Cowen fecks off

While Ireland’s media reports on the in-fighting and dithering of its main parties, the Irish people remain focused on the forthcoming general election - a long-awaited opportunity to choose the politicians they believe to be most capable of managing the greatest crisis in the state’s short history.

Prime Minister Brian Cowen, who recently resigned as leader of the majority coalition partner Fianna Fáil, remains in charge of a country baying for his political blood and of a cabinet which, following a spate of resignations last month, is stumbling into the election with less than half of its usual compliment of ministers. Cowen, it seems, has been deemed competent enough to lead Ireland, but not competent enough to lead Fianna Fáil. This is yet another example of the vast disconnect which has developed between the ruling party and the Irish public, one which by now would be almost a laughing matter were it not for the economic tragedy that the former has inflicted upon the latter.

In truth, however, it is an astonishing achievement on Cowen’s part to have held onto power while presiding over an economic downturn of such unprecedented magnitude - brewed during his time as Minister for Finance from 2004 until 2008 and poured ice-cold during his subsequent tenure as Taoiseach.

After a failed leadership heave against him in mid-January, it appeared that ‘Biffo’ (Big Ignorant F****r From Offaly) would lead his deeply unpopular party into an election on March 11th from which it would do well to return half of its 72 sitting members of the Irish parliament, Dáil Éireann. However, a botched attempt to fill vacant cabinet positions without consulting the Green party - the coalition’s junior partner – was a PR disaster for Cowen and, following his resignation several days later, the Greens announced their immediate withdrawal from government. An agreement was reached between government and opposition which saw the election date brought forward and the legislation enacting December’s budget rushed through both houses of parliament.

Much like the now-extinct Progressive Democrats before them, the Green party appear destined to pay a heavy political price for their decision to enter coalition with Fianna Fáil in 2007. In the press conference announcing their withdrawal from government, Minister for the Environment John Gormley pointed to a number of the party’s achievements during their time in office, including legislation on same-sex civil partnerships and hunting. These, however, are mere footnotes in the legacy of this government in light of Ireland’s fiscal position. The Greens’ image has been damaged irreparably by their relationship with the toxic Fianna Fáil brand, and any result other than complete annihilation would be an achievement in itself.

There is undoubtedly a desire among the Irish public for a change in government. And although the two parties likely to form the next coalition – the centre-right Fine Gael and the centre-left Labour party – will make significant gains in Dáil seats, they have thus far struggled to inspire or capture the imagination of the electorate. Fine Gael leader and presumptive Taoiseach Enda Kenny continues to be dogged by his uncharismatic and uninspiring media presence, and his attempts to include the leaders of smaller parties in an upcoming series of televised debates is seen by many commentators as an attempt to minimize his own time under the glare of the spotlight. Meanwhile, the Nick Clegg to Kenny’s David Cameron, Labour leader Eamon Gilmore, is by a country mile the most popular leader in the country. Although Gilmore is reaping the rewards for several years of steady leadership and assured performances in the Dáil, his unwillingness to take on the powerful and well-remunerated public service employees remains a worrying prospect for certain sections of the voting public.

In truth, both Fine Gael and Labour will be glad to allow the outgoing government to associate themselves with the austerity measures contained in the last budget. In the same manner as the UK’s Conservatives have done over the last 8 months, the next government will attempt to blame any piece of bad economic news on their predecessors. The two parties should win a substantial majority in the election and form a coalition, the ministerial make-up of which will be dependant on the respective number of seats each wins. Despite Gilmore’s popularity, it is unlikely that Labour will be the larger of the partners and he will settle for a position for the role of Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) while a number of his senior fellow party members are offered ministries.

Their opposition will most likely be comprised of a decimated Fianna Fáil, a resurgent Sinn Féin (buoyed by the probable election of their leader, former MP Gerry Adams) and a swathe of independents from either end of the political spectrum. Although a number of economists and high-profile personalities have announced their intention to run on independent platforms, the absence of any major new political movement taking part in the election has disappointed voters and exacerbated the growing sense of frustration with the political system.

A major failing of said political system is the dissatisfaction that the Irish people feel with their electoral mechanism, Proportional Representation. PR differs from the Alternative Vote system proposed by the current British government only in that it has multi-seat, rather than single-seat, constituencies. Consequently, politicians from the same constituency, and even from the same party, are in constant competition with one another on a local level to curry favour with voters, often to the detriment of the quality and quantity of legislation passed through the Dáil.

Furthermore, parties are likely to remain as ‘vanilla’ as possible around election time in order to get transfers from the voters of other parties. This has caused a scramble to the centre in Irish politics and narrowing in the breadth of opinions expressed in political debate. Given that this consensus approach to politics has brought Ireland to its current it is a system which is worthy of reconsideration.

Burma

Burma's long-standing leader Than Shwe is not on the list of five Presidential nominees put forth by the newly convened Parliament of Burma. This suggests that General Than Shwe would no longer be the official leader of Burma but analysts believe that he is unlikely to relinquish all power and is expected to remain as head of the military. Burma's Parliament convened for the first time in twenty years on Monday as part of Burma's 'roadmap to democracy'. The Burma military, however, still plays an important role in the nation's politics with º of all seats reserved for members of the military.

United States

A federal judge in Florida has tossed out the sweeping health care reform law championed by President Barack Obama, setting up what is likely to be a contentious Supreme Court challenge over the legislation in coming months. Judge Vinson ruled that ìObamacareî violated the rights of an individual by making it mandatory to buy health insurance on the pain of a fine. The United States Justice Department has said that it strongly disagreed with the ruling and would appeal against the decision which was praised by House Republicans. The Republican controlled House of Representatives have already repealed Obama's Healthcare reform but the repeal is unlikely to clear the American Senate.

Pakistan

A court in Pakistan has blocked the release of American Raymond Davis who was arrested for killing two men a Lahore last week. Mr Davis has admitted killing the men but stressed that he was acting in self defence when confronted by the two armed men. The American embassy has called for the release of Mr Davis, saying that he was a consular official with diplomatic immunity and hence immune to prosecution in Pakistan. This was disputed by Pakistani authorities who said that Mr Davis was a private security contractor.