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First I would like to once again thank all who voted Nithraldur on election day. Though the 'Alliance for Change' did not win I am confident eIreland will see positive change this month and tremendous progress. The strength of the Irish Union Party and the popularity of Nithraldur are no doubt the main reasons behind this result. I am delighted by the progress we made these last few weeks and I thank all who have helped us get this far. I said two months ago the future of the Irish Union Party was bright and I am certain it can be even brighter!

Months ago someone spoke of a national trend against the Irish Union Party and some taught it was an unpopular time to be a member of the party. Well I can now say with absolute certainty they were wrong and there is never an unpopular time to be a member of the IUP. Members should be proud to be apart of the fastest growing political body in eIreland. It is no secret that some envied our success along the way and I am sorry to say our party and even our members were sometimes the victims of absurd insults and slander. Well no more! The Irish Union Party is not and never has been some 'evil' 'sinister' force. Such claims are ridiculous and if anybody wants to find out what the Irish Union Party is really like, we'd be more than happy to have you.

Equality and Fraternity!
Despite being the largest and most prominent party in eIreland there is no hierarchy or ruling elite in the party. We are all equal here and we value contribution from all our members. The Irish Union Party will never be a party where its members are just another number. We are all in this together and only together can we make this work. I have been Party President for almost two months now. When I join the party they were 155 members (and falling), we were suffering from a failed attempt at the Presidency, our forum was becoming pretty much inactive and we suffered a blow to our numbers in Congress. We now have 205 members (and growing), we succeeded in getting Nithraldur elected President once again, we have a new and active forum and we have more seats in Congress than any other party. I can simply only take part of the credit for this and without the hard work and dedication of some of our members this simply would not have been possible. Today we are still growing and are constantly looking for new ways to improve the party and eIreland. In short, it is a great time to be in the Irish Union Party.

Vive la différence?
It is no secret that the Irish Union Party is a populist party and we embrace members from across the ideological spectrum (strength through unity). However reflecting on the election are we really the only populist party in eIreland? This was the second time in the last three months that all the smaller parties in eIreland came together at election time to challenge the government. Was each party diluting its core beliefs or were their core beliefs any different in the first place? Quite frankly I was disappointed by the lack of choice presented to the eIrish people got on election day. It makes me wonder whether or not there is any fundamental difference between parties in eIreland. I already said on more than one occasion that anybody who suggests an ideological divide clearly never studied political science in any dept. I assume every party understands that it is simply impractical to try and implement any one ideology in full in eIreland. Of course they are different manifestos and such however in my opinion there is nothing in them that will radically change eIreland. The only party that stood out in recent times was the ICF (mainly because of their provoking nature and beliefs) and with them leaving eIreland (looks like they couldn't crush the IUP with their minds) what difference remains? At the end of the day the administration and opposition want the same thing: as much votes as possible to make this a better country. Call me crazy but this is my assumption (perhaps its controversial): the only difference between parties here are the people that make up them and the bulk of people in eIreland do not differ in terms of what they would like to see get done. I myself, am delighted to be in party with a multitude of intelligent, nice sensible people and a diversity of personalities.

Let's Embrace and Encourage Ideas
One thing I hate in this country is whenever an upcoming politician (or anybody for that matter) proposes something different to accepted 'norm' you can be almost certain a group of cynical eIrish people are going to try their best to completely shoot down the idea. Sometime the idea simply won't work however that does not mean we cannot learn anything from them. Ideas don't come from nowhere, they are a reflection of the current situation! I have seen proposals in Dáil with a lot logic behind completely shot down by people in Congress who simply made no effort to see where the person was coming from. What's worse is sometimes the put down the person who proposes the idea too (no doubt discouraging them from coming up with another one). This has to end in my opinion and we have to open our minds to new possibilities and encourage as much people as possible to voice their opinion (whether it is wrong or not). Another reason I love being in the Irish Union Party is how helpful and responsive our members are to new ideas and proposals (not only in regard to party but also eIreland).

Friend or Foe? Let's Work Together Not Against!
Month's ago I emphasized the importance of cooperation not just between members in our party but cooperation in other parties. The IUP is not on some pedestal looking down on the other parties in eIreland. We are all in this together and like it or not we have to work together. Whenever I won a Party Election I immediately offered a hand to my opposing colleague and hoped we could work together. Similarly whenever I got elected to Congress I always asked people who didn't get in to contact me if they had any ideas they wanted to put forward. There is not winning and losing at election time, we can only lose if eIreland loses and together we can ensure that never happens! Thus, this is an appeal to the 'Alliance of Change' to work with us this month, not against and I hope we can incorporate as much of your ideas along with our own. Afterall, eIreland is a country for all of us and every inhabitant should get a chance to include their input into the running of it. Furthermore, I would like to extend our friendship to the other parties in eIreland. An eIreland where mudslinging and 'party politics rubbish' are a thing of the past may sound like a utopia however it can become a reality. Sure we will debate and disagree however that does not mean we have to divide and fight.

I enclose the following links: IUP Wiki Page, IUP Forum and IUP Org.
Go raibh míle maith agat as do am is aire,
Neart le Chéile,
Severin, Irish Union Party President.