Forming the next government: Accepting real change always hard

FOR the next while those who would, and those who could but won’t, help form the next government need to be dispassionately objective and far more patient than they naturally are.

Those entrenched stormtroopers who so colourfully rule out a partnership that in the real, grown-up world seems an entirely rational option need to embrace a new, unfamiliar humility. They need to listen to what was said by the entire electorate, not just their cheerleading, one-eyed supporters.

In extreme, no surrender cases, and there are several, a period of reflection bordering on silence might be helpful as the old, tried-and-failed paradigm of the two-and-and-half party turn-and-about-turn domination of our political process has had a silver stake driven through its heart. The past is often described as a foreign country but, in the context of our new, unmapped political landscape, it’s an entirely different galaxy.

The pressing, everyday needs of Ireland and all of the ever more colourful strands that make it up must prevail over political ambition. The dog must, for once, wag the tail.

The objective of every deputy honoured with a seat in the 32nd Dáil must be singular and clear — a new, robust political arrangement that will lead to the establishment of a government that can offer continuity, a game-changing and immediate response to the crisis in housing and the health service. They must also immediately return the objectives of social equity, fair and viable social supports, realistic and sustaining life and work paths for all citizens, and a hard-nosed, unflinching challenge to the ever-greater concentration of wealth, to the epicentre of our political ambition and process.

This may seem an almost impossible challenge, but if it is honestly embraced and largely realised, then those who find the courage to shake off the shackles and step across the outdated red lines to deliver the kind of change demanded through last week’s polls could be absolutely confident of the electorate’s support.

The endorsement of such an achievement, one long dreamed of by those who still think that the full potential of this country has yet to be realised, would be profound. Fianna Fáil’s and Fine Gael’s fears about being outflanked could be set aside. Indeed, such an achievement — evolution not revolution — could be the most energising and optimistic moment in Irish political life for decades if not in the history of the State. It could offer the opportunityto help redefine and renew Ireland, the prize is really that great.

Such an arrangement depends on levels of trust alien, and with good cause, to all Irish political life. It would obviously, and understandably, take time to build the confidence needed to even open meaningful talks.

For those inculcated from the cradle with one of the particular, partisan versions of Ireland’s story this will be a daunting challenge and an exercise in self-realisation that many of us would shy away from. That arch dealmaker, former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, yesterday cautioned patience, saying that nothing of any consequence can be expected for at least a month until the St Patrick’s Day folderols and 2016 marching and reviewing have been done and cheered to the rafters. In comparison to the social and economic stasis and religious monoculture imposed on this small but defiantly positive country by decades of bitter, insular and half-cocked Civil War politics this short period is just the blink of an eye and of no real consequence.

If there is a concern about such an arrangement it is that the liberal social agenda so well promoted by Labour might fall victim to conservative stonewalling. This would be a tragedy and a mistake because as survey after survey has shown the public is far more open to change than our political leaders seem to be.

Naturally, the conservative, genetically-imprinted wings of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil will dismiss these suggestions as being impossible but before they do maybe they could explain where their version of politics has got us? They could explain too why the dominance they shared for decades has been shattered and consigned to history. They should explain too what the likely consequences of intransigence might be. Another election before Christmas? Months without a government as external threats to economic recovery — or even stability — multiply and deepen?

All of this may seem a reckless capitulation to idealism but if politics can’t at least aspire to idealism — especially as we celebrate the opportunity offered by 1916 — then it’s just cat-and-mouse bookeeping with one set of clerks trying to usurp the other. To borrow and extend a phrase from another campaign: Yes We Can — And There’s No Good Reason Not To.