Politicians keep it country in their quest to secure farming vote

BRAZEN bullocks, woolly sheep and haughty heifers are being given bit parts in the election campaign in rural Ireland as party leaders sweep into marts, visit shows and walk the land seeking the support of the country’s 130,000 farm families.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern arrived in the rain at Castleblaney Mart in Co Monaghan the other day.

Then this week it was the turn of Fine Gael’s Denis Naughten to outline his party’s policy for agriculture in an angling centre in Athleague, Co Roscommon.

Learned senior counsel and PD leader Michael McDowell put on a pair of wellies when he visited the farm of Seamus and Eilish Croke at Pallas, Portlaoise, with Minister of State Tom Parlon, former IFA president, to announce his party’s rural economy programme.

Labour, Sinn Féin and the Green Party are also campaigning for rural votes as the campaign enters its final week.

“The campaign needs a cross dog to put a bark into it,” said one old political hack, as he sighed for the days of torchlight processions, church gate meetings and hecklers, planted and otherwise.

However, efforts to win the votes of coy farmers have been accelerated by the recent Irish Farmers Journal opinion poll.

It showed a big swing in support to Fine Gael, with Enda Kenny also edging ahead of the Taoiseach in the satisfaction ratings.

Yet a Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats government was still the preferred option of the 500 farmers polled around the country by Behaviour and Attitudes over the May Bank Holiday.

A day after the poll findings were published, Bertie Ahern led his Soldiers of Destiny across the countryside to canvass farmers at Castleblayney Mart.

Bidding was even suspended as the Taoiseach assured them Fianna Fáil had delivered for the sector and will continue doing so in the future.

“We are the only party to include farming in its core priorities, and no other party leader even mentioned farmers in their Árd Fheis and conference speeches,” he said.

Agriculture and Food Minister Mary Coughlan, who secured a huge 71% satisfaction rating in the opinion poll, later told reporters a lot of the farmers’ votes are coming to FF because they know the party has delivered for the sector.

Not so, said Fine Gael’s Denis Naughten, who claimed the current Government has let farmers down badly.

The period has been characterised by stagnant prices and spiralling input costs, like energy and water charges, and a squeezing of margins by processors and large retail multiples. It is a damning indictment of the FF-PD Government that six farmers now leave agriculture each day, he said.

The arguments go back and forward as politicians continue to press the flesh and wear colourful rosettes, not unlike those that will adorn the horses and cattle filling the top placings in their classes at Bandon Show on Sunday.

But unlike the owners of the rosette winners, the politicians will have to wait until the count on May 25 to know their fate.

A summary of the agricultural policies of the political parties is featured in today’s Farming Examiner.