That's one of the questions that springs to mind after digesting the poll in this morning's Irish Times. The media may have been critical of aspects of the recent Fine Gael ard fheis and Enda Kenny's speech in particular, for pandering to public opinion for the sake of it. But, as Marl Brennock remarks today, "...the thing about populist rhetoric is that it is often, well, popular". If populist soundbites take you this far, does the putative alternative government really need to bother with developing a few coherent and detailed policies? Especially when people are obviously losing confidence in governmental competence in areas like health and transportation.
In his analysis of the poll, Ian McShane, managing director of TNS mrbi, also recognises this pandering element:
The results of this poll will obviously come as welcome news to Fine Gael and Labour as potential coalition partners. Since January, these parties have honed in on specific issues they know to be of concern to the voter, from A&E to antisocial behaviour to rising levels of immigration. In doing so, however, they have in the main merely echoed the fears and concerns of the electorate, rather than present a definitive blueprint as to the precise steps they will take to shape a better society. This has been a disjointed approach, with some of their proposals appearing to lack any great substance.
Fine Gael are obviously boosted by the poll. They may conclude, I believe wrongly, that they only have to keep doing more of the same. The trouble with this is that one is at the mercy of events over which one has little control. If we live in a media democracy, then the battle over who sets the agenda and how issues are framed becomes crucial. A reactive approach to issues that are aired in the media and that happen to strike a chord with the public is both risky and limited. But it'll be harder to convince the backroom strategists of the opposition parties if just such an approach seems to be gaining some traction in the polls.
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