This Feudal Democracy section is a set of 9 chapters explaining why present political systems are not, and can NEVER be, truly democratic. The flaws are embedded within the design of the system itself. The only solution is true Democracy. Feudal Democracy eBook Chapter 5 - Politicians (Representation)In Ireland there are 166 TDs (members of the Dáil, the Irish parliament). The country is divided up into electoral divisions called constituencies. Each constituency can appoint a specific number of TDs to the Dáil depending on the percentage of eligible voters in that constituency. The theory of the Irish democratic political system is that the citizens elect the local politicians to become members of the Dáil. The Dáil then 'elects' a Government - usually the political party which has the majority. The Government enacts laws, makes Budgetary decisions, regulates the citizens, and organises the Nation. Therefore, superficially, the system is democratic because the citizens are represented by politicians from their local area and therefore, though indirectly, they themselves are running the Nation. In theory the citizens are in charge. What a success! What an outrageous lie! As I said, that's the theory. The practice is not quite the same. It fails on so many levels. It fails on every level. I will try by best not to repeat too much already contained in the previous chapter on political parties. This chapter is about individual politicians and how the so-called democratic system and its promise of representation ensures that the politicians are automatically elevated to the position of the local feudal lord, leaving the citizens as serfs asking for favours. The Political Party PoliticianMost politicians belong to one or other of the political parties. It's what happens. It's the status quo. For most politicians this is a very suitable arrangement. The political system is set up to favour the members of a political party being elected far easier than the independent individual who has not got the 'political machine' backing ben. In many cases in Ireland a candidate has been elected merely on the basis that be was a member of a political party whose star was rising because of the swings and roundabouts as mentioned in the chapter on political parties. Be gets elected because of the political party be belongs to rather than for that particular individual and bes policies. In most cases the political party candidate doesn't have any individual policies. So if an individual is interested in politics and genuinely wants to improve the conditions of the citizens be must join a political party if be wants to have any real chance of being elected. Not to join a political party would leave ben in the political wilderness, trying to find a group of supporters who would back ben and spend time and effort trying to get their candidate elected. The only real exception to this arrangement is when a candidate is standing in the election specifically for some local issue which the main political parties have either not acknowledged, not acted upon, not made significant promises about, or have made promises which they reneged on. In that case the candidate will get local support and backing. This, in itself is not any more positive than the usual case where the candidates belong to political parties because the theoretical aim of having elections is to put individuals into National parliament to organise the country on a National level and not to concentrate on merely exclusively local issues. If the politician is not standing for a local issue then even if be is elected be will have no say whatsoever, unless be happens to be one of those independent politicians required by a minority Government. In general an individual politician is to all extents and purposes useless - on a National level. Then there is the problem with the cost of running for political office. The political parties are much more likely to get donations from businesses - National businesses, rather than the lone independent running for office, and can therefore better promote their local politician. Admittedly, the individual politicians can also receive donations from local businesses but as donations are expected to be rewarded, and repaid in political consideration, one would expect that it is usually only the case for those politicians who belong to political parties, or who will have a reasonable chance of gaining a TD's seat and therefore being able to deliver the goods as payback, who will get financial backing. Each realistically potential successful candidate will obviously get donations from local firms and businesses within that politician's constituency. Businesses do not pay money for nothing. They want to buy influence and maintain good relations with those who make the rules and regulations which can effect their businesses for better or worse. It certainly doesn't hurt to be able to sway or pressure politicians, and political parties, to think along lines which favour those businesses. In some cases businesses donate to all the potential winning candidates, to guarantee they back the winner! Any politician who is in office during an election will be seen in a much more favourable light than either someone in the opposition party or an independent, unless it's time for the swings and roundabouts - ie the temporary switch-over, and can be sure of donations and support from businesses because be is seen as being able to reward the benefactors. So even for someone with a genuine interest in the wellbeing of the citizens of the Nation the possibility of succeeding in politics outside the comfort and control of the political party organisation assembly line is a slim one. Be may join a fringe party but for the most part be is outside the political party system and usually is a no-hoper. If a politician foolishly joins a major political party with the hope of altering that party for the better be is living on false hopes. The choice will be to become a 'yes-person' to the party and stick to the party line or face reality and leave the party in disillusionment. If be stays within the political party bes personal hopes and goals originally held, become a forgotten memory as the politician is subsumed into the party to become another successful politician but also another mindless party clone. On the other hand, for the wannabe politician looking for the personal rewards both from the Public Funds and from thankful benefactors, and with no interest in the wellbeing of the citizens, belonging to a political party is of paramount importance. Be will have bes seat on the gravy train. In many cases an individual politician isn't asked about bes policies but rather the policies of the party to which be belongs - so sincerity need only be in words. Being in a political party hides that fact an individual had no policies other than to have a lucrative career. It is not possible for an individual politician to have individual policies to cover all the various aspects of life for the citizens in the Nation with their individual gripes, needs, complaints and wants and so being in a political party makes politics so easy for the politicians. The 'party line' becomes standard reply. The political