Madam, - Garret FitzGerald contends that since the 1980s we have seen the effective disappearance of "the system of alternating governments" ("Single-party rule took the State by surprise", Opinion, September 1st). He writes that such a system, which kept governments on their toes because they were "liable to be turned out by the electorate from time to time. . .worked well enough for the half-century after our first post-revolutionary government had created the conditions needed for a stable political system".
Having looked at each general election result between 1932 and 1977, I find the figures do not substantiate Dr FitzGerald's hypothesis. There were 15 general elections in that period and in all but three of these Fianna Fáil was returned to power either by itself or supported by Labour and/or Independents. Fine Gael with others was elected to government on only three occasions - 1948, 1954 and 1973. Fianna Fáil was in government for 35 out of those 45 years.
Dr FitzGerald suggests that Fianna Fáil's decision in the late 1980s to drop its "core" commitment to single-party government was the beginning of its returning to office repeatedly. This is not the case, as the figures above demonstrate. In fact Fianna Fáil was supported in government on no fewer than six occasions before the 1980s (1932, 1937, 1943, 1951, 1961 and 1965). The so-called " core " value was always adaptable in the Fianna Fáil mind from 1932 onwards.
Contrary to Dr FitzGerald's contention, the electorate was deprived of its power to decide the shape of the next government long before the late 1980s. This situation is exacerbated by the preponderance of three- and four-seat constituencies which also exaggerates the dominance of the major political party. - Yours, etc,
PETER McDONNELL,
Griffith Downs,
Dublin 9.