Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose - Different Day, Same Shit
George Lee, the former RTE economics reporter ascended into the Dail as an FG TD little over 9 months ago.
In a blaze of uncritical media coverage, he got through on the first count, sat in Dail Eireann and learned the sad truth - that FG is little different than FF. Two cheeks of the one arse.
If his brief egoride achieves anything, it will be to show how broken the 90 year duality is.
Both the leader of the opposition and the leader of the Government succeeded their fathers in by-elections.
Now we have one former RTE worker being replaced by another, who are for all practical purposes of forming the next Government in the same party - just different labels.
However, rather than become an independent voice to fight the perpetuation of a two party system, and break the mold of the political caste, he spat the dummy and left in a petulant fashion, but its OK - unlike the unemployed people, many of his constituents among them, to represent them as promised - he will walk back into his RTE job.
That, in my opinion, is dereliction of duty.
Another option would have been to join a new party like amhrannua.com who look like they offer a real third force, potentially, in the future.
George I think felt that the FG party should treat him as the messiah, hold him up - why not make him leader? After all, he was going to single handedly save the economy.
But the boys - and girls - of the FG club did not see it that way, many grumbled at the parachute candidate.
Whenever FF decide on a by-election (and perhaps they will not delay this one as long as others - Dublin South has a lot more economic and social media clout than Donegal) the most likley candidate to win is Senator Alex White of Labour - is the leader of the Labour Group in Seanad Eireann ( the leader of the Labour group adds over 6K to his annual salary in a senate with no real power)
A former producer with RTE, and trade unionist for RTE's luvvies.
Another party machine product he was elected to South Dublin County Council in 2004.
He was Deputy Mayor and a member of the Sports and Recreation, and the Transportation Strategic Policy Committees.
He contested the 2007 general election in Dublin South, and in July 2007 he became the first senator elected on the Cultural and Educational panel to Seanad Eireann.
It is clear the two main parties that have failed, FF the entire country and FG Dublin South, its time for a change - but Labours Alex White is another product of a broken political system.
What has made me unhappy with the Labour option in recent times is that they have become FG lite - much in the same way the PD's were the monkey to the FF organ grinder.
How can the Senator be taken seriously when in 2007 he voted for coalition with FG in 2007, surely it is wiser to wait and see who offers a better coalition partnership deal after an election.
His election to the senate is credited to a voting pact with Sinn Fein (http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...751671183.html)
There is also the expenses issue - with a salary of nearly 75K Euro per annum - why cant he pay his own phone bill? it's an allowance of over 4K extra per annum.
Alex White may be a great candidate, he may well be a good guy for Dublin, but this is more of the same old closed shop machinery that drove George Lee out of politics
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