Death of Justin Keating

I was sorry to hear that former Government Minister Justin Keating died a couple of days ago. The first General Election I voted at was in 1969, Justin was a new candidate for the Labour Party in Dublin North where I was then working and I voted for him. "The Seventies Will Be Socialist" was the slogan then - innocent times indeed! He was elected. Keating was the son of well-know Irish artist Seán Keating.

I have voted in every General Election since - much good it has done either me or the country but never did any canvassing of any sort for any party. However in the past month I swore that come the next General Election I would canvass.

Who for? Well I'm not particular, any Trotskyite, Maoist, Marxist, Leninist, Marxist-Leninist, Hoxaist, Communist or Socialist will do. We have heard so much over the last decades from the spokesperson of business and commerce demanding they be given a free rein and that their system works best without inteference and regulation especially by Governments. Then comes the crisis and they crawl to Government asking for intervention. So the state and the tax payer bails them out.