Canvassers will tread softly on doorsteps of angry electorate

With the European Parliament elections circus now underway and the local elections gearing up for week"s end deadline, in these uncertain times the Irish electorate can be sure of one thing: the political and economic landscape in Ireland is going through the strangest era in living memory. The same could be said for the situation worldwide but the changes at home have taken on a 'damned-if-we-win, damned-if-we-lose" meaning for parties on either side of the politcal spectrum. Taoiseach Brian Cowen has said he is focused on winning the two by-elections in Dublin and seats in the local and European elections. Fianna Fail is the party willing to make tough decisions in the face of a difficult economic climate and people realise that more and more, he said, as he canvassed recently in the Dublin South constituency with a Fianna Fail candidate. Meanwhile, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny favours a general election which could happen by year"s end. If it does happen and a Fine Gael/Labour-plus government take over, the mess they"ll have to clean up will be astronomical unless - and it is a big 'unless" - there is a diamond somewhere in the muck in the shape of an upturn in the economy. With conflicting views by top economists, the gamble of winning a general election might just bear fruit and destroy Fianna Fail"s prospects for getting into power for at least 15 years, depending on how good a job a new coalition does on fixing the economy. It"s a telling sign of how low Fianna Fail members feel when their FF logos on candidate posters require a microscope to read. In contrast, the other party candidates have their logos emblazoned in big, bold letters across their posters. But, Fianna Fail criticism aside, the Opposition are no angels either. They have not reassured Irish voters that, should they get into power, they will change the face of Irish politics by ending cronyism, radical party loyalty and forcing resignation on any politician who fails in his or her duty to the State. They have not convinced the Irish taxpayer, either, that every single cent spent will be justified to the approval of the majority of Irish citizens. And they have not been convincing in laying out inspirational, brave new plans on how to kick-start the Irish economy and create thousands of new jobs. It is easy to bash Fianna Fail at the moment, and much of it is justifiable, but the Opposition have a long way to go before convincing the Irish public that they represent everything moral and good in a political, banking and building system that, in recent years, has appeared to be rotten to the core. However, Fine Gael have rightly avoided party tribalism, as Fianna Fail members would rather be fed to the lions than put the electorate before party loyalty in allowing a coalition with FG take control, even if the country often appears on the brink of economic collapse. Consider all this for questions when your local candidate campaigners arrive on your doorstep. They"ll probably blame the media for talking down the economy and point the finger at Fine Gael"s George Lee for his pessimistic warnings. But the media cannot be blamed for telling the facts, no matter how unpalatable they are. Shooting the messenger will ensure that wrongdoers will always get off the hook.