One of the peculiarities of Irish General Election campaigns, and certainly a prominent feature of the one currently in full swing, is that they are conducted by the participants with only a tacit recognition of what has become a defining feature of Irish political life: that the Government eventually produced by the process will be comprised not of a single party but of two or more parties in coalition.
The traditional campaigning approach adopted seems in one sense to patronise the voter, who is not encouraged to give much …