"You say you want a revolution

Well, you know

We all want to change the world

You tell me that it's evolution

Well, you know

We all want to change the world

But when you talk about destruction

Don't you know that you can count me out"

John Lennon, 'Revolution'.

THE attack on the constituency office of Fianna Fáil Galway East deputy Noel Treacy last week got remarkably little attention, considering the seriousness of what happened.

Nobody was hurt and it was an attack on property rather than an individual, but there was an element of menace about the incident.

Treacy, who has served in the Dáil for almost 30 years, was said by colleagues to have been shaken by what happened and understandably so.

It follows on from recent incidents where windows were broken and graffiti sprayed at the constituency office of Noel Dempsey in Trim and paint was thrown at health minister Mary Harney.

It is important to stress that there is no reason to believe any of these incidents are related, but they are surely grounds to at least pause and reflect as to where we are going as a democracy and as a society.

There is huge anger at the current crisis in which the country finds itself and that is understandable. But we need to be careful about where this anger is going to bring us.

There are many legitimate forms of public protest – the recent large and entirely peaceful demonstration two weekends ago being the most obvious example.

But the view that the solutions to our problems lie outside Leinster House and that politicians – from whatever party – are part of the problem, rather than the solution, is a dangerous one. Dáil Eireann, however it might be perceived, is the assembly of the Irish people. Our TDs are our representatives. They are a reflection of all of us, for better or for worse.

They – and most particularly Fianna Fáil – might have got us into this mess. But equally, they (and by 'they' I mean our TDs and not Fianna Fáil) are the only ones who can get us out of it. Whatever about bailing out the banks or the EU/IMF deal, there is no alternative to Dáil Eireann.

One of the most bewildering arguments that have been heard during the past couple of years is the lament that we, in Ireland, don't have the same radical tendencies as other countries when it comes to public protest. "Now the French," the line usually goes, "they really know how to protest."

But what does that say and what does it solve? He who shouts loudest – or riots hardest – gets heard and holds sway? Yes, elements in Greece reacted with a lot more hostility to the EU/IMF intervention than occurred here. But it changed absolutely nothing, other than to tragically take the lives of three people when a bank was set on fire. Is that what we want here?

If change is to happen, it can only happen within the confines of Leinster House – anything else does not have democratic legitimacy.

The argument has been made in some quarters in recent weeks that, following the intervention of the EU/IMF, there is no point to politics. What difference does it make whether one party or another party is in government – they are all arguing much the same thing and sure it's the EU and IMF that are really calling the shots.

Leave aside the fact that there is more to being in government than economic policy and that the EU/IMF involvement is for a finite period, it is the very fact that there is a choice as to which party, or group of parties, is in power that is absolutely crucial. We know from history that once that choice disappears, the potential for serious abuses develops quickly.

We are obviously a very long way from that in this country and it would be alarmist to suggest otherwise. But there is a responsibility for everyone engaging in political debate to attempt to provide leadership, instead of simply fanning the flames of public anger. Charges of treason and criminality have, ludicrously, been levelled at government parties in recent months. And there has been talk on the margins of campaigns of civil disobedience.

This isn't apartheid South Africa or Burma. If any grouping doesn't like the four-year plan that is likely to be endorsed by the Dáil this week, they have the option of contesting the upcoming general election and getting a mandate from the people – who alone are sovereign – to change it.

Sinn Féin is one of the political parties that oppose the bailout deal and the four-year plan. That is a perfectly legitimate position for it to hold. It reflects the views of a lot of people in the country right now and the party is likely to win a number of additional seats in the upcoming general election. But its current strategy of the ballot box in one hand and a placard in the other surely warrants further scrutiny.

The notion of senior Sinn Féin figures standing outside Leinster House or Government Buildings protesting – as it has been doing in recent weeks – while at the same time having elected TDs in the Dáil smacks of having your cake and eating it.

What is remarkable is that none of the political parties or organisations inside or outside the Dáil are advocating doing the one thing that could genuinely and legitimately change how Ireland is run – serious reform of our electoral system.

If the boom-bust cycle of the last 30 years has taught us anything, it is that nothing will ultimately change until we move away from the multi-seat constituencies that foster parish pump politics, sacrificing the wider public good for narrow, vested interests.

Dumping our electoral system – following, of course, a constitutional referendum – would bring about a real revolution in how politics in this country operates. All together now 'no ifs, no buts, no multi-seat constits'.

scoleman@tribune.ie