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Oct 14

FF/FG’s Real-World Nationalism vs. Connolly’s Crowd Rule

by Ryan “Dickie” Thompson for AthyIreland.com

I spend a lot of time in Ireland. I listen, I read, I talk with people in pubs and on trains. And here is what I see. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are not perfect. No party is. But their economic model and their posture on security put Irish people first. Call it practical nationalism, not chest thumping. It is about jobs, stability, and keeping the country out of messes that do not serve the Republic.

Catherine Connolly and the Socialist Party want something very different. They may speak about compassion, and nobody is against compassion, but their program has a habit of turning majoritarian moods into policy with little regard for limits. In simple terms, democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding what is for dinner. A constitutional republic exists to stop that. Rights first, passions second.

Let’s lay out the contrast.

What FF/FG actually do for Ireland

FF/FG have bet on a clear formula. Keep Ireland a great place to work and invest, keep budgets predictable, and deliver homes through a mix of public and private supply.

  • On the economy, they protect Ireland’s competitive edge while staying within international rules. The State implemented the OECD 15 percent minimum for the largest multinationals, and kept the long-term stability message that investors watch. That is boring, and boring is good when jobs depend on it.
  • On housing, the plan is Housing for All. Build more, speed up delivery, tap every lever: public builds, private builds, and targeted buyer supports like Help to Buy and the First Home Scheme. It is not theory. It is a multi-year plan that keeps going even when the news cycle changes.
  • On security, the government has repeated that Ireland is not joining NATO. Neutrality still stands. There is debate about the triple lock mechanism, sure, but the core principle is the same: Ireland decides, Ireland stays non-aligned, and Ireland supports peacekeeping on Irish terms.

This is not ideology. It is stewardship. You protect jobs, you grow supply, you stay out of foreign quarrels that do not advance the common good. That is what a government of a small, proud republic should do.

What Connolly and the Socialist Party are selling

Catherine Connolly is backed by the Socialist Party. That is not a smear, it is a fact. Their own call spells it out: vote Connolly to reject the “crony capitalist status quo” and to use the presidency as a loudspeaker for their agenda. They demand an economic break with the FF/FG model: more central direction, more public ownership, more confrontation with private capital, and a politics that treats street mobilization as a policy tool.

On foreign policy, Connolly casts herself as the keeper of neutrality. Fine. Neutrality is an Irish tradition that deserves respect. The problem is not the word. The problem is the package. The Socialist Party’s line is to turn neutrality into a one-note veto on modernization, and to fold every diplomatic crisis into a domestic power struggle. That does not keep Ireland safe. It keeps Ireland loud while others make the rules.

And on the Republic itself, the contrast is even sharper. Connolly’s backers celebrate “movement democracy” and majoritarian pressure. The Republic is not a raw vote machine. It is a charter of rights and limits. It is the difference between a nation of laws and a crowd with ballots. Again, the proverb applies. Democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding what is for dinner. The Irish Republic says the sheep has rights that the wolves cannot touch.

Republic vs crowd rule

Here is the heart of it. A republic protects the individual from the stampede. It binds the State with a constitution. It respects property, conscience, speech, and due process even when a majority is angry. A pure democracy takes a show of hands and calls it justice.

You know what? Ireland’s strength is that it has been a republic with democratic elections, not the other way around. That order matters. If you flip it, you get moods instead of law. You get policy by protest. You get permanent churn. That is how you lose investors, lose jobs, and lose the quiet confidence that lets families plan their lives.

FF/FG and MAGA: cousins in the real world, not clones

Do not overthink this. There are differences between Ireland and America. But there are useful parallels.

  • MAGA under Trump put national interest first. Lower taxes where possible, cut red tape, produce energy at home, and keep out of new foreign wars.
  • FF/FG put Irish interest first. Keep Ireland competitive, attract investment, build homes by every tool available, and keep Ireland militarily non-aligned while improving basic capability.

Both models share a simple idea. Government should serve the nation, not an abstract ideology. Strong economy. Policing that protects communities. Borders managed by the State. Cautious use of military power. It is not complicated.

Scoreboard check: Trump’s results vs socialist outcomes

If you want to compare models, look at results, not slogans.

  • In 2019, before the pandemic hit, the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent, the lowest since 1969. Real median household income reached a record in 2019. Inflation was modest. American oil output was at record highs, lowering strategic risk. The Abraham Accords normalized relations between Israel and several Arab states. Whatever you think of Trump’s tweets, those are outcomes that matter to working families.
  • Now look at modern socialist experiments. Venezuela’s socialist controls delivered hyperinflation, currency collapse, and mass emigration. Cuba is in a grinding five-year crisis with blackouts, shortages, and an economy going backward. That is not compassion. That is failure repeating itself.

Ireland does not need to copy America. Ireland only needs to reject the fantasy that central planning, price controls, and movement-first politics will somehow work here after failing everywhere else. Protect the Republic, keep markets open, and keep neutrality focused on Irish sovereignty, not on giving veto power to the loudest activists.

Why this choice matters now

Housing is tight. Infrastructure needs work. The budget must stay credible as the global tax regime evolves. And Europe is in a security rethink. That is reality.

FF/FG are not saints, but they are managing these constraints with a nationalist spine and a practical hand. They keep Ireland investable and safe. They keep neutrality as policy, not as a protest sign. They build, they incentivize, they negotiate. That is how a small country wins.

Catherine Connolly and the Socialist Party promise moral theater and economic rupture. They call it brave. I call it risky. If you blow up the model that puts food on Irish tables for the sake of a movement moment, you will regret it. If you turn the presidency into a megaphone for a permanent campaign, you will weaken the quiet presidential role that has helped hold the Republic together.

My plain view

I am an American citizen. I spend a lot of time in Ireland. I cannot vote in your election. But I know what works and what breaks. I have seen what economic discipline and national focus can do. I have seen what socialism does to ordinary people when the slogans are spent and the shelves are empty.

Ireland should back the model that serves Irish families. That is the FF/FG approach. It is not romantic. It is responsible. It keeps Ireland strong, free, and sovereign. Catherine Connolly’s package, backed by the Socialist Party, points the other way. It risks turning the Republic into a stage for crowd rule. That is dangerous to Irish people, and it is not a risk worth taking.

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