With the election campaign in full swing, lampposts are heaving with posters. But are they a vital tool for democracy, or an invitation to focus on the wrong things?
With the election campaign in full swing, Ireland’s lamp-posts are once again festooned with posters. But are they a vital tool for democracy, or an invitation to focus on the wrong things?
But we no longer live in a world where it’s easy to miss an election on the horizon. The era of reliance on teletext and benevolent facsimile outreach is behind us. Even for those lucky ducks who have missed the months of radio and social media speculation, the polling cards, evening door-knocks, and letterbox pamphlets should serve as clues enough.
The case against posters is so obvious as to barely require articulation. We deserve better than having yet another part of public space given over to advertising. Anything looks nicer than repetitious human faces in garish colours, sometimes slightly obstructing views of traffic, sometimes hanging off poles when the wind has made its feelings known.
Finally, sometimes the slim political messaging there is feels intrusive. Shuffling from the staff-haemorrhaging creche to slot myself, Tetris-piece-like, on to a rammed Luas, the repetitive overhead plea to “abolish inheritance tax!” grates on the spirit. I can only imagine how the posters referring to the Great Replacement impact the start of one’s day. There should be some escape from the political arena, and it seems obvious it should be our outdoor spaces.Alan Kinsella: No.
The posters will tell you who is running and, by that, what constituency you are in. In this election, where there have been some radical boundary changes, and a lot of voters aren’t au fait yet as to what their constituency is. The posters are there to tell them.
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