The name of this condition? ELECTIONITIS!!!
Although electionitis is impossible to isolate, the main carriers can be identified by the following characteristics:
(1) A stranger, attired in his best suit, waves frantically across the street, cal
ls you by your first name and greets you as if you're his long lost friend.
(2) The suit, with a roseete on his lapel the size of a dartboard, knocks on your front door, promises to repair the pothole outside your driveway if, in return you help further his political career and maintain his well-stocked bank account. He ignores the fact that the same promise was made several years previously and the pothole now resembles a trap for a chieftain tank.
(3) Lamp posts and local papers are adorned with images of candidates bearing inane, artificial grins, starting their self-proclaimed good deeds and future dreams, such as ski-slope for Letterkenny, a Formula One race track on the Big Isle and - the old election favourite - a railway for Donegal!
Now of course, I'm first to admit Donegal would benifit greatly from an improved communication network. But the restoration of a costly 19th century project is not exactly forward thinking by the present political classes, who seem hell-bent on turning us into s peat and potato republic.
If we are to drag this county into the modern age why not link Donegal and Derry with a state-of the-art tram system, based on the Dublin LUAS and funded by North and South administrations.
Using the existing road network, thus saving on costly land deals it would provide hundreds of jobs in construction, maintainenece and service,: build cross border links: open up business corridors; boost our flagging tourist industry and kick start us out of this recession - no bad thing!
It's said the penalty for taking part in politics and promoting your ideas, is to be governed by the likes of Councillor Con or Councillors Dumb and Dumber. With my visionary brilliance perhaps I should consider standing in the June elections (any backers out there?) and raise the bar of politics in Donegal.
But, on second thoughts, having witnessed much of the antics of this county's current crop of incumbents, that wouldn't be much of a challenge.
Yours,
Jim Nisbet,
Letterkenny.
