It's like a jersey that's been worn and washed a thousand times and has had all the vivid colour drained out of it

Feels odd even writing this, but that's a pretty sensible post from Trump. Negotiations are the only way the war in Ukraine ends. Better to do them now than wait while thousands more die

Well Alan has previously said "power is a drug.... It suits me"

Yes. I'm sure FF/FG would be of that mind, why give up a couple of ministries when you can just cut some regional deals instead

Given FF/FG got so close to a majority do Labour feel there's less possibility of getting a good deal in a programme for govt? FF/FG will probably prefer to make a pact with some gene pool independents
#GE24

Was just going to do that too

And then Fionnan Sheehan calling them a debating society. 2 journos that don't even attempt to hide their biases

#GE24

That's a troll account, they exist here too unfortunately

Where was this on, RTE?

In fairness RBB was on RTE a good bit yesterday too

Silly sums are par for the course in football now, it's big business now and a vehicle for sports washing for some

Fans are well able give him stick, nothing wrong with him giving a bit back. All seemed good natured enough wouldn't say it was petulant

AFAIK it's a weighted sample of their votes

A great example of when correlation does not imply causation. The Greens have increased funding for public transport, which has led to huge increase in numbers. This at a time of full employment has unfortunately led to staff shortages

Yes I saw that. Again AFAIK the issue is lack of drivers. They're in huge demand and there's just not enough of them. I think Bus Eireann are recruiting abroad to fill vacancies

Cork Bus Éireann passenger numbers increased by 27% last year In 2023, 17.7m passenger journeys were recorded on the bus routes in the city and county, compared to 13.9m in 2022, 8.7m in 2021, and 8.3m in 2020.

Numbers using public transport in Cork have been increasing. Main issue seems to be lack of drivers, such that Bus Eireann drivers are being incentivised to get people into the profession
www.echolive.ie/corknews/ari...

That's a counterfactual so who knows maybe you're right. Or maybe they'd have been re-elected

🤷🏻‍♂️

And allowed for more investment in public transport, which many will appreciate too

Or else other parties have stolen their clothes
bsky.app/profile/shar...

Agree, Soc Dems if they go in will almost certainly face the same fate. But some will still see it as worthwhile if it moderates the influence Independents might have on FF/FG, and also achieve some of their own policies

It's a choice

But tbh you're ignoring reality. The government are largely going to be re-elected, it'll just be a different mudguard. So are they "deeply unpopular"? A plurality of the electorate favour FF/FG no matter how much some wish otherwise

Green Parties in europe have long stated their hope is that they will not need to exist eventually, that their policies get taken on by other parties instead. Maybe we've reached that point

Sure. And it's quite possible give today's results that such a centre right govt would have been returned yet again. Another 5 years.....

Sure, no disagreement here on that

They're going to get wiped out because the a lot of the people who agreed with their policies disagreed with the concessions they had to make to FF/FG in Govt. That's what happens in coalition
Those voters simply transferred to Soc Dems/Labour who have similar policies

This is all true TBF. And I think the Greens were saved from even more pressure against carbon taxes by the relatively mild winters we had in last few years. If we had one like 2010 there'd have been more political pressure on them

You say that like there's unlimited funding, there isn't. This govt like all others previously has to pick and choose which to fund

What do you think would happen to cattle that were "culled"? We'd eat it like we do with the thousands that are slaughtered every week currently

But that's the reality even if you don't want to acknowledge it. If Greens/Labour etc didn't go in and be the "mudguard", you would end up with the likes of Independent Ireland or some other combination of Independents. Thats objectively a worse outcome for those who'd support Greens/Labour

Thousands of cattle are "culled" every day and most of us don't give it a thought until it's linked to climate policy

There's a list the length of your arm of new roads that are needed, they can't all be built

Carbon tax was ruinous for Greens when cost of living crisis came along

#GE24