There is a bigger choice to make than whether Joan and Enda should renew their marriage vows
The Green Party today accused Fine Gael and Labour of disrespecting the voters by reducing the election into a decision as to whether we return the current coalition arrangement.
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said today: “The main message from Fine Gael and Labour is that 'there is no alternative' but the electorate seem determined to break out of such narrow confines.
“Parties are ruling out coalition partners, saying they will only go in if they are the biggest, or that they will just be there just to keep an eye on the other shower. People want to vote for something bigger than that. This election needs to be about where we go from here as a country rather than what is in the interest of each political party.
“It is up to the people to decide who they want to represent them and then up to their representatives to try and form a stable Government. Who is to say that a better option might not arise after February 26th? There is no reason that three parties or more could form a Government, as happens on a regular basis in the rest of Europe. We vote for a party to give them a mandate to take part in that process, it is not an instruction to tell us that we need another election.
“Coming to a verdict before the people have had their say does a disservice to our democracy. Threatening to walk away if you don’t get the result that suits you is putting party interest ahead of the public choice.
“Fine Gael and Labour argue they are the only ones to be trusted on the economy but their giveaway election promises and their blindness to what is happening in the wider world, undermines that assumption. The choice is not just between the status quo and chaos. The Green Party for one wants to change the current system and do so in a way that delivers a more secure society, environment and economy. We are calling for people to vote for that better future, rather than being scared into voting for a renewal of Enda and Joan’s marriage vows.”