Recall and No Confidence

By the time you are reading this, it is likely that California Governor Gavin Newsom will either have survived a recall election, or will have been removed as Governor. But the timing of the election, the same day as Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney faces what is almost certain to be an unsuccessful motion of no confidence, and it begs the question, ‘Should Ireland have a recall process?’

For those unaware of the process, following incompetence or scandal (Governor Newsom was caught breaking his own COVID rules, sound familiar?), the minimum of 12% of the California electorate signed a petition to hold a recall election, which is composed of two parts.

Firstly will Newsom stay or go, which requires 50% approval (he was elected with 62% of the vote), and if the electorate choose for him to go, then Part II of the ballot will come into effect, who will replace him?

A motion of no confidence usually requires the government of the day to turn against one of their own, whereas a recall gives the power to the people of that representative’s constituency. The process of course could do with a little tweaking, such as a petition requirement of somewhere between 30%-50% of registered voters, and perhaps just one ballot paper presented in a by-election style format.

But rather than us all sitting at home, knowing that the Foreign Affairs Minister will face no consequences for his actions, the people of Cork could be out at the ballot box today, giving their own view on the matter. It will likely be another three years before the people decide if they want Minister Coveney representing their constituency, and even more likely to be a lot longer until there is a system to recall a political representative in Ireland, if ever.

While Newsom looks likely to escape any consequences for breaking the rules he imposed on the people of California, at least Californians have a say as to whether or not his actions justify him being removed from his position, whereas in Ireland we only get to remove our political representatives every 5 – 7 years during the election cycle.

Comments

What's The Beef With Beef ?

The Irish Beef Industry has been going through turbulent times recently, most notably because of the proposed Mercosur deal and the prices farmers receive for their cattle. We haven't even reached Brexit yet, and are still weeks out from the latest withdrawal deadline, and beef farmers are at their wits end. But how has it got to this and can farmers cope if there is a no-deal Brexit? Farmers' incomes are under threat, not just because of the reasons outlined above, but also because of the threat to grants which keep small and medium farms in business. The recent EU elections have seen the status quo remain in the European Parliament, with parties of the right keeping their large dominance of the union. There has been some debate surrounding the EU's agricultural plan over the course of the previous five year parliament, particularly regarding the EU's farm subsidy. Now that the elections are over, the EU government could proceed with plans which could see a standard ...

Elitism Prevails

Elitism Prevails In 2013 the people of Ireland voted to retain our second house of democracy, Seanad Éireann; but it was a narrow victory and was predicated by a general understanding that the Irish electorate wanted to see this pathetic resemblance of democracy to be seriously reformed. Nine years later, that elitism that was promised to be rid from our flawed democracy is still thriving. Next month, March 2022, we will see a by-election for a Seanad seat that was vacated by the Labour Party’s Ivana Bacik when she was elected to the only truly democratic house in the state, Dáil Éireann. But despite an electorate in the millions, only some 60,000 people will be granted the privilege of voting; graduates from Trinity College Dublin, an institute with a deep history of elitism and sectarianism. Of the sixty seats in the Seanad, graduates of TCD have the privilege of voting for three of those Seanadóirí, and the combined institutes that form the National Universities...

A 2023 Election Not To Be Ruled Out

With the Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Green Party coalition now entering its third year of a maximum five-year term, many are of the opinion that the trio will ride out the rather undesirable polling figures and wait until the last possible moment to call another general election. Another common opinion is that an election will be called in the second half of 2024, how late in that half dependent on the results of the European and Local elections in May of that year. Both valid points, particularly the latter; a bumper budget in October, semi-decent canvassing weather, and pre-empting the inevitable winter healthcare crisis, all make for a workable scenario for the government parties. However, strategically speaking, taking those points and applying them to October 2023 may make more sense for Martin, Varadkar, and Ryan, should they be willing to gamble their final year of the term for the prospects of another five-year stint running Leinster House. Despite current polling having ...

Séighin Ó Ceallaigh

Search This Blog