LET the blood-letting begin. After three and a bit weeks of unvarnished bore, it’s in your hands to deliver a verdict on who governs Ireland for the next five years. An unenviable task.
But one you should relish. The power to elevate and execute is now yours. Use it.
The three biggest parties, Fianna Fail (21%), Sinn Fein (20%) and Fine Gael (19%) are all as enticing as a bucket of cattle entrails in an abattoir. Hold your nose if you decide to plump for any of them. The two outgoing government parties (who have shared power for 100 years) have promised (yet again) to spend big — upwards of €50-60 billion on housing, infrastructure, disability services and the like (entirely necessary mind) — all while CUTTING taxes.
Sinn Fein has too. A five-year-old would be able to tell you that you can’t do both and expect to have a sound economy. It’s worse-than-juvenile politics , being wholly reliant on the crock-of-gold from corporation tax receipts that has made us a rich little country (on paper) over the past number of years (we’re still third world when it comes to public services, so keep that in mind as you stare at your ballot paper today).
With Donald Trump vowing to begin a trade war with every large economic bloc — and the eyes of Don’s pick for Trade secretary Jamieson Greer, are firmly on Ireland — continuing to rely on big tech tax receipts to bankroll the state is like hoping you’ll get to date the most beautiful girl in the world while hiding in yo.