party's manifesto becomes a document to hide behind. The politicians belongs to the party and therefore bes policies are the policies which the party have decided. Having no personal policies at all actually becomes an advantage. Be is in the party political machine and if it is the time for that party's turn to be in power, if be happens to be the 'other party', then getting elected is practically automatically guaranteed. But this haphazard political situation is not only the fault of the politicians. The citizens are also to blame. Many, although maybe not actual members of any political party, have more faith in one party over the others and will give more credence and a more favourable attitude to someone standing for election as a member of that party, rather than an independent candidate. Whether we support a political party or not, we tend to judge a member of a political party as being a 'proper' politician and an independent as being an outsider - someone not to be taken seriously. This is human nature - not being part of the group leaves one out in the cold. Overall the party political system stifles any reasonable chance for responsible, independent, selfless, intelligent individuals from gaining a foothold in the political system. In effect, in Ireland, there are no politicians with the consideration of the wellbeing of the citizens as THE priority. At best it is in third or fourth place. Even if they are in a political party with 'ambitions' for change, this also is nothing but a danger to the citizens, as already explained in the previous chapter. Local PoliticsBecause of the nature of the electoral system in Ireland, the gathering of politicians for the decision-making for the whole Nation - the Dáil, is made up of local politicians with local attitudes, local benefactors who need to be rewarded and 'repaid' and the local electorate who also need to be placated for their vote. Responsibilities towards the Nation are not a driving factor or relevant consideration. This is about the worst political system one could devise. It ensures that locally-focused, small-minded, in many cases stupid, in most cases greedy and self-serving, individuals are more suited for advancement and election than an individual who has the Nation and the National interest as the main focus. Local citizens, being the small-minded individuals partly because of the system itself, elect individuals who look after their local area. In effect it is as sleazy a relationship as that of the local business person making a donation to the local politician. Both the business person and the citizen are looking for what 'they' can get and having as much consideration for National politics as the politicians themselves - none at all. It is a system designed to be a failure. It is a system NOT in the National interest. It guarantees incompetence. It encourages self-interest. A politician who was selfless with the best interest of the Nation at heart would not be attractive to the local citizens. They want a politician who will concentrate on them. The attitude of the Irish citizens seems to be - someone else can look after the Nation. Yet again the citizens are partly to blame or it seems so but the whole political system is designed on a hierarchical framework, starting at the local area and so in a way the citizens have no choice but to be insular and local and small-minded, otherwise they will get nothing at all. In other words the whole system is geared around the local feudal lord and the peasants, not the Nation.
Example: Michael Ring, Fine Gael TD As far as he was concerned he wanted to be able to be allowed to be a TD in Dáil Éireann and also a local Mayo councillor at the same time. One can only infer from his challenge that as far as he was concerned the job of TD, looking after the future of the Nation was literally nothing more than a part-time job. leaving him plenty of time to do another job in his locality. That thoroughly describes the crass, stupid, gombeen, backward, irresponsible, greedy, perverted attitude of politicians towards the National interest. IT IS NO CONCERN TO THEM. It is merely another way to get money - for doing as little as possible.
If one is working in a shop - that's a fulltime job. But if one is working as a politician, elected by the citzens of Ireland, in Dáil Éireann and supposedly looking after the best interests of the Nation, well - that is just a part-time job! This is the Irish political system. Selling The Politician As A ProductIn all the so-called democracies the politicians are promoted like products. and the citizens are persuaded, like with most advertising, that this product is not only good, but actually required and positive. It is reported, that in 2010, a founder of the Saatchi & Saatchi advertising firm, said that Charles Haughey, the Taoiseach (leader of the house) in the Dáil, the Government of Ireland, had asked them for a ‘new image’ similar to the one provided for Margaret Thatcher for the 1979 general election. The fact that these politicians want to hire individuals whose only aim is to sell products by persuading the consumer they want and need something which, in fact, they don't, truly describes how these politicians view, very realistically, the stupidity and gullability of the voters. As a footnote to this. No doubt, typically of the man, Charles Haughey intended that any costs involved in this propaganda would be borne by the citizens from Public Funds and not from his own pocket. Public Funds were HIS to spend - even to pay to fool the citizens themselves. In general, the electioneering and its advertising is a system set out to con the citizens, plain and simple. In 2010 the present Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, of the Fine Gael party, spent more than €550,000 of taxpayers' money on spin, PR and media classes. This money which was wasted was from the leaders allowance - ie Public Funds - ie money from the pockets of the citizens. This is monstrous! At a time when the finances of the Nation are crumbling and the Nation is bankrupt as such, the Fine Gael party was paying half a million euro of Public Funds for 'party presentation'. It ends up that the citizens are paying for the propaganda - targeted at themselves. But this reflects one of the problems with the political system and structure we have in so-called democracies. The future of the Nation, the future of the citizens, the safety and protection of the citizens - all these are of no significance when compared to the APPEARANCE of a politician. Substance is not an important quality for any politician - merely appearance and presentation. In some cases political parties will approach a popular individual in the public eye and try and persuade them to stand in the next election representing their party. It truly demonstrates just how unimportant the individual politicians are seen in Irish politics. In a true democracy this would be an incredible arrangement but in so-called democracies the individual politician is just a cardboard cut-out giving a glamorous face to the political party. This cult of political imagery deters the citizens from seeing what is important in politics - the future of the Nation. Instead it tries