Little birdies tell me, for what it’s worth, that it’s the word from the doors that’s terrifying Government.
It is not the next election that the Irish establishment should fear. It is the one after that.
None of this will make the slightest bit of difference to events in Gaza. Nor, for that matter, to the majority of voters in the country.
It is, perhaps, the stupidest three paragraphs of text ever suggested to an Irish Government.
It is very likely that over the coming months, the public are going to be confronted with the spectacle of dozens, if not hundreds, of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael candidates for the county council telling voters on the doorsteps and on the local airwaves that their national party leadership is entirely wrong on immigration.
Any honest conversation about misinformation would include the basic fact that the greatest purveyors of misinformation in any democracy – not only Irelands – are elected politicians and unelected political actors.
This is a Government – and in fact an entire political class – with very low levels of respect and admiration from the public by historical standards.
The Soc Dems have every chance of watching Labour sink, and picking up the survivors. In the meantime, they have no reason to lash themselves to a sinking ship.
The significance of 2023 is that it is the year when “far right” stopped being a label people feared, and began to become a standing joke.
It’s very likely that the kind of young voter who’s minded to vote McGregor would see the revulsion displayed towards him by the establishment as a net-positive, rather than a net-negative.
This new venture should be welcomed onto the scene. But those of us who do wish it well should also temper our expectations.
But who is truly honest and humble enough to serve the people of Ireland?