opponents solutions will not solve the crisis.

After four years of a government unable to show strong political leadership and authority, the country could benefit from having a strong, stable, confident administration that will be swift and decisive in implementing their policies.

What hue that government will be is up to us, but either way, I think the time of having a mishmash of parties, a cacophony of different voices and having the tail wagging the dog at the cabinet table should be put aside and let’s see what our politicians are made of when they have the clear authority to tackle our pressing needs.