Comments | sammymorse: One cheer for Alasdair McDonnell

sammymorse

One cheer for Alasdair McDonnell

Jan 03, 2012 00:31

Alasdair McDonnell had a two page spread in Monday’s Irish News. Although the Irish News is still pretty friendly to the Stoops, it isn’t quite the SDLP house journal it once was and a double page spread on a quiet news day is as good as it gets in terms of free publicity for the leader of a medium sized party. Although hardly something that wins ( Read more... )

sdlp, irish politics, ireland, northern ireland, irish society, nationalism, northern ireland politics, sinn fein

Comments 6

nwhyte January 3 2012, 06:04:03 UTC

Thanks - I agree with a great deal of this.

On SpAds: I don't know about Germany, but I suspect the system there is similar to what I see in Brussels, where the cabinets of the Commissioners sort out most political difficulties in advance of the formal meetings of the Commission itself. That of course requires a much more formalised cabinet system, with the number and role of SpAds clearly defined in legislation. Unfortunately public understanding of the role of SpAds (and I suspect also understanding of that role among SpAds and their bosses) is probably too weak to allow anything more than the current muddling along by stealth ( ... )

sammymorse January 3 2012, 10:28:23 UTC

I think the problem with SpAds is worse than them just not being fit for purpose - there's an inbuilt tendency for intrigue and obstructionism given the terms on which the Executive is elected and, in particular, the way OFMdFM is structured. SpAds, especially OFMdFM SpAds prove their worth not by getting things done but by keeping an eye on the schemes and intrigues of other Ministers and other SpAds. SpAds are mostly competent and very bright; their brief is to keep an eye on other competent and very bright SpAds and make sure they don't get away from pulling any fast ones ( ... )

Author nwhyte January 3 2012, 14:26:31 UTC

Sammy where have you been hiding for the last several elections?
Your thoroughgoing and extremely enjoyable analysis at the constituency profile level has been sorely missed! No other political commentator has even come close to matching your grasp of detail and ability to turn boring elections into fascinating, readable accounts.

Re: Author sammymorse January 3 2012, 16:06:36 UTC

Being a campaign organiser, a candidate and then a missionary in Africa. But I have returned!

Government and opposition po8crg January 10 2012, 14:48:23 UTC

Would it be possible to allow for a Government and an Opposition, but determined separately in each community, so you have a Unionist Government (DUP) and a Unionist Opposition (UUP) and a Nationalist Government (Sinn Fein) and a Nationalist Opposition (SDLP)?

At least that would create the possibility of voting someone out of government.

[As an aside, that's a system the Belgians could change their system to be: sort out a (majority) coalition among the Flemings, and one among the Walloons and then the PM alternates between the two, and they take turns to pick portfolios - it would make government creation easier, as you would be creating two coalitions independently of each other]

Re: Government and opposition sammymorse January 10 2012, 21:07:27 UTC

It's certainly possible. Macedonia does exactly that, with few formalised rules, so in the election before last the Slav right (which won the election among Slavs) went into a coalition with the Albanian right (which got its backside handed to it by the UCK) and it provoked a mini-constitutional crisis. However, I presume you are also interested in the fate of the Alliance Party and it screws the Alliance Party forever ( ... )