The Longest Day and its Aftermath

It’s 7.51 PM, and I’m just back from the College. First lecture at 9, last at 3 and despite that; hours after hours in the computer building strungling pretty much with the same as yesterday; the world is evil, the poor stays poor, thou it depends on which model you are using, and that the only reason for any improvement at all the resent 30 years is the fact that the world, globally, lives longer, locally it’s a bit different.

Thou, today I’m going to keep talking about a difference between Norway and Ireland I find quite amusing; the way of politics. First, just to point out some certain points about politics in Ireland, I start with the partys, since the function of the Taoiseach and the Dàil in practical terms differs nearly nothing from Stortinget; the major difference is that they have manage to keep the Upper House alive, which we after next election will abolish. But, then, back to parties: who’s who? Finna Fáil is a mixture between the Liberals some liberal parts of the Conservatives and right-wing Labour, but this is no general rule. Fine Gael is a strange hybrid, which have change ideology twice the last two decades, but are most similar to our own Center-Right government with the Christ-Democrats, Liberals and Center Party with some similarities to pragmatic parts of Labour and Conservatives, as I sad, confusing, and to be honest I’m struggling to see the differences. Then we got the Green Party, who, naturally, are most similar to Liberals and Socialistic Leftparty, minus the Socialism. Next one up is a dying party, quite literary; the party leader did change over to Finna Fáil some weeks ago, the other leaders lost their places during the last election (2007) and their politics have been highly a failure the last year; I’m talking about the Progressive Democrats. They are most equal to our own Progress Party, but you change the Foreign and Economy politics with Conservatives, add some years at a University (Michael Smurfit School of Economics), behavior and the fact that Church of Ireland runs pretty much of the welfare services our here already instead of the public and the fact that accept the fact that some times the driver causes the accident and not the road. There you go; Progressive Democrats. Next one up is Labours, aka the Workers Labour Party, Ireland oldest party. Compare to the Norwegian Labour Party this one have stayed to their Ideology, and kept themselves clear of any flirt with the Marked economy, most of the time. They’re a mixture of Socialistic Left and the left wing of Labour, perhaps the only party in Ireland who had manage to get any votes at all if they had run for election by us. Last party, Sinn Féin, and truly, they are alone for themselves. After their victory in the fight against the Lisbon Treaty they received an letter from Red (Rødt) with Torstein Dahle’s personal congratulations, and that’s perhaps the only party in Norway Sinn Féin have anything in common with. The only way you may hear anything at all from them are when they occupies the street in front of the GPO to protest against republican political prisoners in the North. Despite that: nothing. Since they got back in the Dáil after the Good Friday Agreement the other parties have promised not to invite them into any government, just like with the Progressives back home. The media doesn’t mention them at all, their politics, to quote one of the members of the European Parliament after their defeat; “A campaign driven by a party, who I don’t bother comment”. The politicians hate them, of course because of the relations with the IRA, but, then again, I have seen about how deep that hate is in less formal situations. The reason, simplified may be that they (the other parties in the Dáil) now that they got potential. Lat election, Finna Fáil, manage to get 16 votes for every party member, by Sinn Féin the number was 1:85; one party member = 85 voters, five times the gain for FF. They got 2.000 members, and are growing, count on it; if they (SF) starting to get safe representatives at the west coast, winning popular issues. Sound nearly like something…progressive.

Anyway. Back to the differences in the way of politics, and let me be straight forward: Norway are bloody disappointing. If not anything radical is happening here the Dáil will, against the votes of Sinn Féin, abolish the principle of free third level education. Income from taxation has dropped by more than 10 % in one year, the unemployment rate are getting dangerously close to 8 %, and 6 % of the GDP are now borrowed. That’s the cruel end of the Celtic Tiger, and then I turns to Norwegian press after a friend told me about a expansive budget, and the first that’s turns up is that the Police Union, after getting their new communication network it was a catastrophe they didn’t have, after getting the capacity to educate more recruits, which also was a catastrophe they didn’t got some half a year ago, and at least they got enough to get SOME new civil workers around the country. It wasn’t a lot of new civil workers, but since the holes in the line were that catastrophic as it seems from time to time at least a few was better than none new workers. Anyway, I can’t remember the head line precisely, but it wasn’t fare from “Budget a catastrophe for the Police”. That makes me think. You got two out of three things you wanted, and also a bit of the third, and still everything is wrong. I know that you can’t be satisfied, because you than runs the risk of getting less in the next budget, but still; it possible at least trying to give a bit impression that the development is positive, but that you expect it to continue. The impression: embarrassing.

