ALTHOUGH it seems like we have been living through this General Election countdown for months – in fact, the battles truly began at the start of the year – we still have three weeks to go before polling day.

We have now entered the phase of the manifestos, when each party sets out its stall and makes its promises as to how it will act if it wins power. Promises, we are assured, they will not break.

And yet we know that they will, even if they live with good intentions now.

Circumstances, those who win power will tell us, have overcome their good intentions and, alas, their hands wringing, some of those promises will have to go by the wayside.

This person does not doubt the integrity of those politicians making their vows this week. But they are doing so against a backdrop they know will give them plenty of wiggle room.

With no one party likely to seize power with a majority the coalition agreements that will be formed, the horse trading that must take place, will enable any and all to slip out from any and all obligations.

We should then take what they promise with a large dose of political reality. Even the best intentioned of our political elite are no longer in command of their destinations – nor ours.