Election season has truly begun
All Ireland Whinger (A political column by Caoimhín Rowland)
2024 is set to be a colossus for Irish politics. We have local and European elections confirmed for the first Friday in June. We know Brussels want a ballot between June 6 - 9, and who’d be the politician to begrudge primary school kids the country over a soft four-day summer week. It is, after all, their futures that have been royally ruined.
A country that has been at the forefront of the climate catastrophe is Spain. Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish Prime Minister, called a snap general election after his socialist party performed dismally in May’s local elections.
It is very possible we could have a situation where Sinn Féin and other opposition parties as well as independents clean up in next June's ballot.
Varadkar, sensing the mood of the nation, will expedite a general election for September/October of 2024 in a move that will garner favour with a public hungry for change.
In Spain, Sanchez’s move was a masterstroke. The resurgence of the far-right Vox party in the local elections frightened the Spanish masses, so when the general election was called in the aftermath of a right wing swing in local elections, the polls inevitably favoured the centre right Partido Popular and Vox to enter into a right wing coalition. But instead Sanchez’s socialists bucked the trend and now look set to return to power.
Such is the level of disdain Sinn Féin is held in by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil party members, their prediction will be the Irish people will be horrified to see a Sinn Féin sweep in local elections and people will flip their votes back home to the status quo and thus another half decade of Leo and Micheál.
But take a look out the window - Ireland isn’t Spain. Voters already gave their backing in droves to Sinn Féin in the 2020 election.
In Mayo, almost all of the nominees for Sinn Féin have been announced by the party. Donna Hyland is confirmed to run for Sinn Féin in the Castlebar municipal district. Donna Hyland is a nurse by profession and comes from a farming background. She is also involved in housing committees in south west Mayo. Health, housing and farming, there aren’t many more issues that come more high ticket in the minds of the Mayo voter.
In Ballina, Dublin native Úna Morris is the selection for Mary Lou’s party. A former trade unionist now residing in Killala, she’ll face stiff local opposition from Fine Gael incumbent Jarlath Munnelly and expected runner Dave Alexander, who is rumoured for selection by Fianna Fáil in the Ballina district.
In west Mayo, candidates have also been selected. A newcomer to the game, Louisburgh man Peter Nolan is the Green Party selection for one of the four Westport municipal district seats. He’ll face a tough ask but his party leader Eamon Ryan confidently stated “I think we’ll win seats in Mayo” during his last visit to the county.
In a county like ours, Eamon Ryan would battle it out well with Cromwell in favourability polls.
Despite the poor viewing the Greens get in rural areas, they are the only party who offer anything to voters. Sinn Féin have no vision for an alternative Ireland bar a united one. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil’s desire to build road after road after road is a vote getter until there’s no space in Ireland left without tarmac.
Rumblings have indeed emerged of new kids on the block, the Social Democrats, riding high in national polls, with Holly Cairns, the west Cork TD and leader of the party, looked upon as a breath of fresh air. It may well be news to many of you but the Social Democrats have a branch in Mayo and a handful of members too. For legitimacy and future funding their party HQ will be keen to run candidates in as many races as possible around the country, with Westport and Castlebar potentially the most viable.
Next month we will know more for sure.
Election season has begun folks, announcements will continue to be made in the weeks ahead and with the Dáil currently in recess, by the time September comes there will be 10 solid months to lead into the European and local polls in June of 2024. Expect silly season to sprout a few rounds of friendly fire from government parties and posturing from opposition benches.