Compiled by STEVEN CARROLL
Pretty good odds at polls
A new survey suggests that a cross-section of voters are a shallow bunch, with 35 per cent of people saying they would vote for a candidate solely on their looks.
It found that 43 per cent of people think a pretty face does influence a voter's decision and that, for shame, 24 per cent have voted for candidates in the past because they thought they were attractive.
The 250 people who participated in the online survey, commissioned by Boylesports, voted Labour's Maria Parodi, who is running in Dublin's South East Inner City electoral ward, as the country's most attractive election candidate.
Conditions candidates here should Czech out
Campaigners and election candidates may be facing cold receptions, tirades of difficult questions and unpredictable weather as they knock on doors around the country seeking all-important votes. However, they should remember that while it's not ideal, things could be far, far worse.
Some of their counterparts in the Czech Republic yesterday saw cracks develop in their campaigns as they were pelted with eggs at a rally ahead of the country's European and national elections. A crowd of young protesters outnumbered supporters of the leftist Social Democrats at a rally in downtown Prague, during which party leader Jiri Paroubek was hit about a dozen times.
"We are afraid that the Social Democrats might team up with the Communists and our parents told us that communism was a nasty period," a protester told Reuters.
In spite of the barrage and deafening whistles, Paroubek stayed on stage to tell the dissenting voices: "I feel sorry for you." Police arrested 16 people for disturbing the peace.
In quotes
"I certainly don't believe all the really dire and disastrous predictions that are there, it's certainly not going to be as bad as that." Minister for Social Affairs Mary Hanafin on Fianna Fáil's chances in the local and European elections
"We have seen an almost incredible momentum shift. The west is waking. People are taking notice. The choice is becoming clear." Libertas leader Declan Ganley says the party is on the up in the northwest
How to 'repurpose' posters into domestic adornments
A GUERRILLA gardener and a user of unitedminds.ie, the website of Independent South Dublin byelection candidate Ross O'Mullane, has proposed a new use for election posters.
Mick Veale says the public can make use of pesky political posters by repurposing them from unwanted litter into very dashing window boxes. He has even provided a photo tutorial of how he lit up his windowsill with the creations, which won him a discount at a DIY outlet.
When contacted to see if removing a poster was an offence, the Department of Environment said it was a matter for its colleagues in the Department of Justice, who in turn said it was a matter for environment.
Despite his background in marketing, O'Mullane has not opted to erect posters or canvass; instead he is using his website to engage voters as he believes online politics is very much the future.
"All the other guys are promising to respray the car, but what I'm saying is that we need to change what's under the bonnet," he said.
Young are at heart of Boyle's proposal
European election candidate Senator Dan Boyle has thrown his voice behind a Nation Youth Council campaign to reduce the voting age in the local and European elections to 16 years. Boyle, who faces stiff competition in the South constituency, said the Greens are the first to make this proposal to discourage an "opt out" among youths.
On Tuesday, Labour TD Ciaran Lynch made a similar call, while in 2007 Fine Gael said voting age should fall to 17.
Labour's poster outsourcing queried
While Labour attempts to highlight the Government's failure in creating jobs across the State, it would appear they have outsourced the printing of all their local and European election posters across the Border.
The posters for Wexford local elections candidates Pat Cody and Francis O'Connor do not display the name of its printer, required by law, a source in Enniscorthy told Ballot Beat. The posters, seemingly along with every other Labour poster in the State, were printed by Alexander Boyd Displays of Lambeg, Lisburn, Co Antrim.
Labour posters in the Gorey area give the name of the same printer, but with an address in Glasnevin, Dublin. However, Alexander Boyd Displays in Lisburn said the Dublin branch deals with sales and orders only.
White on the tracks of Bob Dylan
Yesterday, Ballot Beat told of Labour European election candidate Senator Alan Kelly's attempts to appeal to young voters with a rap song. Today, his party colleague, Dublin South byelection candidate Senator Alex White, is attempting to appeal to voters of all ages by taking a leaf out of Bob Dylan's book by recreating the video to his hit song Subterranean Homesick Blues.
Stood on a roadside in front of a building with a novelty sized "to let" sign in its window, Senator White reels off page after page, just like Dylan did in 1965, quoting political buzzwords of the day such as "hope" and "change".
[ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5QtMYiSfS4&rel=0Opens in new window ]
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