A Bad Idea

As election campaigning enters its final days, the Taoiseach Enda Kenny

yesterday launched a scathing attack on some voters in his own constituency !

At a Fine Gael rally in Castlebar, Co. Mayo last night, Enda Kenny described some local 

people as "All Ireland Champions" in whingeing.

He made the comments to a rally of supporters in his home town last night.

He said they refused to recognise that the town was benefitting from the economic recovery.

The Taoiseach told reporters afterwards that the comments were not aimed a national audience: 

“Locals, nothing to do with national politics at all. Obviously, we get this all the time, but sometimes 

I feel that people find it very difficult to see any good, anywhere, anytime.”

© Irish Examiner

Up date: Irish Times reports;
Speaking on RTÉ radio on Monday, Mr Adams said the reality was that people throughout the country were not seeing the benefits of the recovery.

“The Taoiseach referred yesterday to whingers and people who would not see the sunshine on a sunny day. People do not feel the recovery because there is no recovery for them. The reason they are not seeing the recovery is because this Government made the wrong decisions”, he said.

Footnote

It is time Enda took a long holiday and I do mean that. Does he not know that every word that he utters goes before him and is read as a critical marker by everyone on this island and internationally too. 

It is totally naive of him to believe otherwise.

I presume that the benefits to his constituents he mentions include:

Major bed closures in the district hospitals of Ballina, Belmullet and Swinford, the 32,000 hours of assistance cut from the elderly

and disabled, the reduction of home helps and the slashing of welfare support for those in Back to Education which is no longer available 

for those who wish be teachers.

If these are his benefits it was only the Department of Finance that benefitted.

ELECTIONITUS

Electionitus is a serious condition that afflicts most of the adult population at election times. The symptoms range from acute lethargy to fanaticism. What I was unaware of was that many of the election candidates suffer from an egoistical condition which described in great detail by Gerry Adams in his blog Leargas.  http://leargas.blogspot.ie

I have an extract below where he explains the condition:

"Every candidate and everyone else should be mindful of the particular and peculiar stresses and strains that comes with being a candidate. It’s a form of ailment called Candidatitis. It begins with the candidate coming to believe – with a certainty known only to the prophets of old – that they are going to win.

This syndrome is capable of moving even the most rational aspirant or shy wallflower into a state of extreme self belief. It strikes without warning, is no respecter of gender, and can infect the lowly municipal hopeful, the aspiring Parliamentarian, as well as the lofty presidential wannabe.

The late Screaming Lord Sutch, or his Irish equivalent, who stands just for the craic, can fall victim to candidatitis as much as the most committed and earnest political activist. I believe this is due to two factors. First of all most people standing for election see little point in telling the voters that they are not going to win. That just wouldn’t make sense. Of course not. So they say they are going to win.

Listen to Joan Burton the Labour leader. Does she admit that Labour is going to lose seats. Not a chance. Or does Micheál Martin admit that his refusal to consider going into coalition with Fine Gael or Sinn Féin (not that there’s much chance of that) means that Fianna Fáil will not be in government after this election? Not on your nelly. He spent five minutes vainly trying to convince listeners to RTE that Fianna Fáil can be in government. Even though they are clearly not running enough candidates.

That's when Candidatitis starts. As the 'we are going to win' is repeated time and time again it starts to have a hypnotic effect on the person intoning the mantra. By this time it’s too late."

A good example of the affliction see below:

On Thursday 6th Ms Burton said "I'm very confident as ever of our chances. It's a good time for an election"

On Monday 8th Joan Burton said "No seat is safe in this election for any party", but when asked if her own seat was safe, she replied: “Absolutely!"

Today Thursday16th: Tánaiste Joan Burton is facing a massive battle to save her own political career!

A poll result in her constituency shows

According to herself she gave the pensioners a generous increase of €3 per week after having stood by and allowed them to face Water Charges and Property Tax and cuts in their Winter Fuel allowance. The lady is falling in popularity I wonder why ?