to portray politicians as icons of dependability and in some cases 'glamour', but always as a member of 'the party'. Meaningful instructive dissemination of political ideas and thoughts about the future of Ireland become drowned out by the publicity machine. The citizens are persuaded to partake in a talent show rather than selecting someone to mould the future of the Nation. The terrible ironic fact is that the citizens themselves, while becoming more and more entrenched in poverty, and more and more used to dysfunctional services, are paying for this illusion of political intelligence and resourcefulness. The true story is as unrealistic and unproductive as it is frightening. The citizens elect politicians who have no idea how to solve the problems which the citizens and the Nation are faced with, because of the system itself, but the PR gurus and the publicity machines churn out positive announcements portraying the politicians as being in control and having the ability to solve the problems of the Nation, aided by the secrecy of course. There is no greater farce. There is no farce more dangerous to the future stability of Ireland. Then we have the 'photo opportunity'. I'm not talking about the politicians being seen kissing babies and kicking a football and doing whatever the pathetic shallow politicians do to try and persuade the citizens that they are something which they are not - these don't come out of the Public Funds. I am talking about the self promotion using Public Funds. In Ireland we have politicians travelling the length and breath of the country cutting ribbons while opening anything that can be opened. They open motorways, roads, bridges, schools, pubs (drinking bars), fetes, agricultural shows, in fact wherever they can ever possibly get their face in the newspapers or on the television. Instead of being in the Dáil deciding on matters effecting the future of the Nation they travel all around the country being the centre of attention. The very system itself is set up for their own promotion, and that of their party, while the consideration for the plight of the citizens and their total lack of any form of input into the system is of no consequence. The politicians are on the gravy train. Another hidden aspect to all this is that these new amenities eg roads, health centres etc, are all paid for by the citizens despite the fact that the appearance is that these Ministers who are providing these resources.
Extra Example (19th December 2011): Yet again the politicians are not only squandering Public Funds but are using these funds for purposes destructive to the democratic process - for propaganda. Special advisers, including a communications director, to some of the Ministers in Government are being paid more than the level set out to reduce Public Sector costs. These 'special advisers' are party followers and are PR professionals ie spin doctors, ie propagandists. In approving €127,000 for two ministerial special advisers, their pay is €35,000 more than the standard €92,000 rate for the position. One individual Ciaran Conlon, a friend and former PR adviser to Taoiseach Enda Kenny, and the other is Edward Brophy who is now an adviser to Minister Joan Burton. These are not the only publicists appointed by the new Government with the job of attempting to control what, and how, the citizens are going to be informed of the activities of this Government. Between the ten or so special advisers appointed by this new Government approximately one million euro per year will be robbed from the Public Funds. The citizens of Ireland will be paying for disinformation and propaganda. This one million euro is only for the top ten or so advisers. One can only guess at the total cost for this personal political and party political self promotion. I mentioned 'jobs for the boys' in the chapter on political parties and this is a clear example. All these advisers are members of the political parties and are being rewarded for their loyalty - at the expense of the citizens. Political Largess - Feudal Lord LargessLocal issues for the most part should be left to real local politicians - in Ireland these are called Councillors. (I will refer to these as Councillors if I need to mention them. When I refer to local politicians I am referring to politicians in the National Government, but who in effect think locally.) Although, in theory, representation should be at the heart of any democratic process, this present arrangement, like those others I have already dealt with, while giving the appearance of representation is in fact doing something very different. When a citizen approaches the local politician be is really partaking in the old feudal hierarchical system whereby one must ask the local elite to consider some change in the rules or regulations, or for some favour. The hierarchical political structure automatically elevates the local politician to the status of local feudal lord - for nothing can be achieved, or seemingly so, other than at the decision of, or intervention by, the local politician. In Ireland the political arrangement is such a joke that the politicians go home to their constituencies before the end of the week to hold 'clinics' over the weekend where locals can ask the politicians for favours, either to get some state allowance or, as in some cases in Ireland, to write a letter to another Minister to sort a matter out. This is where the politician 'earns' bes votes in the next election. The fact that the National Government 'closes down' earlier than it should in the week in order that the politicians can go home demonstrates a distinct lack of understanding of National politics. No political thought seems to ever have been given to the question of how to run a democracy. It is more a case of looking after ones local interests and presuming that somehow the National interest will 'look after itself'. The fact is that the citizen is merely hoping that the local TD will see that it is in bes favour to look into the problem the citizen is having - only if it is in that politician's interest. It is similar to the old feudal system where a peasant waited for the largess from those above, if the feudal lord was in a condescending humour. This arrangement in effect is reinforcing the attitude that the politician is 'doing a favour' for the peasant citizen, and thus the grateful peasant should feel thankful and obliged towards the 'generous' politician. It gives the impression that rights for the citizen are at the whim of the politician and not something automatic. It also happens in Ireland that the politicians automatically write to state bodies on the behalf of the citizens, in many cases not even bothering to see what the problem is in the first place. It is merely an automatic procedure to keep the voters happy and as we are all aware - each politician will sell bes soul for a vote. On more than one occasion politicians (TDs) have put their name to letters asking for leniency for child rapists. They actually wrote to the Courts and the Minister for Justice on behalf of child rapists. The fact that this doesn't automatically result in a prison sentence for those politicians shows just how feudal the political system is in Ireland.
