Our democratic deficit - Restoring real respect for politics

YESTERDAY’S airwaves were animated by great anger and, conversely, great and disheartening apathy.

The great majority of those who spoke wanted to talk about the dreadful murders in Limerick and how violent crime is affecting all of our society. Equally, a lot of the debate was informed by disheartening apathy.

Many callers were resigned to the fact that no matter how they protest nothing will change. This apathy was enforced by the argument that the situation in Limerick has not developed overnight and that steps to confront it should have been taken long ago.

This sad state of affairs was seen again in Dublin, when the march organised to protest at the inadequacy of our health service attracted far, far fewer people than the organisers expected. Some estimates say 7,000 people marched, others say 12,000. Either way it was a poor turnout and will have no impact.

Every second community has had to organise protests to try to get a school building. Appropriately enough there was a school protest outside the Dáil on the day Bertie Ahern announced his resignation.

We spend €35 million a year on renting prefabs for schools — a nine-fold increase on 2000 — suggests that the pickets will be needed for a while.

Last year the INTO organised meetings for parents across the country to discuss the issue of class sizes. They were attended by far, far more people than had been anticipated and there was a sense that, finally, the issue might be resolved. That optimism was strengthened when, to a standing ovation, Minister Mary Hanafin announced to last year’s INTO annual conference that she was going to employ 4,000 teachers to deal with the problem. Once the election was won that promise was dropped and the optimism crushed.

So what was the point of all those meetings?

Effectively Fianna Fáil is our permanent government. Though it has had to depend on smaller parties in recent decades this has not proved a difficulty. Labour, the Progressive Democrats or the Greens, have, each in their turn, succumbed to the seductions of promised power. Since Labour supported Fianna Fáil nearly two decades ago it makes no difference who you vote for, Fianna Fáil always wins.

This has led to an insularity and detachment that has not been good for our politics or for Fianna Fáil. One of the most glaring examples of this remove from reality was seen last weekend when the Taoiseach said that his greatest regret, after 11 years in charge of the country, was that he had not delivered a national stadium. Our health and education systems are miles off the pace and he’s worried about a wretched football pitch? If that kind of delusion informs his successor’s judgment then we are all in real trouble.

Some years ago European politics was concerned by a “democratic deficit”. There is a democratic deficit in this country and it is doing great harm to our society.

Our sense of community is as strong as ever, as anyone who saw the Munster supporters in action last weekend will attest, but the sense we are a part of a society where events can be influenced for the greater good by mass protest is all but lost.

Restoring widespread belief in our political process could be a great project for the Cowen era but, and it is far too early to say, it is yet to be seen if he can put his commitment to the country above his commitment to his tribe. It has yet to be established that he even recognises that there is an issue to be addressed.