Irish Politics: Green Party say "fuck you" to Labour

[Lord Pounder]

YouTube Video

The back story seems that Paul Gogarty was being in particular singled out by Emmet Stagg over the new cuts to the welfare system the Irish government (which the Greens are a member of). Gogarty admitted he was not in favour of the 4% cuts to benefits but he had not choice but to vote for it as it is considered the only way to get Ireland out of it's recession, Ireland does have one of the highest handouts in Europe, €200 a week to the average jobseeker alone.

I don't think it will cost Gogarty his seat, in actual fact I find it refreshing to see a politician acting human. I know when I am properly registered to vote in the Republic of Ireland I'd certainly give the Greens a vote.

[Knife]

Saw it on the news and found it funny as hell. I prefer honesty, tell the guy to fuck himself in the open instead of waiting till you're behind closed doors. Got to love the Irish.

[Big Orange]

In South Korea they have staged brawls in their parliment:

[Zixinus]

In South Korea they have staged brawls in their parliment:

Wait, staged? You mean that they wanted to show this? What for?

[Big Orange]

South Korean politicians having punch ups is partially because parlimentary democracy in South Korea is still newish (before it was in some ways almost as authoritarian as North Korea) and Korean culture quite different to Anglo-American culture, despite the modern post-industrial sheen. Here's a good article on Korea's political infighting, Understanding the Korean Politics' “Fight Club” (Korean politics, like in Japan, also has a nasty streak of racial domination/isolation to it).

The overly formal protocols in Britain's House of Commons prevents politicians from calling each other liars and having a straight debate; somebody trying to grill then PM Tony Blair in the lead up to the Iraqi invasion was cut off by the Speaker for bending protocol. Makes you think.