Hanafin Keeps a Straight Face While Describing Public Sector as Efficient

The big news of the weekend was the announcement that the OECD are going to be allowed to get their teeth into the Irish Public Service, with a major study being announced by An T T Taoiseach.

The timing of this is perfect for FF, any adverse publicity pre - election can be referred to the report which the Government have set up. Should FF get back in, they will have a mandate to make changes, should they fail to get back in they will conveniently forget that they commissioned this report and rubbish it whenever those nasty Fine Gaelers try to attack our poor hard working civil servants.

The laugh of the day had to be this mornings Morning Ireland interview, when she claimed that most Irish people would be very happy with the level of public service provision in Ireland. I think it's fair to say even she struggled to keep a straight face saying it, but thats the beauty of radio, we'll never know.

Waterford 1 - 0 Mayo

It really looks like it will be a US style election. Not only do we have negative campaigning, but now it appears that party discipline has been fired out the window as well. John Deasys comments regarding the future tenure of party leader Enda Kenny really shouldn't surprise us all that much. He comes from argumentative stock that Deasy boy. If his daddy wasn't trying a vote of no confidence in his leader, then it was considered a bad year. What really must be seen as depressing for FGers (yes both of them) is the amateur hour manner in which the crisis has been handled. First Damien English allows himself to be used by the media as a second stalking horse. Then Enda issues his response which merely serves to stoke up the controversy further.About the only good thing, and it may prove to be a very good thing, is getting these fiascos out of the way early in the campaign. This would have been a complete disaster had it happened in April, as it is, it'll blow over fairly quickly. It does leave a fairly stark choice for voters in Waterford though, because unless Cullen gets re elected in a FF Govt, one of our largest cities will be sans Minister. Deasy's political rehabilitation, such as it was, ended last week in yet another puff of smoke.

And So It Begins

Runners and riders are now well and truly under orders as the unofficial election campaign gets started.

Fine Gael look set to have taken the campaign down a notch with their attack on Michael McDowell. It doesn't appear as if much sympathy will flow in the direction of the PD fuhrer, however many may mourn the introduction of American style campaigning into the Irish political landscape. Who knows though it could be fun.

Bertie sitting looking into the camera, choking back a tear and saying, I'm An T T Taoiseach and I approve dis message. Pan back to a slick ad which turns Inda from a simple Mayo boy into a mass murderer.

In a system where there are few ideological differences, it becomes about personality, when there is little personality it becomes about altering perception of personality, when all else fails, just hurl a load of shit and hope that some of it will stick.

Fine Gael have gone back to the drawing board following the revelation that Bertie is indeed untouchable and have decided to target the PD's. But what can that achieve. Target the PD seats and try and make FF TDs guilty by association. If it is an actual strategy, then I hope that it's not one that they are paying the Yankees big bucks for.

Anyway the race is on. And just so we can look back on it in a few months time, here are the prices with Boyle Sports on who will form the next Government.


Fianna Fail & Progressive Democrats
11/10
Fianna Fail & Labour
9/4
Fine Gael / Labour & Green's
3/1
Fine Gael & Labour
10/1
Fianna Fail On Their Own
12/1
Fianna Fail & Greens
14/1
Fianna Fail & Sinn Fein
16/1
Fine Gael / Labour & Progressive Democrats
33/1