Time parties united to oppose extremism

THERE has been a consistency to political polling over the last two or three years that suggests the next Dáil will be very different to any elected in at least 50 years. 

Rather than have an unshakable majority of centrist, conservative, male-dominated groupings, one hardly distinguishable from the other, the 32nd Dáil — it the polls are accurate and that is always a significant “if” — will be a far more diverse, far more fractured and a far angrier parliament.

Whether this novel diversity might an opportunity or a difficulty is subjective but it is hard to be convinced that such a divided chorus might sing sweetly in tune — or even from the same hymnal much less the same hymn sheet.