All Politics Is Local

Especially in Ireland!

Two central truisms of politics everywhere are especially true in General Election ’24 thus far: The first is that “all politics is local.” This maxim, often attributed to former US Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tip O’Neill, a fine Irish-American machine politician that he was signals that re-election to the national legislature has far more to do with what you do back home in your constituency than it does with your record or ability as a legislator. This is, of course, absurdly true in Ireland, where multi-seat constituencies elect representatives to the national parliament of a unitary state in which local government is absurdly weak. 

The first lesson taught in an Irish Politics class or imparted on the job as a political practitioner is that a TD losing touch with their constituency is a surefire way to have the death knell of “notions” plastered onto their re-election hopes. And so, while all politics everywhere is local, it is indeed all that much more local in Irelan…