How many independents does it take to form a government?

No better time to discuss the role of independents in Wexford politics.  Tonight Wexford elected its first independent and rural based Mayor, Ger Carthy.  While later on the local independent TD, Mick Wallace was centre stage in a documentary about the role of independents in Irish politics.

Ballot papers in the US provide a space for a voter to write in the name of any other candidate.  Being an independent is easy.  As society becomes more complex and issues more interrelated, against a backdrop of 24 hour media, the simplistic notion of a single issue independent unfettered by political history sounds really attractive to the electorate.

In the last local election there were more non party candidates in Wexford than ever before but the number of independent councillors in the district is still the same as after the 2004 election. Independents perform extremely well in opinion polls.  But what does an independent candidate really stand for and is there a presumption on the part of electorate that they represent a type of politics that in practise independents don’t preach?  Last year one successful independent candidate in Wexford famously spelt the word "independent" wrong on his posters.  Presumably he hadn't spent much time thinking about the label! 

If a political party was to behave in that way, they’d be mince meat.  But an independent is never burdened by the need for consistency from a shifting electorate.  Some in small left wing parties like to represent themselves as independents.  Interestingly in opinion polls, their actual party labels score poorly.  In the recent Carlow Kilkenny bye election the Anti Austerity Alliance and Socialist Workers Party together won about the same number of 1^st preferences as Labour but transferred poorly and were eliminated early.

Implicit in Mayor Carthy’s speech is the suggestion that he will run in the General Election.  He said he proposed to be an active Mayor who will be calling to the doors of the district.  That’s more than a heavy hint with a General Election in the offing.  All politics is local but when you compare his set of priorities to those of Mick Wallace, 2 significant politicians couldn’t be further apart. 

Wallace’s publicity machine is relentless.  No need for clinics for the bankrupt developer who will pay off the taxman over the next 7 decades he spends in politics.  Mick rarely attends meetings in Wexford regarding local issues.  Most Wexford people are perplexed that he prefers the national limelight to Wexford.  Mick will hold his seat in the General Election next year, but will he still have 13,000 votes? I’m not so sure.

Let’s not confuse small left wing parties with Independents.  And here’s why. Because as the politics of austerity is consigned to the past when the economy grows, the small parties need to find new issues to campaign on.  I’ve listened to one local PBP councillor being introduced on local radio as an independent.  For a party that often protests, she was mute on this occasion.  Trotsky, however, would not have been pleased.  Small parties are not independents.  They resemble businesses that trade using different shelf companies.  Many small parties are clearly of  the  left, others like DDI or Renua are not.  But at least they can be placed on the political spectrum.

In reality most of Wexford’s Independent councillors are of the Fianna Fail gene pool.  They have little in common with Wallace or indeed Carthy whose father Leo was a long time independent councillor for almost 50 years. But for the independents of the Fianna Fail gene pool who are often rural based, the potholes, the footpaths, the road widening will be local issues for ever and a day.  Finding their niche on the right or left might be a tricky assignment as their political GPS tends to wander.

Where do independents stand on real issues when stripped down of the populism? Well your guess is as good as mine. During the Marriage Equality Referendum, no Wexford Independents were visible on the campaign. But what about the Repeal of the 8^th Amendment? Creating conditions for economic growth and employment?  Expanding education? Reforming the Health Service to deliver a better service? Europe? Because that is ultimately what impacts on ordinary peoples lives. Political parties, love them or hate them at least have joined up thinking in policy development. It is these differences that fuel political debate.

Where will whatever independents are elected in 2016 stand on these issues in 2021?  Let’s wait and see on this one.