Beyond Parody: Giant steps or Sign the Contract… Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil and the slogans of our two largest political parties… March 31, 2007
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Irish Election 2007.trackback
Fabulous news everyone.
Should we think of casting our democratic vote for Fianna Fáil we are invited to “take the next steps”. Where? To what purpose? Baby steps or great leaps a la Neil Armstrong? Shuffle, or stride? Forward or back? Up or down? Over and out.
Should by contrast it be Fine Gael that takes our fancy we are inveigled by Enda Kenny during his speech to “Sign the contract: Vote Fine Gael” (and should that not whet our appetite we can also go for “Fine Gael for a better Ireland”. Ireland? Well I never – although I’m reminded of Simon Hoggarts trick in the Guardian of reversing the words to get at the true meaning…Fine Gael for Ireland’s betters?).
A slogan of barely credible banality from FF matched only by one of almost surreal…well…what faux-commercialism (or a hint of the Soprano’s) from FG.
Wouldn’t it be nice to be treated like adults once or twice away from the cod inclusive/populist/business like/tiresome rhetoric of political campaigns, or is that just me?
And if it is a contract that FG are going with as the central plank of their election campaign, seems sort of dangerous ground to me to be on (anyone recall the Contract with America the US Republicans road tested back in 1994s which led to the most protracted gridlock as they sought to apply their ideological precepts with reality and a Democratic President – incidentally got to love the American Dream Restoration Act which was part of the contract). Contracts have a nasty habit of not working out when put into practice. Nor do very specific campaign pledges, and we need only look at Fianna Fáil for proof of that. Having said all that Kenny came across as self assured and confident. No mean trick and just the thing to fire up the party faithful.
I’ll return to this topic over the next day or two.
(While we’re on the subject an odd touch on the part of Fine Gael having a crowd of party members close in around David Daven Power as he gave his report on the 9 o’clock news. Smiling fixedly into the camera far from evoking enthusiasm appears to betoken mania. Still, whatever it takes – eh?)
The Cedar Lounge Revolution 
I noticed that about the party members on the 9.00 news too. They were a most unappealing lot, weren’t they?
LikeLike
Indeed they were.
There’s already been a bit of a fight back amongst FG’ers (well Dan Sullivan to be precise) on P.ie and Irish Election saying that they were kids or whatever… Well two were of six or seven. But surely media management alone would suggest clearing a path around DD-P in order to show the packed hall rather than a sort of knock-off version of the Marx brothers (sadly without Groucho) providing a Greek chorus.
LikeLike