Maria Steen, the prolife and social conservative activist, has just missed out on getting nominated as a candidate for the Presidential election in Ireland.
The Irish President is pretty much a ceremonial role.
"Rarely has the political consensus seemed more oppressive or detached from the wishes and desires of the public", Steen said. That seems fair.I actually don't care who gets elected now and I'm not even sure I'm going to vote. Not voting might be the best way to send a message. The three candidates are backed by the main parties in the Dáil, all of whom have a liberal-secular-globalist outlook.
The President is supposed to be above politics, anyway, so what could a conservative President actually do for conservatism? Very little, surely. And what's the point of all the political debate at every Presidential election?
I'd much rather we had a monarch as head of state. (A purely ceremonial monarch.) I wish we had, not only a ceremonial High King (or High Queen), but also a scatter of ceremonial petty kings. Wouldn't you rather have your local supermarket opened by a king than a county councillor? Think of the fun we could have reviving all the old kingdoms!
I don't think just not voting is the best way to send a message.
ReplyDeleteGoing to the polling station and deliberately spoiling a ballot by writing 'Maria Steen - 1' over it gives evidence that has to be counted and reported in the vote tallies. If everyone did that, and the number of spoiled ballots goes up tenfold, then maybe someone will notice.
It's a toss-up. The problem is that spoiled votes are just counted in one category so it's only anecdotal evidence that anyone is writing Maria Steen, and how many. Not voting at all might be a strong message of disenchantment-- but might also be written off as apathy. So, possibly swings and roundaoubts.
DeleteBringing back the King would make my daughter happy. She is sad that neither country she has ties to has a King or Queen. She regularly pretends to be Grace O'Malley to compensate.
ReplyDeleteI think monarchy speaks to the child in all of us. Which is a point in its favour! Nursery rhymes are a repository of perpetual human wisdom.
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