Example: Bobby Molloy - Patrick Naughton It appears that Bobby Molloy was trying to obtain a temporary release from prison for this child rapist - a man who threatened to kill his daughter, the victim of his brutal attacks.
Example: Tony Killeen - Joseph Nugent (Ireland) Tony Killeen also contacted the Department of Justice regarding consessions for Chris Cooney who was serving life for the murder of Rob Lynch in a pub in Ennis in 1991. He, or his local constituency office, also made representations on behalf of incarcerated drug dealers, thieves, armed robbers and, most surprisingly, a dissident republican terrorist, jailed for 10 years for possession of explosives. Tony Killeen later on became Minister for Defence!
Example: Pat Breen - Joseph Nugent (Ireland) In both the above instances of interference in the Joseph Nugent case the sisters of the rapist had approached all the local TDs as it was coming up to another election. They knew that the politicians would do anything to get an extra vote. Matters of actually decent behaviour and prudent consideration are just not part of a politician's mind-set, especially approaching a General Election.
Example: Kathleen Lynch - Trevor Casey Kathleen Lynch was later appointed as Junior Minister for Mental Health! I think I can say without any doubt, that in Irish politics, it pays to have no standards, no values, no conscience, no morals and no consideration whatsoever for anything else but GETTING RE-ELECTED - NO MATTER WHAT. It may seem that this IS democracy where the politicians 'do the bidding' of the citizens. But what is really taking place? What are these favours? If a citizen is entitled to some state allowance then be does not, or should not, need to beg a politicians to sort it out. If there is a problem then it shows the system is not set up correctly. More importantly, those favours which the politician does carry out are insignificant, as regards the big picture. These are the scraps from the feudal lord's table, cast out to the peasants merely to keep them subservient and content in their little lives. The politician may hand out pennies but all the while millions, tens of millions, hundreds of millions, and as at present in Ireland, thousands of millions of euro - the citizens' money - is being squandered and wasted. This is the elevation of the local feudal lord. It empowers the politicians, not the citizen. It encourages the citizen to be selfish and only consider what be can get for beself.
Addendum (January 2012): THIS IS NOT DEMOCRATIC REPRESENTATION. This is a shallow, dishonest, underhand corrupting form of political intrigue. This is a shameful, deceitful, inequitable and devious use of political authority. This is cronyism and the criminal abuse of political influence. This is a disgraceful and sick form of representation. This suitably demonstrates exactly what is wrong and rotten with this so-called democratic political system. Self Promotion At Any Costs - Paid By The CitizensNot only will the politician have a blinkered view of all decisions and actions - with everything keenly focused on bes re-election and little else, but be will also be able to get the citizens to pay for that re-election. If a constituency is lucky enough to get its local politician placed into the heart of the Government and decision making inner circle - as a Minister, then things can be very beneficial indeed. Then the extent of the political largess is something to be expected and admired - and rewarded.
