Signs of a changing Ireland
The Polish election posters at the newspaper booth on the corner of Abbey Street and O'Connell Street.The Presidential election is on Sunday. The man expected to win will be a right winger either Lech Kaczynski or Donald Tusk. Kaczynski is the Mayor of Warsaw who called for the banning of the Pride march in Warsaw. His brother, Jaroslaw, led the political party expected to form the next government but stepped back to allow Lech a chance at winning the Presidency. I wonder how the majority of Irish based Poles voted? Probably for change and the right given the poor economy and the fact they had to leave home to get work.
This is one of the many reasons that I worry about giving emigrants a vote. We might still be facing many of the social issues dealt with in Altered States on RTE this evening if Irish emigrants had had a say. The Banin sweater brigade have a most rosy view of the 'not so' emerald isle and as a voting block could force changes on the state that would not reflect modern Ireland (whatever that is!!!)
posted by Maman Poulet @ 10/05/2005 01:14:00 a.m.
1 Comments:
It's hard to know how the Poles will affect politics in the city. As you say, they haven't woken up and discovered their potential yet - there's a newspaper, a TV program, an internet site, a couple of bars and clubs and the Polish Centre - but nothing else yet. Their community is still at an early stage of development.
Also, it's difficult to predict which way they'll fall in terms of politics.There's nothing really from any of the major Irish parties of particular interest to them , unless - say - someone were to take a strong anti-immigrant stand. As well, Kaczynski isn't so much a right-winger as a FF-style populist.
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