Irish Examiner view: No wriggle room left for FG

Cabinet in conflict

In the context of parliamentary politics, Ivana Bacik’s election was more symbolic than seismic.

Optimism is one of those nebulous but essential human qualities; it sustains and inspires. It can also delude. In that context, it might be overly optimistic to imagine that last week’s Dublin Bay South byelection was a harbinger of real, fundamental change. 

In the context of parliamentary politics, Ivana Bacik’s election was more symbolic than seismic. However, in the context of offering an insight into the public mood, it is the moment’s best metric. It showed deep dissatisfaction with the traditional parties of power. One was humiliated, the other may not have been so humiliated but its dismissal was just as emphatic.

Tuesday's Cabinet row, when agreement on the funding to at least begin to resolve the housing crisis proved impossible is a symptom of the malaise that ensured last week’s victory for a party stuck on 3% in national polls — Labour.

As Fianna Fáil struggles with its new, reduced circumstances internal disputes erupt. One saw an accusation that the party “does not get the housing crisis” offered. It may be of little comfort to Fianna Fáil but there is ample evidence to suggest that Fine Gael doesn’t either.

After more than a decade in power, the scandal grows while the opportunity to buy a home becomes more and more remote for more and more people. Fine Gael must decide, as the DBS electorate did last week, whose side it is on. It really is that simple — and ultimately definitive.