Example - Padraig Flynn The County Mayo local politician, Pádraig Flynn, had been a Fianna Fáil TD for the Mayo West Constituency from 1977 to 1993, through seven General Elections. Election Results
Padraig Flynn was a supporter of Charles Haughey, the Taoiseach at the time, and he promoted Mr Flynn to the post of Minister for the Environment 1987–1991. During his time in office the road network in his constituency and local area, County Mayo, was vastly improved. Many tens of millions were spent on the County road network. After I moved down from Dublin to live in Achill Island on the West coast of Ireland, in County Mayo, every time the name Padraig Flynn was mentioned, and no matter whether the person talking was a supporter of this man or not, a sentence was always added saying that when he was in office he got a lot of major work carried out on the roads in County Mayo - that he looked after the County. And well he might! As can be seen from the number of first preference votes he received, his largess was amply rewarded by the local peasants, happy that here was a politician at the centre of power looking after THEIR local area, County Mayo. I'm sure the grateful peasant phrase 'look what he's done for us', was in the mind of many who voted for him who had not previously voted for him. So where did this TD, Padraig Flynn get all the money? The way he was praised so much one could be led to believe that it was from his own pocket! Was it? That money came from the National Government coffers, and/or the EEC (now EU) structural funds. The question here is not whether the road network in County Mayo needed upgrading - it did, but whether there were other parts of the country more deserving of some of this funding. Either way you look at it Padraig Flynn spent the citizens' money on the road network upgrade in County Mayo and as a result of the typical Irish peasant and feudal attitude, maintained by the feudal democratic system, locally he was treated with deference and looked upon as the saviour and benefactor of the area - the local feudal lord of all he surveyed. Here was a feudal lord looking after the little people, the local serfs and peasants. In the subsequent election he improved his vote by more than 50% - that's the reward for spending Public Funds locally. The negative aspect to this largess, and the system, and the Nation, is that if you happen to live in a constituency which doesn't have its local politician elevated to the dizzying heights of being a Minister, then all you can expect are the scraps from the Public Funds payout. The political system is based around the largess of the feudal lord politicians forcing the citizens to be servile and thankful peasants for what little they receive. In other words, it is a matter of luck as to whether a particular County, or local area, receives funding or not. It will be at the whim of the Minister of the relevant Government Department. And the peasants receiving favourable treatment are expected to be, and usually are, very grateful to the feudal lord for providing. But there is a more invidious and insidious twist to this feudal tale of chivalry by the feudal lord in shining armour on behalf of the citizens and it lies at the heart of the core of rottenness of this political system. Because of the nature of the political system and the secrecy surrounding it, the citizens of the Mayo area, those who were on the receiving end of this feudal generosity, and who subsequently repaid that generosity with increased support and votes for this local feudal lord, may end up paying interest on the money which was possible borrowed and subsequently spent on 'their' roads for many years or even decades to come. This largess is never calculated and priced, as per each citizen of the Nation. This largess is being paid by the citizens themselves! The politicians make decisions, to benefit themselves and possibly their constituency in passing, but the citizens are left in the dark about the true cost of this largess. The citizens are kept in the dark about what they, themselves, will end up paying out for this political self-promotion. It is so obscene it defies adequate description. Another point to note, because of the automatic elevation of a TD to feudal lord if appointed to a Ministerial post, is that someone who may have received a mere 6,000 or so votes can end up being in a position to decide the allocation of tens of millions of euro to whatever public projects be considers important - and being re-elected being the most important consideration. It is an astonishingly stupid undemocratic method of organising a Nation. Politicians Within A Minority GovernmentIn Ireland on several occasions the results of a General Election have created a situation where no political party, or coalition, is able to form a Government on their own. In those cases the main political parties require support from individual, independent, politicians in order to form the next Government and become feudal lords. The frenzy for feudal power begins! Needless to say, as already mentioned in the chapter on political parties, the 'inducements' promised to these oh-so-special independent politicians is generous and lavish in the extreme. Their backing is urgently required and there is practically nothing denied to these lucky individuals. The Public Funds will be raided to pay for their political support. They have hit the political jackpot! After the election in 1997 and during the discussions with Bertie Ahern, the leader of the Fianna Fáil party looking for his support in Government, Jackie Healy-Rae came to an agreement which showed just exactly the motivations of this typical politician. He was appointed chairman of Joint Committee on Environment and Local Government (3rd December 1997), and although he only attended fewer than half the meetings of that committee he received €20,000 a year as chairman.
According to reports: In effect he was being paid an extra €20,000 for NOTHING. NOTHING for the citizens that is. This was coming out of the pockets of the citizens and was merely another tiny fraction of the Public Funds wasted each and every year of this feudal political system. If Bertie Ahern had to use €20,000 per year of Public Funds in order to be enthroned as the lofty position of supreme feudal lord of Ireland then so be it. It didn't cost him anything. The Irish citizens were of no concern. After the General Election of 2007 there was yet another Dáil without a majority Government and the Fianna Fáil party did yet another deal with Jackie Healy-Rae. The deal was kept secret and never revealed. I must repeat that. THE DEAL WAS KEPT SECRET AND NEVER REVEALED. Despite the fact that the citizens were paying for this deal, whatever it was, it was none of the citizens' business to know what that was. The citizens of this democracy had no right to know what THEIR Public Funds were going to be spent on. Jackie Healy-Rae was appointed vice-chairman of the Joint Committee on Environment and Local Government (7th November 2002 - 29th April 2007). This politician was a Councillor in County Kerry for thirty years from 1973, and was also a TD from 1997 until the 'double jobbing' was made illegal. His pockets must be bulging and stuffed to the brim with Public Funds. The whole episode of political parties being generous with citizens' money in order to obtain the support of independents demonstrates the gross contempt, held by the politicians of Ireland, for the citizens