This contribution was originally published in The Irish Times on October 8th 2025.

Almost every day I see commentary gaining traction online about how Ireland supposedly has a “democratic deficit” or is “no better than North Korea.” It’s a kind of hyperbole that, in my opinion, says more about the inflamed rhetoric of part of the electorate than it does about any political reality.

As someone who grew up in mainland Europe and has lived in both the United Kingdom and the United States for years, I find it almost endearing what surfaces as political drama here and has real consequences to a campaign.

That is not to say there are no serious problems. There are, and they deserve scrutiny. But the fact that these kinds of issues still provoke such national outrage suggests that we in fact live in a healthy democracy where decency matters and truth to power can be spoken and is normalised.

Enjoy your ability to spoil your vote, make political statements without fear or consequence and embrace the cognitive dissonance of Schrödinger’s Ireland where it’s simultaneously the best and worst country in the world.