Why the Stag's Tail Is Wagging the Ff Dog... [Eire Region]

Summary

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A FEW months before the last general election in 2007, the then tanaiste, Michael McDowell hit an interesting nail on the head in observing that, from the PDs' point of view, it didn't matter whether Bertie Ahern or Enda Kenny became taoiseach after the election. His point was that the junior partner defined the direction of coalition governments and, therefore, of public policy.

His choice of metaphor was characteristically colourful: 'It's not the more bulky bread which gives a sandwich its taste. Rather, it's the meat which gives a sandwich its flavour... I have to say that I find the focus on who will be the next taoiseach to be significantly overblown. If the history of the last 35 years has taught us anything, it is that the most important party in a government is not the senior party but the junior party. The larger party may provide the taoiseach, but the junior party provides the essential direction of the government.' People often somewhat exasperatedly declare that there is no difference between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, generally deciding that this has something to do with 'civil war politics' or a shared unhealthy financial dependence on large business interests. But there is a more immediate reason: neither of the bigger parties can really be sure what it is going to stand for until it sees who its coalition partners are going to be.

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Why the Stag's Tail Is Wagging the Ff Dog... [Eire Region]

Since both FF and FG require support fro...

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