and their money. To call this a democracy is shameful. Politicians have two overriding concerns, firstly to get as much as they can for themselves and the second is to ensure that they are re-elected. This individual Jackie Healy-Rae now retired has been paid so much from Public Funds over the past few decades that it defies belief. I would say that this one politician has amassed more than a few million euro from the Public Funds over the years. When he talks about his period in Dáil Éireann, he uses the term 'served the public', but when you look at the huge salaries over the years, the leader's allowance over the years, the huge expenses over the years, the huge extra allowances over the years, the very generous pension he will receive over the coming years and I would guess even more than that, though with the protection of the Government through the political secrecy system it is difficult to uncover, and all this wealth coming from the pockets of the citizens, these words are not only empty words, they are an insult to every citizen in this State and to the Nation itself. Considering how he used every opportunity to swell his bank account, I think the best phrase to describe the political life of Jackie Healy-Rae, and in so many other politicians' case, is: 'HE SERVED NO ONE BUT HIMSELF'. Political DynastiesDue to the reality of the present feudal political system in Ireland, it is often the case that when a politician dies, or retires, a relative is presumed to be the one to take bes place. This is feudal democracy in action. A dynasty is a feudal power inheritance system whereby the power is handed down, and kept, within the family. The ability or intelligence of the successor is not seen as an important factor. It is merely a case of nothing really changing politically since feudal times. It is not uncommon, in Ireland, where politicians who die in office, or when they retire, are replaced by spouses, brothers, sons or daughters. Part of this problem is this natural human trait of the hierarchical structure within society, tribes, the wider family group etc. For the most part in the human history a person with power, sees that power as belonging to themselves, and, as in the case of all other possessions, feels that they can - and should - hand that power on to a relative. Unfortunately this attitude is natural. It is all part of human nature. But it is a grave danger in a political system which aims to be democratic. Another reason this happens is because of the 'political machine' built up around that original politician over the years, whether be belonged to a political party or not. Being the local feudal lord, a politician uses bes favours, benevolence and noblesse oblige over the years and builds up a following of those who profited from this local chief. Favours given over the years by the local politician are merely investments for the future prosperity of the dynasty. So when it comes to retirement, or the local politician dies, the political power-house comes into play to push the heir to the political throne forward and to do their best to thwart the attempts of any intruder intent on giving the citizens a choice. Jackie Healy-Rae, that politician who pockets must be bursting with Public Funds, retired from the Dáil in 2011, after decades of 'self service', and didn't stand in the General Election that year. The local political machine promptly put forward his son, Michael Healy-Rae, to carry on the family tradition of grabbing all you can from Public Funds. Admittedly, the citizens had a choice as to who to vote for as there were other candidates running in Kerry (South) in the General Election, nevertheless the very feudal process of handing down the reins of power within families demonstrates just how feudal the political situation is in Ireland. His son, Michael Healy-Rae is used to getting his hands on Public Funds as he had been a local Councillor on the Kerry County Council and therefore is already deeply rooted within the local feudal system. Another son of Jackie Healy-Rae, Danny replaced his father as Councillor on the Kerry County Council when his father was forced to stop double jobbing (being a Councillor and a TD at the same time).
The Local Feudal Lord It is assumed that the local citizens must show deference to this politician, if they wish to be on the receiving end of bes political largess. But those wanting to succeed in business, and as already mentioned, and those looking for favours from the feudal lord, must show their support in a more realistic way. The comparison which comes to mind is that which we have all seen on the Western films where a local ranch owner owns half the town and all business must come through that local 'lord'. The perception is not that they serve the citizens but that they rule the citizens. They are in control of the locality. Although, on one level, one would not expect to see this type of power grabbing system in place in a democracy, the fact is that power and influence begets power and influence, especially in a so-called democracy based on local politicians. The local feudal lord will be surrounded by all those 'loyal' supporters eagerly persuing their own agenda of grabbing all they can and wishing to be looked upon favourably by that local lord. This previously mentioned politician, Jackie Healy-Rae, whose family has a plant hire business (plant hire is the hiring of large heavy duty machinery suitable for road-making etc) has been treated very generously by the Kerry County Council - on which TWO of his sons were Councillors. One of those sons, Danny Healy-Rae replaced his father when he stopped being a Councillor and TD at the same time, and Michael Healy-Rae who is now a TD in Dáil Éireann, (replacing his father). This Kerry County Council rented out equipment from the plant hire company run by Danny Healy-Rae. This type of activity just reinforces the feudal power system. In 2001, Daniel Healy-Rae, one of the two Healy-Rae Councillors on the Kerry County Council, was paid €474,556 for plant hire - by Kerry County Council. In 2008, he was paid €679,019 for plant hire - by Kerry County Council. (I didn't bother checking all the years in between, and since 2008). Johnny Healy-Rae, the son of Kerry County Councillor Danny Healy-Rae, became a Councillor on the Kerry County Council - replacing his uncle, Michael Healy-Rae who became TD for Kerry South In the Dáil in 2011. This not what one would consider a democratically healthy situation - healthy for the citizens that is. It turns out to be very financially healthy for the politicians involved. This local politician, and his family, have truly become the local feudal lords of the local manor. One wonders why they bother to hold elections in Kerry anymore. An even worse situation occurs when the local politician is a member of a corrupt political party and in that case favours for the local loyal followers can be very very generous at the expense of the citizens and others in the locality who do not support that political party. The whole point of being a loyal supporter can be summed up by the phrase - 'what's in it for me!', and if you are a loyal supporter you become a member of the local inner circle. In fact it is a little like the scene from the Godfather where if you ask a favour from a politician who belongs to a corrupt political party, you will be expected to be loyal, you will be expected to do a favour in return, even if that is only voting for that politician.
