Mayo View: Election won't bring radical change because it has already happened

As the biggest constituency in the country geographically, a lot of political eyes are focused on Mayo and the likely outcome in the general election.

It can be argued that it's likely to be a clear pointer to the overall national result, a microcosm of the mood of the Irish at a time when the world is in such turmoil.

In such circumstances, people often place their faith in what is familiar to them, reluctant to aggravate for too much change too soon.

And while social changes have taken place at an unprecedented rate in Mayo since the last general election in February 2020 due to Covid, immigration, the escalation of the housing crisis and a sharp hike in the cost of living, the appetite for major shifts does not appear to exist since the astonishing decline of Sinn Féin in the opinion polls over the past 18 months or so.

Sinn Féin was the vehicle for the political transformation expected to be coming down the line before it came crashing to a sudden halt.

The public now regard it as being more suitable for the opposition benches rather than the government ones - a scenario that has given fresh life to the much-maligned yet widely trusted brand of Fine Gael/Fianna Fáil together.

The clear and consistent message from recent opinion polls is the majority of Irish people are satisfied to allow the former rivals to continue their work in office with Sinn Féin keeping a close eye on them.

It would be a shock, consequently, if the election does not pan out like that both nationally and here in Mayo, with FG and FF dominating proceedings and Sinn Féin uncomfortably hanging on to their coattails.

In the overall context of Irish politics over the past century, this is radical change, and far more seamless than could have been imagined even 10 years ago.

An Irish solution to an Irish problem, indeed!