Awwal 21, 1432 H/Feb 24, 2011, SPA -- Old-style politics is expected to come to an end in Ireland on Friday, as the Irish go to the polls for an election set to transform the country's political landscape, according to dpa. The political constellation has been notoriously difficult to change in Ireland, where voting patterns have been based more on family tradition than policy. The political fault lines were set in Ireland at the time of the Civil War of 1922-1923, and people have tended to vote either Fianna Fail or Fine Gael - according to the side their forefathers took in that conflict. The Civil War arose from the signing of a treaty with the British in 1921 which provided for Irish independence, but excluded the six counties in Northern Ireland, which remained under British rule. Fianna Fail emerged from the anti-treaty faction while Fine Gael was pro-treaty. The centre-right Fianna Fail became the party of the small farmer and the working class, leaving little opportunity for a Labour Party to make inroads into Irish political life. Fine Gael, also centre-right and allied to the Christian Democratic Union in Europe, had a slightly more liberal agenda and a little more support amongst the professional classes. But there were no great differences in policy. In a small country where everyone knows everyone or somebody belonging to them, patronage politics was the order of the day. Politicians' attendance at funerals was crucial, and making or breaking promises on a local basis sealed a politician's fate. Fianna Fail, particularly, flourished under this system and has been in government for two thirds of the time since its foundation in 1932, only once gaining less than 40 per cent in a general election. Fine Gael also dominated, but never won enough support for single party government. Friday's election is expected to change all that with people switching allegiance as never before as a result of the economic catastrophe that has befallen Ireland under Fianna Fail's watch. The country went from the prosperity of Celtic Tiger boom, between 1995 and 2007, to requesting a bailout worth 85 billion euros (117 billion dollars) from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund in November - chiefly as a result of ruling Fianna Fail government's mismanagement of the banks and public finances. Fianna Fail's support has fallen to between 15 and 17 per cent, according to latest polls, and may be as low as 10 per cent in Dublin. Voters are switching to Fine Gael - now polling at 39 per cent - in their droves. Minority parties such as the nationalist Sinn Fein and independent candidates, polling at 16 per cent, are also set to make huge gains. The number of independent candidates has more than doubled since the last election, from 108 to 233. Independents in Ireland have tended to stand on single-issue tickets based on a narrow local agenda - campaigning to keep a hospital open or for better infrastructure in their area. A different style of independent candidate is standing in this election, with a national agenda based on doing what's best for the country and challenging the parochial nature of Irish politics. One such candidate is Senator Shane Ross, author of The Bankers: How the Banks Brought Ireland to its Knees, who charges that "Irish politics is based on cronyism." "Fianna Fail and Fine Gael are mirror images based on families not political argument. TDs (members of parliament) behave like county councillors. Legislation takes a back seat. Dail and Senate reform is essential," he says. Reform is also on the agenda of Fine Gael, led by Enda Kenny, who is likely to form a coalition government with Labour after the election. If Labour is in government, and with Fianna Fail on a downward slide, nationalist Sinn Fein, whose President Gerry Adams is contesting a seat in the north-east of the country, may emerge as a leading force in opposition. This is one monumental change many may find hard to countenance as Adams' repeated denials that he has ever been a member of the IRA, despite a great deal of evidence to the contrary, does not sit well with the middle-class voter.
