Ganley - Back in the Saddle?

It seems that you can't keep a Glenamaddy man down - Declan Ganley, a politician who achieves the seemingly impossible feat of being both conservative and revolutionary at the same time, may be considering a return to public life in some way. In an article in TheJournal.ie, Ganley sets out his view of how Ireland has suffered over the last year, how little Europe has been able to do for us, and the failure of our political class to provide any meaningful leadership. There is also the hint that Ganley is feeling out support for a new party: "we can embrace an alternative."

Following the disappointing performance of Libertas during the June 2009 European elections, some will wonder if Ganley is flogging a dead horse if he does return to the political arena - will the Irish people ever warm to a man who has been accused of being a CIA front to undermine the EU, who has been roundly attacked by all sectors of the Irish political mainstream, and who speaks with an English accent (let's face it, people are small-minded)?

Perhaps they should. I think Ganley would do well to forget the Lisbon Treaty, accept that Ireland voted Yes, and realise that there is little that can be done to change that now. He also needs to recognise that the EU is the only thing keeping us afloat, and that, if we will (as Ganley points) each be paying back around €50k each in debt over our lifetimes bcause of this mess, it has nothing to do with Europe. That debt is their because of domestic Irish policies (and if the EU stepped in to stop us from financially self-harming, I assume Ganley would have screamed blue murder).

Europe, and Ireland's role in it, is a dead issue. Where Ganley would stand to gain serious political ground is by offering a centre-right, business friendly alternative to the current crop of parties. If Ganley was prepared to stand up and say our public spending needed to be tackled, our government system reformed, and the expenses and perks for our elected reps cut down to size - that's a message a large chunk of the Irish people would respond to, and it's a message they are not getting from any other party.

So Declan, forget about Europe - that battle is lost. Now, you need to fight on the home front.

Struggling Towards a New Party

Recent coverage in the Irish Times, and elsewhere in the media, show that the impetus towards establishing new parties in Ireland is growing. The four parties mentioned in the article are:

1) Fis Nua - I suppose these could be characterised as the "Continuity Greens", effectively members of the environmentalist movement who have become disillusioned with the direction the mainstream Green Party has taken since going into government. Originally, it appeared that former Green Patricia McKenna was rowing in behind this group, but it would appear she has since distanced herself from them.

2) Direct Democracy Ireland, a party advocating greater use of referenda and other direct democracy legislative tools. It would appear to be fronted by Vincent Salafia, who is best known for his involvement in the M3 Tara protests and the protests against roadworks around Carrickmines Castle. Patricia McKenna would also seem to be supporting this venture. Personally, direct democracy seems nice in theory, but I'm not sure how it would operate in practice.

3) "The Irish Independents’ Party" - a movement spearheaded by Leo Armstrong, who is apparently a former member of the Greens and of Fine Gael. Held an initial meeting in Kilkenny, at which only 50 prospective members attended (which says much about how prepared Irish people actually are to fight for a new approach to politics in this country). Interestingly, Mr. Armstrong has been criticised on the letters pages of a number of national newspapers for not having any policies, but I think that his efforts say a lot about the perceived problems of the Irish political system - policies are not the issue, the very nature of politics in this country is.

4) The Reform Party - established by Cork businessman Michael Murphy, this would appear to be an attempt to fill the liberal, free-market friendly, low tax party-shaped hole left in the Irish political landscape by the departure of the PDs. I will be watching with interest.

Finally, and more recently, former justice minister Michael McDowell raised the possibility of his return to politics, leading to much speculation regarding the emergence of another new PD-style party. Rumours abound that such a venture would include Pat Cox, or even Declan Ganley, but it is hard to know how much truth there is behind all the talk. Indeed, it is hard to reconcile three such, shall we say, forceful personalities surviving together in a single party. Still, hope springs eternal that something new will arrive on the scene and wash away the stagnant status quo.