And, in general, I haven’t been away for more than one month, and already I’m growing tired of reading about the “problems” Norway struggles with. I don’t say that everything is 100 % and paradise on earth, it’s just, we’re the second best country to live in the entire World, and Iceland, they are struggling. We got investments in the infrastructure, perhaps the opposition did propose this a year ago or two years ago, something like that. But, what should we do in this situation if we had done the same investment when the Marked were at the top? As far as I can remember it was nearly impossible to get construction workers to bellow hilarious high costs. Now the construction business is down with broken back; isn’t it now we really should employ these persons to lower prices in general and get the job done? Or is that to buy a victory in the 2009 election? I mean; would the Conservatives or Liberals done it any different? I guess it had been OK it they hadn’t, because as long you have a nice suite and diploma from BI or NHH you and says that “the economy are into a period where it is less reasonable to do major public investments” it’s a kind of unproblematic to act like our incumbent government.

Anyway, I ends up a bit depressed reading all the critiques, too much immigration, too little roads, too much poverty (as if the Conservatives and Progressives are they who really care about things like that), too hard to be old, too high taxes…so on and so and. Thou, one organizations got my respect for once; the teachers who says they admire the intentions, but it’s a bit disappointed. That’s a signal, at least. Because there’s a lot of positive things around this budget, the military get’s a bit more, we do finally reach 1 % of GDP in foreign Aid (we are the winners of the world, why not give the less fortunate some crumbs? Or, perhaps we rather should ease taxation of the new bourgeoisie; they are still living under the cruel taxation regime of the 2004 Bondevik II government) , the third level education and research sector have finally start getting money (not private capital). I’m no economist, but I know, this is much better than any other parties in the opposition had managed to come up with. And, to does who think anything will change with a new government; you know what you can choose, and I think we all remember the communal economy during Solberg, or the American arse kissing in the department of Defence and department of Foreign Affairs? The Private Schools; a failure. The privatization of the Energy market; can some tell me how we manage to have a new crisis every winter(rhetorical question) and still the Energy companies manage to go with higher and higher gains?

Now, were is Ireland up in all this. Well, quite easy; here they already have introduced most of the things our dear opposition complains about. And to be honest; things do work here, but still, I meet people who know two things about Norway; expencive, and welfare. And is it one thing you see after, well, at once you gets to Dublin, there’s a huge difference from what we are used to.

The relations to they who govern for example. At the same time the Progressives back home nearly lives in an illusion were socialists runs the ruins of the country (at the edge of civil war) at the brink of destruction, with a huge elderly class starving and stored in filled up hospitals just waiting to be thrown out into the streets were (criminal?) foreigners are luring, while the Labour Elites spends the unfair tax income on Opera buildings and other “culture”. Here people, even in the Dáil do ACCEPT that everything can be improved. Even Enda Kenny, Fine Gael leader, do to some extent accept that you have to take things in turns. The best of the week is a independent TD (Irish MP) who concluded the budget in following way at the radio this morning:

“Things turns back to normal here in Ireland, It is recession, emigration, stagnation, unemployment, public deflect, inflation, bankruptcy, so, when are we going to start winning the European Song Contest again?”

It’s all about attitude and expectations who’s footed in reality, from both they in power and they who elect them. Not taking things for granted. It’s better with less than nothing, than at least things at the right track. Right? Were Siv Jensen sees treason to the people of Norway, Enda Kenny sees a disappointing handling of a situation that FG could do better. Things like that at least do politics in Ireland a bit more civilized than back home. It’s a bit limited who long war types in the media and declarations of the faithlessness make an impression.