Will Ireland always be left wing?

[NattyO]

Given the issues with housing, hospital waiting lists, crime, immigration, and many others, even the most dedicated supporters of our government must be wondering if we are headed in the right direction. Irish governments of the past 20 years or so, and especially of the past 10-12 have been firmly on the left of centre on social issues, with universal government support for mass immigration, generous welfare, very light-touch law and order (unless you are an anti-mass-immigration protestor, or guilty of thoughtcrime), gay marriage, abortion, LGBT rights, transgender rights etc. While most of us would support equal rights for everyone, not all of us are as enthusiastic about the mass immigration and increasingly out of control welfare state, not to mention the extremely lax attitude to law and order and frequently incomprehensible sentencing.
There is a pretense by many on the left that FFFG (especially FG) are "right wing" which is laughable - the party hasn't proposed or enacted a single piece of legislation in the past 10 years that wasn't pre-approved by left wing NGO's. Pointing out stuff they did 60 years ago, or talking about their enriching the well-connected doesn't change that - what they once were has no bearing on what they are now, and enriching the well-connected is a long tradition in left wing states.
The question is, how far will this go, and is there any end in sight? It seems to me that the mass immigration issue, with the follow-on problems of housing, welfare, hospital waiting lists and crime can only be tackled by a move towards the right - not, as the usual suspects will immediately jump on, a full goose-stepping dictatorship, but rather a return to sensible social and economic policy, where, rather than Ireland being a combination of the world's dumping ground for those unable or unwilling to work, and America's industrial estate, we try to engage in sustainable growth, using our young, educated people to help us grow, rather than sending them to the four corners of the earth, while we import cheap alternatives by the tens of thousands. With some balanced, sensible policies around visa requirements, asylum, welfare, and crime, this could be a great country for future generations, with a distinct, proud heritage, rather than, as our "leader" would have it, a race of mongrels, with no shared history or culture.
How could that come about? Someone sent me a post from another forum earlier where a poster is asking if FG could be turned into a right of centre party, and that is one possible option. Starting a new party in Ireland is probably a non-runner - especially if that party is right of centre - the media and the immigration NGO's will overwhelm it with propaganda.
It is remarkable that, after the celtic tiger collapse, rather than going in a radical or even slightly different direction, we voted in the same people who got us there, and carried on as if nothing had happened. That is concerning - it suggests that we are too fearful of change, and too close-minded to do anything to change our circumstances. This has led the two main parties (if you can call them two parties, since there is effectively no difference between them) to become arrogant and unafraid - a dangerous condition for any government. FFFG do not feel they have to tackle any problems - one or the other will get in, and even if one loses out, the policies will be the same, and they'll get back in next time - the absence of any opposition makes them impervious to change. What's the difference between any of the main political parties? Does SF have any policies that are different to FFFG? Does Labour? The SD's? No, the only difference is "we'll do a little bit more of this, and a little bit less of that" - the opposition will never rock the boat too hard, everyone wants to keep the gravy train going.
How can we change the direction the country is going, when we have the combined efforts of the civil service, a multitude of well-funded NGO's, and almost the entirety of the Oireachtas against any change to the status quo?
Is it time to use the American NGO model against them, and use a foreign-funded NGO to push for change? Can FG be nudged towards the centre/centre right? Or will it take a complete collapse of Irish society, with riots in the streets before change can happen?

[schmittel]

I suspect sooner or later either FG will move to the right or a PD sort of centre right party will emerge. If a credible centre right party does emerge, even the threat of one will move FG to the right.

This is inevitable as the electorate will move a little to the right, I think it might already have done so but there are not any credible voting options for a centre right voter so they're kind of forced to stick with the least worst centre righ…login to view the rest of this post