Chrysalis

The reaction so far today of our politicians to the report of the Boundary Commission is in stark contrast to the relative silence we heard from them when so many other reports were issued in the past. In recent days we had the report showing the flaws in our health care system that has and is continuing to let down children.
One TD in Dublin tweeted that the Boundary Commission had ‘butchered’ their constituency and had stripped it of its geographical identity. The first thing I find abhorrent in the comment is the term ‘butchered’, the boundary commission is an independent body that has by all accounts made very appropriate changes within the remit they were given. ‘Butchered’ is an angry term used by an angry TD who sees their chances of regaining a seat at the next election dwindling.
This leads me to the second thing that annoyed me about this Tweet and other reactions; the continued belief of our TD’s that the seats they inhabit are theirs! Yes we elect them to the Dáil but on election they are expected to represent their constituents and the country as a whole and not their own agenda’s. Until we start electing representatives who truly see their job as just that, to represent, we are going to continue with this self-serving and arrogant system.
Individual TD’s have forgotten that they are in their roles because of the votes cast by the PEOPLE; they are not overlords of their own fiefdom. The problem with my last point however is that we the PEOPLE continue to re-elect them even when there are other options to hand. And the problem my last point (there is a trend forming here) is that more often than not the alternatives that are offered lack the cohesion to make possible real change across the political mainstream.
What we need is a party with real prospects of winning elections to stand and to put candidates forward who have signed up to the principal of real political reforms. Political reforms that are far reaching in their scale (essentially we need to vote for turkeys who will vote for Christmas). And why wouldn’t we? Well past experience has shown us that politicians are self-serving so in order for any new party to succeed they will have to be radically different. The people who will stand for any new party will have to be social entrepreneurs, social changers and those from within our communities who have shown a commitment to bettering society.
A new party with a new agenda and a new way of doing politics if it was to be given a mandate could conceivably transform our political landscape. I am sorry to all members of the current political party’s for this next point; but existing party’s will not allow for real reforms because it would impact on them. Irish politics needs to instil a level of altruism to it that we have not seen since the signing of the treaty by Michael Collins et al.
The reduction to 40 constituencies and 158 TD’s along with the expected abolition of the Seanad will do nothing but rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic. We need instead to reform how we elect who we elect, reform their work practices and install a higher level of scrutiny on their actions.
We need politicians and politics, we need leadership but what we do not need is a continuation of the short term planning (from election to election) that has allowed many of our woes as a county and economy to be worsened.
We need politicians who will set in train decisions that will have far reaching and beneficial consequences that may indeed cost them a seat (remember not their seat) but will in time prove a success. Will we get them? I doubt it in enough numbers and with enough organisation to be successful. However, I am an optimist, I will not stop hoping and pushing to make sure we at least have a full ballot paper, I will continue to push the status quo and continue to hope!