And another thing...

Why Labour's surge has evaporated The recent opinion polls which showed Fine Gael soaring high - and heading possibly towards a minority government - and Labour's Gilmore Gale turning into a light breeze are not really surprising. For months, the Labour Party accurately articulated the anger of a nation sent into penury; it offered new hope and a bright future. It prompted talk from Labour itself of an election that would eventually end the civil war era in Irish politics; that would usher in a new left/right divide. But as the election grew ever closer, Labour began to be attracted by the prize of power. It became clearer that Labour's driving motivation was simply to be in Government with Fine Gael. Although the party has attempted in recent weeks to distance itself from Fine Gael and launched attacks on the latter's economic policy, it's a matter of too little, too late. In any event, Labour failed to distance itself from such expectations and in my opinion, this dalliance with Fine Gael will cost it dearly. The fact it ruled out a government with Sinn Fein only served to underline the inevitability of a Fine Gael-Labour coalition. In the minds of large sections of the electorate, it's an accepted fact that Labour will be the junior partner in a Fine Gael-led Government. The media, with its constant pre-empting of the election result, may be as much to blame for this as Labour. Whatever the reason, people are asking themselves why would they vote for Labour to implement Fine Gael's economic policies? Why vote for Fine Gael lite when the real thing is on offer? In its attempts to woo the 'respectable voters', it has toned down its rhetoric and portrayed itself as a responsible party of future Government. Think of Eamon Gilmore's subdued performance in the leaders' debate and you see a man overly-anxious not to alienate anybody. But in joining the middle ground, it has alienated the growing constituency of voters who are seeking a more radical alternative. Those people will now look instead at Sinn Fein, or some of the other left-wing groups. In some constituencies, they may vote independent – or indeed may not vote at all. What's clear is they won't want their vote for Labour to be an effective vote for Fine Gael. These, in my view, are the reasons why Labour's surge in the opinion polls has collapsed. The middle ground is shifting to Fine Gael, as it sees Labour as its weaker cousin. The left-field vote wants something more. Of course, there's another factor to take account: emigration, the traditional safety valve of the establishment When social and political pressure is at boiling point, emigration has been the channel by which potentially society-changing generations have been ushered away. Those most likely to look for a radical alternative to the status quo have left our shores. Many of those still here, appear, on the basis of recent opinion polls to believe that Labour is offering more of the same. One town, one local authority please Last week's traffic mayhem when journeys into Athlone for motorists travelling from parts of South Roscommon lasted for hours, rather than minutes, sparked justifiable anger. It appears as if a coincidence of factors was the cause of the chaos. The closure of one side of the bypass to facilitate upgrade works meant that a contra-flow system was in operation for part of the road. However, motorists from parts of South Roscommon were unable to access the contra-flow part of the bypass, as the Monksland junction was closed. Roscommon County Council, meanwhile, at the same time, was embarking on resurfacing a section of road from the River Village roundabout towards Elan. And to add insult to injury, there was an accident on the bypass itself. All of this contributed on Thursday morning last to three-kilometre journeys lasting more than two hours It was clear there was a lack of coordination, with Westmeath County Council and Roscommon County Council embarking on separate roadworks which impacted on each other. It all begs the wider question as to why, in this small geographical area, three separate local authorities should be involved: Athlone Town Council; Westmeath County Council and Roscommon County Council. How can Athlone develop in any planned and strategic format when there is such a lack of co-ordination? Even in simple terms, the existence of the different local authorities, and their differing approaches, could even have an impact on the area's representation in Dail Eireann. The building boom on the west side of Athlone in recent years has meant that there has been a significant shift in population to those new estates. Residents here will vote in the Roscommon/South Leitrim constituency. But the failure of the east side of Athlone to grow at a similar rate means the number of people in the wider Athlone area may not be sufficient to elect a TD in the Longford/Westmeath constituency. The wider Athlone region needs a unity of purpose The matter is set to only worsen if the predicted restructuring of local authority structures takes place. There has been speculation that Athlone Town Council will cease to exist, meaning the majority of the town will be administered from Mullingar. Already Monksland and Bealnamulla is administered from Roscommon. A number of years ago, there was a short-lived campaign for city status for Athlone. That was an illusory concept, fuelled by the unreal aspirations of Celtic Tiger Ireland. However, the notion of creating a single local authority body to run the town of Athlone and its hinterland, east and west, of the Shannon should be explored. Call it a corporation, an extended town council, a borough, call it what you want... the concept will, no doubt, be opposed by the existing local authorities and by the politicians, all of whom have something to lose.