Clientelism and local politics

dublin | consumer issues | other press Monday August 21, 2006 21:06 by Toe-tape

Bertie Ahern opens Jim O Callaghan's Constituency Office @ Portobello .

Images are printable from the Fianna fail Website Gallery.

http://www.fiannafail.ie/

Harold's Cross has been lacking a post-office since the post-master died of a heart attack (RIP), whilst at the other end of the ward,
a one-stop client shop for political bring and buy was opened
just past La Touche Bridge. The shop looks like a Spar and Bertie was there to cut the ribbon and a bevy of tanned blondes in hats accompanied the opening cermemonies.
Meanwhile pensioners and single mothers have to await the appointment of a new post-master or travel to alternate locations to get the services once provided by the State.

The O Callaghan Office is akin to a hyper-market. Gone are the fusty
public house backrooms where the business of clientelism was carried out. Issues such as local planning (objections and permissions) were carried out in such constituency offices.

The architecture and shop front is of Plate Glass. O Callaghan's
cherub -like features are emblazoned on a green signage and within and to the left of the door are shelves with his photograph and opinionon everything from info on local government to press-releases;-The era of the Hard-sell.

Further back up towards Rathmines village, the citizen information centre which is suppoused to provide these services and information in a non-biased and impartial manner is nestled down a lane opposite the local sex book shop.

Herein, you will find highly trained staff who run a morning pre-school, which is underfunded. Information on computer skills, language accquistion for the recently arrived in Ireland and refugee
suppport services. This information is presented and disseminated
in a helpful and free manner. (to those who require it).

It is funded by the council.

Jim O Callaghan, the hope of FF, is funded privately or by central office. He doesn't seem to have much in the way of clients and though his altruism is laudable in an ironic way -surely the information that he imparts should be free from a party-political stance. At least the large plate glass window gives a refreshing air
of openess, unlike the bristling of security cameras and occluding blinds that grace the constituency offices of his elected TD co-hort, the bold Michael Mc Dowell.

Are we moving into an era where freely proffered, non-political information is being divvied up by the new strain of political branding, or is it a front to up the abysmal showing of that party in the last local elections where O Callaghan was an 'also-ran'?