Divide And Conquer In most, if not all cases, as long as a politician is looking after the citizens in BES constituency then be will be re-elected no matter what happens. There are cases in Ireland where a politician has been shown to be dishonest, to have taken bribes and not to have paid tax on some questionable 'earnings', and have foreign bank accounts to bypass the revenue. These politicians are publicly acknowledged to be corrupt. They had been shown to be feathering their own nest. Yet these politicians have been re-elected. The local citizens have considered the re-election of a politician whose integrity is very questionable, as being IN THEIR BEST INTERESTS . On the face of it this is truly incredible. The citizens who are being, in effect, robbed by the politician decide to put that politician back in office! It is unbelievable until you realise how this so-called democratic system works. The politician, as regards the local citizens, is THEIR politician. What be does in the rest of the Nation, or how be is judged in the rest of the Nation is of no consequence. As long as this politician can achieve positive things for the local citizens in the local area be will be blindly supported by those local citizens, like the grateful peasants of old. The attitude is that if this politician abuses bes position, as long as part of that abuse is for the benefit of the local citizens, they will condone it. As regards a true democratic system this is madness. Political madness. National madness. The way the system is set up in Ireland the citizens are automatically thankful if they receive some of the Public Funds for local infrastructure. The idea of the deserving cases getting the most Public Funds isn't a consideration. Each politician is the local lord and be must get the best be can for bes local citizens, regardless of what other citizens in other constituencies deserve. Theoretically the more a politician can get for bes local constituents WHICH THEY DON'T DESERVE the more that politician will be appreciated. It is natural for people to be greedy. The system didn't force them to become thus. The system is in place because of the greed. Yet, the very system which actually encourages this local greediness, really only benefits the politicians - the local feudal lords, because at the end of it all, it is the citizens paying for all this feudal largess. The politicians do not pay for anything. They just reap the rewards for being generous - with the citizens' money! As the whole system is based on the largess and generosity of the local feudal lord it encourages this blinkered local mindset. Nothing can be achieved, as such, except through this local feudal lord. Therefore the politicians are protected, there is little the citizens can do collectively. Divide and conquer! And, if anything is achieved, and the local area gets some funding for a project of any sort, no matter what the reason, no matter what the cause, the local feudal political lord will expect the thanks and praise from the local peasants. The citizens are expect to have the attitude - 'be has provided for us, be is looking after us', and 'we would not have gotten this without the determination of our local politician'. Of course the whole weakness in the present political system is that even if dishonest politicians were removed from their political positions by the local citizens, the rotten feudal system itself would stay in place waiting for the next rotten politician in line.
The National Feudal Lord
Example: Charles Haughey Within days of Charles Haughey becoming Taoiseach in 1979, the Allied Irish Banks forgave him £400,000 of a £1,000,000 debt. No reason was given for this. The Economist obituary on Haughey (24th June 2006) asserted that he had warned the bank "I can be a very troublesome adversary". He used the 'leaders allowance' - the citizens money - to buy himself hand made shirts in Paris, at a time the Nation was in the midst of yet another cyclic financial crisis - the present financial bankruptcy is NOT the first. The McCracken Tribunal in 1997 first revealed the payments by businessmen to Charles Haughey, and also revealed that he had held secret offshore bank accounts in the Ansbacher Bank in the Cayman Islands. This bank account was for the purpose of hiding funds from the revenue.
According to the Moriarty Tribunal: - A Saudi businessman Mahmoud Fustok paid Charles Haughey £50,000 to support applications for Irish citizenship. This is not the full picture of the behaviour of this man. This is a fraction - the smallest fraction - of his uncouth, bullying, ignorant, corrupt, criminal and thoroughly selfish greedy behaviour. But the intention here is merely to demonstrate the feudal nature of the Irish democratic political system. It would take more than one book to list his 'exploits' and exploitation of this Nation's political rottenness, called democracy. THIS WAS CORRUPTION ON A GRAND SCALE. Yet this was only the tip of a feudal corrupt dictatorial iceberg. When he was Taoiseach he ruled both his party and the Nation as a fiefdom. This was the feudal lord answerable to no one. Whatever suited him became law, as such. He ruled with fear. He thought he could bypass the law. He DID bypass the law. The National radio station wisely stopped broadcasting a comedy show which made fun of Charlie Haughey. Newspapers often didn't print negative information about this politician. If you dared to question his behaviour you would pay the consequences. The tribunal rejected Haughey's claims of ignorance of his own financial affairs and Haughey was accused by the tribunal of "devaluing democracy". That statement is nothing less than a very pathetic joke. Charles Haughey didn't devalue democracy. He couldn't devalue democracy. Why? Because Ireland has never had a democratic system since gaining its independence. He was only doing what a lot of other politicians were, and still are, doing, only he perhaps did more of it. The arrogance of the man was notorious. On one occasion when his phone call was not put through to the Irish President during a time of political crises - the Fine Gael/Labour Government had lost a vote in the Dáil and intended to hold a General Election, Charles Haughey wanted to prevent a General Election so as to try and form a Government himself - he told the President's aide-de-camp, that he Charles Haughey would be Taoiseach again and said "I intend to roast your fucking arse if you don't put me through immediately". But this wasn't a unique attitude. The politicians elected to Dáil Éireann don't consider themselves servants of the citizens. They consider themselves masters of the citizens. There have been times a politician has threatened a Garda who was doing bes duty and preventing that politician from driving while drunk. These politicians consider themselves above the law for it is they make the law - with the intention of controlling the citizens. They do not see the law as being in place for the purpose of controlling themselves. That is not how the system works! A feudal political system is for the benefit of the feudal lords - NOT the citizen peasants.
