Time to vote – Censorship overshadows polling day

IS there no end to Fianna Fáil’s arrogance? On the eve of today’s elections, it has emerged that the party engaged in blatant media censorship.

In a breath-taking display of political interference, the party approached the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland to suppress reports on issues of public interest.

This represents a heavy-handed interpretation of the customary pre-election broadcasting moratorium. In effect, radio stations were barred from reporting such matters as SIPTU’s refusal to co-operate with decentralisation and proposals to review the operation of garda stations.

For the BCI to muzzle such reports on grounds that the election could be influenced smacks of Big Brother and is beyond the bounds of reason. It also calls into question its independence. Its powers of discretion have been castrated, judging by the exceptionally rigid interpretation of the act.

This development overshadows today’s mid-term test of how the Coalition has governed the country. With votes being cast in local and European elections and the Citizenship referendum, everything is to play for.

Essentially, voters will be deciding on the achievements, failures, pledges and betrayals of the Fianna Fáil-PD marriage.

But it will also be a pivotal moment for Fine Gael as it struggles to recover ground massively lost when its support collapsed in the last general election.

To say the overall campaign has been a lacklustre affair would be an understatement. Personality clashes aside, the cut and thrust of debate on the burning political issues of the day never caught fire. Arguably, the imminent re-birth of the Celtic Tiger could prove a major boon for the Coalition parties. Whether the economy outweighs such issues as health, crime, crumbling schools, or the concerns of disabled people, remains to be seen.

Reflecting public apathy about politics, not even the referendum on ‘tourism citizenship’ could ignite debate on this potentially explosive question. But despite the combined opposition of Labour, the Greens, and Sinn Féin, the opinion polls suggest the referendum will be carried.

A majority of voters are expected to say ‘Yes’ to withdrawing the automatic right of citizenship for babies born in Ireland who do not have at least one parent who is an Irish citizen.

Across the political spectrum, Fianna Fáil could be in for something of a drubbing, especially in local elections where almost 900 seats on city and county councils are at stake.

If the opinion polls are reflected in the ballot box, the party could lose as many as 100 seats up and down the country. Even Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, leader of Fianna Fáil, admits that seats will be lost in Dublin but denies the party will get a “battering”.

Nevertheless, in the race for 12 highly lucrative seats in the European parliament, the country’s dominant party is also expected to lose a seat or two.

While Fine Gael are expected to suffer at local level, particularly in Dublin, their disappointment could well be offset by European success.

Ultimately, Sinn Féin could be the major story of these elections with the party set to make huge gains in local elections, including places where people never expected them to get seats.

It is important to note that the above criticism of Fianna Fáil should not be interpreted as an attempt by this newspaper to tell our readers how to vote.

With the spectre of political apathy hanging over the day, the bottom line is that people should get out and vote for the candidate of their choice.