Horseman of the Apocalypse, TD?

As I write this it seems almost certain, according to those in the know (the professional commentators on Newstalk, RTE and the Irish Times) that George Lee, the economics editor for RTE, will today be announced as FG's by-election candidate for Dublin South.

Mr Glee has been outspoken for many years on our airwaves that all was not well in the state of Eíre, and he was one of the few dissenting voices while FF and the PD's told us that deregulation was the panacea for all our ills and that the building boom would never end.

George was portrayed by many vested interests (property speculators, real estate agents, the parties in government) as someone who couldn't see how glorious the emperors new clothes looked.

Yet along with a small number of others (including the man with the golden cliche, David McWilliams) he was one of the few who publicly and vociferously predicted that Ireland's economy was being built on an unsustainable building boom, long before it was fashionable to do so.

As it turns out, he was right.

While FF will try to portray him as a celebrity candidate parachuted into the constituency, the truth is that George lives locally and while he is high profile, he is a far more credible choice than any of the other high profile candidates opted for by any political party in recent years.

He has a very strong grounding in economics that while needed, is seriously lacking in the Daíl at present, is relatively young, obviously very bright and has no vested interests that have plagued political candidates in the past.

In short, he is the opposite of what politicians in the Daíl tend to look like.

Moreover, unlike Mickey Martin, Mary Hanafin and nine other TD's, he will be unlikely to have a cushy job to fall back on should he fail to get elected, or fail to get elected at subsequent elections.

While Seán Duignan sets a precedent as an RTE employee who went off to become press secretary to Albert Reynolds and subsequently returned when his spin on the merry-go-round was over, one imagines the perception of impartiality as economics editor of RTE would be much harder to spin to the public as a former TD or even election candidate.

Ireland's electorate, since we gained independence, seem to have a somewhat disjointed view of what they want from their politicians.

Cute hoors and tax evaders who 'get things done locally' are often preferred over cerebral, earnest politicians, who seem to be treated with a degree of suspicion.

After all 'what's in it for them?' The notion of public service is not one that many in Ireland seem to comprehend, and given the performance of our politicians over the past decade, can they really be blamed?

The prime example of this is the Charlie/Garrett debate that went on during the 1980's. CJ prevailed, for a variety of different reasons, but in no small part because people knew that he was a rogue (though not the extent of his criminality until much later.)

By contrast, Garrett, while obviously brilliant, was an odd fish and many of the electorate found it hard to identify with him.

Unlike FG, in the grand tradition of the party FF are likely to run a candidate whose sole qualification for office is that he is a 'son-of.'

Shay Brennan, son of the late great Seamus Brennan, a politician who was unusually respected by all sides of the Daíl, is keen to highlight that he was merely a foot-soldier in the Anglo Irish Bank stormtroopers, and that he was merely 'following orders.'

While many FF insiders admit that he has little political experience, it is a measure of the parties desperation that they believe that the only way to keep this once 'safe' seat is to get the younger Brennan to run.

Based on their previous success with, oh, say Brian Cowen, Mary Coughlan, and Brian Lenihan, all who got into the Daíl for no reason other than their familial relations to a previous TD, they may be right.

However, times are changing and the Dublin South constituency is one which, controversially, according to a political commentator "tends to have a mind of it's own." Perish the thought.

It will be hard for FG to get a third seat in this constituency, and to hold it in the next general election if they do take it.

One imagines that the sitting FG TD's, Olivia Mitchell and Alan 'Star Trek' Shatter are none too pleased with the prospect of trying to marshall the vote come the next General Election; Shatter in particular edged Liz O'Donnell out for the last seat in the 2007 election by a mere few hundred votes.

However, with a candidate like Lee, success in the upcoming local election must be almost assured.

That people like Lee are willing to sacrifice their safe jobs in order to make sure that we get a better government next time around should, hopefully, put it up to others who have a contribution to make to rebuilding this country to consider their options.

Ireland badly needs a new generation of politicians with some experience of the real world, politicians with new ideas, politicians untainted by tribunals, overpay and bloated expense accounts.

We have tried government by the common man and look where that has got us: For a change, lets try and elect someone who has a clue about what's going on.

Update: Lee confirmed at lunchtime that he has put his name forward as a candidate for Fine Gael in the Dublin South by-election. “I want to make sure that the country get’s a better Government." Good luck to him.