The Weakest Link - The Greatest Catastrophe It has happened in Ireland in 1982. The Budget, proposed by the Fine Gael led Government in 1982, included an introduction of VAT (Value Added Tax) on children's shoes, was defeated because of ONE vote - though not because of the footware, but an increase in the cost of a pint of beer. There is something very wrong with a political system where one vote can bring a Government down and force a General Election. It treats the running of the Nation as a game, as something superficial, as balancing on a whim. But it is not surprising when you realise that ALL power is vested in the politicians and NO power is left in the hands of the citizens. They are forced to watch the political proceedings as passive bystanders, awaiting their fate.
Summary Also the way the system is set up it gives the appearance that this system of having the local citizens elect a local politician to become part of the Government gives the citizens the power which they should have, in a democracy - representation. Yet in effect, the power is in the hands of the politicians. They decide which projects to back. They decide what interest they will give to the concerns of the citizens. They decide who should receive their favours - their largess. The system itself encourages and forces dependence by the citizens on the individual politicians. The bottom line for politicians in this system is what they can get out of it. That is how it is designed. The citizen is merely the wealth creator and victim in this so-called democratic system. There IS representation - the politicians represent themselves! - and their 'loyal' supporters. Having a political system where individual politicians have executive powers encourages and promotes corruption and allows the abuse of that power and authority. But there is even a more worrying aspect to this so-called democratic system. most of those who stand in elections and most of those who 'make it' to Government seats are local politicians, as I said, with one eye on lining their pockets and the other one on keeping the constituents happy so as to be re-elected in the following election. If the question was asked, 'how rational is the aspiration and hope that gathering a bunch of local idiot politicians together, who individually have little to offer in terms of vision and intelligence, that this will somehow create an intelligent responsible Government capable of making decisions for the benefit of the citizens, and the Nation as a whole, both today and also for the long term?' The answer would most certainly have to be - it is not rational in the slightest. It cannot guarantee anything but inevitable consistent failure. In fact the present political system and the organisation of local representation is guaranteed to create a Nation which goes from one catastrophe to the next, like some horror story where a terrifying ordeal is relived, time and time again, to eternity without any hope of the victims altering it. Rather than being the intelligent, caring, individual filled with ideals and goals for the Nation, and willing to be servant - not ruler, the politicians running for office usually turn out to be disappointingly petty and very typically arrogant and there is a very simple reason for this. In most cases it is those who push themselves forward, or are pushed forward, especially within the party system who are paraded before the Irish voter. Very rarely are there any selfless ideals or selfless ambitions - they cannot exist within the party political system. The system for the most part prevents individuals with those aspirations from being heard. We end up with local politicians, with no vision and no motivation, other than their own self-interest - and we stupidly reply on them to make decisions, which effect the wellbeing of the present and future generations. And what is the result? We end up with incorrect, stupid, short-term decisions which leave a trail of lost chances in their wake. It is no surprise that this is the case. It is human nature. The intelligent and those with vision do not fit into the present political system. There is no place for them either as regards the political parties who seek 'yes men, and women' or to the local citizens, who want a local politicians to be focused on local issues to the detriment of the Nation. It is also a product of human nature that after a short period of time in a position of power be it monetary or political, most individuals automatically assume self-importance in excess of what they should actually deserve, or have earned, or actually are, and if they are in a position to do so, they put into place certain procedures and arrangements which reinforce their unwarranted elevated circumstances, and protect them by hiding their incompetence. It is not the politicians fault - it is human nature - most people in similar circumstances would do the very same. It is the fault of the political system itself, and that ineffective Constitution of Ireland (1937), for it didn't take these human weaknesses into consideration and never put safeguards in place to both restrict the politicians and to encourage each and every citizen to become an active selfless member of this Nation. A feudal hierarchical political system automatically elevates those who have been allocated power and authority by the citizens to one of local and National feudal lord with those very same citizens merely peasants still at the bottom looking for 'favours'. As long as there is no method for direct input by the citizens, bypassing the politicians, there will always be a feudal political system in place. They will be in charge. They will rule over the citizens. It is they who will continue to benefit from this politically failed system. The citizens will remain oppressed. This is democracy in Ireland in 2012.
Lou Gogan |
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