DUBLIN — While Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump and the whole motley crew of presidential hopefuls scurry around Iowa, New Hampshire and other states looking to leave their mark, Ireland’s 166 Teachtaí Dála (TDs) disperse from their legislative posts in Dublin to their constituent districts, readying themselves for their election season. Ireland, an island nation of 4.5 million people, has a fervent relationship with politics and a unique political climate not unlike our own. The Irish are approaching the election with a healthy dose of skepticism and disillusionment like any healthy democratic population, but that doesn’t stop them from actively participating in the political process during a time when their choice in leader will set the groundwork for a formative chapter in Ireland’s existence.

Although the Gaelic people have been living on the island for millennia, the Republic of Ireland was not freed from colonialism until the 1920s. From that time until the 1980s, a poor economy burdened the country with poverty, a high cost of living and rampant unemployment, which led to high rates of alcoholism and emigration. The conservative social climate did not aid the Irish quality of life  —  divorce was illegal until 1995, homosexuality until 1993 and abortion remains illegal by constitutional amendment to this day.

But in the 1990s, a new hope emerged. In addition to social progress, the so-called “Celtic Tiger” boom period saw unprecedented economic prosperity. The economy grew at a rate of 9.5 percent per year. Irish people were gaining employment and thriving in their homeland, and the housing market was flourishing. Swept up in the hype, regulators relaxed, subprime mortgages were issued and in 2008 the global recession took its toll on the happy island’s intemperance. Foreclosure rates were four times as high as in America. Banks’ assets were hollow, the government couldn’t bail them out and the International Monetary Fund was called in to implement austerity measures.

“Some say 2008’s downfall was based on global trends that Irish government couldn’t have avoided,” Michael Mulreany, an Irish economist and director of Dublin’s Institute of Public Administration, said. “Others think our leaders and bankers were greedy and careless. It’s a rabbit hole of a debate that may never be resolved, but the issue certainly weighs heavily on our minds when voting.”

There are two parties in Ireland that have held the most power in the past: Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Unlike America’s two main parties, they aren’t antithetical in ideology. Their division mostly originates during the Irish Civil War. What’s more, they haven’t been able to hold onto power like the Democrats and Republicans have. In the most recent iteration of the Dáil, the Labour party held more seats than historically dominant Fianna Fáil; Sinn Fein, a nationalist, anti-austerity party with roots in the Irish Republican Army (IRA), held a substantial amount of seats. The Social Democrats held three seats, as did rightwing Renua, and there were 19 independents. In their search for future leadership, the Irish are working a full spectrum of choices.

For many voters, the decision comes down to a matter of conservatism versus liberalism. Some are looking for a government that will curb austerity, increase funding for the fractured healthcare system and address growing homelessness. This aligns well with Fianna Fáil’s platform, according to former senator and upcoming candidate John Hannafin.

“National health is the main concern,” Hannafin said. “Helping with accommodating refugees is also very important. Ireland has always been an emigrant nation and it’s our turn to give back to other people fleeing from hardships.”

Supporters of increased welfare spending believe the working class has been given more than its fair share of the burden in rebuilding the economy, and they point to taxes such as new water charges and the Universal Social Charge (USC), a tax on incomes above $14,700 in U.S. dollars. Others who want to avoid another economic downturn at all costs are drawn towards policies that favor long-term stability, including austerity. This conservative camp tends to blame recent woes on the party in power at the time of the crash, Fianna Fáil.

At first, the economic conservative-liberal divide seems timeless and all too familiar to Americans, but it’s a somewhat different beast in Ireland. While America’s division is based on individuals’ core economic ideology, which tends to change seldom if at all, the Irish have a much fickler relationship with government interference in the free market. Fine Gael have rebranded themselves as an alternative to parties who represent careless and costly spending, even though a look at the Dáil’s transcripts from 2003 shows that Fine Gael actually supported greater public spending than Fianna Fáil. While this total reversal might be attacked in the American political theatre, the Irish rewarded Fine Gael’s flip-flop with a victory in the 2011 election. In this way, the parties morph to the will of the ever-changing public, instead of aiming to embody an unwavering set of economic principles. In short, there is far more “jumping ship” in Ireland, by politicians and voters alike.

Despite the cries for improved public service, the Irish political left is more concerned with strengthening unions and cutting working class taxes. While those in the American left-wing tend to focus on improving quality of life through expansion of government services, the Labour party barely mentions it. Their focus on lowered taxes would attract many Republican voters in the U.S. Many analysts expect a reduction in Labour members of parliament due to an underwhelming tenure as a part of the most recent government coalition, where the party struggled to implement its policies in times of mandated austerity.

While most Irish citizens are weighing their fear of economic downturn against their distaste for Fine Gael’s recovery approach, other voters are motivated chiefly by their total disillusionment with government. This has led to a growing support for two ideologically opposite fringe parties: Renua and Sinn Fein. Renua recently broke away from Fine Gael, establishing a new platform focusing on the “right to life of the unborn” as well as government transparency. Many right-wing voters, uneasy with Ireland’s rapidly modernizing social views, have switched from their traditional loyalties to this charismatic new party.

On the other side of the spectrum, many young voters hold equal detestation for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael for their part in the shoddiness of the last eight years. Many are favoring Sinn Fein, whose platform includes some of the same tax policies as Labour, but with greater commitment to social safety nets.

“We’re really just going to vote for whoever promises the most,” said Stephen McLoughin, a resident of Dublin’s working-class East Wall neighborhood. “Last time it was Labour, and they disappointed us, so this time ‘round it’s Sinn Fein.”

While the American electorate seems to pick their candidates based on principle, platform and personality, the Irish focus on clientelism and current events. Right now, that current event is the relationship between sustaining social welfare and recovering from the 2008 economic crash. In both countries, the nation’s young liberals have shifted even further left towards a platform of inward-focused socialism. Many of America’s conservatives look to “out-of-the-box” populist candidates in Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, but Ireland’s conservative population remains mostly centrist.

The most crucial juncture for each respective country might come after the election, when the governments reveal how they can work together. Irish political parties will have to form their coalition wisely, reaching to various parts of the political spectrum and hopefully creating a balanced manifesto and a fruitful yet sustainable quality of life for the future. In America, the future president’s ability to negotiate with an increasingly stubborn Congress might very well be the determining factor in our government’s course of action in the next four years.