Across Ireland and much of the Western world, there is a palpable sense of growing dissatisfaction with politics and the established political order. This discontent is not confined to one country or demographic; rather, it is a phenomenon witnessed from Dublin to Washington, London to Paris.
In Ireland, support for the two main “civil war” parties has never been so low, having more than halved since their vote share peaked in 1982. Catherine Connolly, a political outsider backed by a ragbag coalition, was an easy winner in the recent presidential election where fewer than half the eligible voters participated. A common refrain from voters is that “it doesn’t matter who we vote – they’re all the same”.
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