It’s time to put the country first — let’s have an election right now

MERCIFULLY the election campaign is over. Some will say it was the essence of democracy, but the whole thing was particularly tedious.

Isn’t it time that politicians on both sides of the Dáil put the interests of the country before those of their party? It has become a cliche to congratulate everybody who stands for election, as if it were an example of moral courage. That maybe true of office seekers who have the courage to say what they really believe, but politicians generally only tell people what they want to hear.

Hearing Fianna Fáil politicians repeatedly saying that they expected to fare badly because they had to make so many unpopular decisions, was enough to make one vomit. They were insulting the intelligence of the electorate with that crap, and they got what they deserved. There are none so stupid as those who do not learn from their mistakes. Unfortunately there are few grounds for believing that Fine Gael is much better.