I think that the new dividing line in politics will be the role of the state. We need to completely rethink this and the consequences for levels of taxation, individual responsibilty and how public money is spent. My view is that the role of the Irish state should be focused on protecting and enabling our citizens in a more volatile and demanding globalised economy and society. There was no need to do any of this during a period of abnormally high global economic growth. We could rely on the tax revenue gushing in and jobs been created every day. This will not happen for many years to come.
Gordon Brown and his Labour government are doing some interesting work in rethinking the role of the state and the role it will play in the future. Have a look at this. Interesting reading in the run up to the budget.