IS IT just me or is everybody else getting sick and tired of the current Government blaming the previous administration for the mess we’re in?
Here’s what we now know. Fianna Fail certainly had a role to play in the loss of our economic sovereignty. There was no plan in place to deal with a worst-case scenario, like a widescale banking collapse or global recession. Regulation of our financial institutions was nothing short of a joke.
Nod and wink politics of the
“sure we’ll be grand
? variety was at play for decades in Ireland. There was corruption in the planning process and it took expensive tribunals of inquiry to confirm what we had long suspected.
We all played a part, too, by buying into the hype that surrounded the Celtic Tiger property bubble that we thought could never be pricked.
Such was the level of smug optimism that former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern once expressed surprise that those talking down the economy didn’t commit suicide (surely one of the most idiotic and insensitive remarks to ever come from the mouth of a senior politician).
And then shortly before the brown stuff hit the fan, Bertie left the stage and handed over the reigns to Brian Cowen. Not surprisingly, there was apparently no rush for the job, painting a picture of Cowen as a somewhat accidental and reluctant Taoiseach.
Rightly or wrongly, the public backlash has focused largely on the roles of Ahern and Cowen, particularly given the latter’s tenure as Minister for Finance preceding his appointment as Taoiseach.
In his TG4 interview, Cowen came across as being sorry for us all, without actually saying sorry. It was, he said, a pity that he ended his political career the way he did. Indeed. A pity for all us really.
Cowen later told RTE that there was no one more sorry than him for what happened, remarks that were interpreted as an apology of sorts.
Cowen’s comments led to the predictable bleating from certain Fine Gael politicians about Fianna Fail’s
“incompetence and complacency
? during their 14 years in office. Since coming to power with Labour in early 2011, Fine Gael politicians – chief among them Enda Kenny – have blamed Fianna Fail at every opportunity for all of our ills.
The hated property tax – that’s all Fianna Fail’s fault, you know. Water metres – sure didn’t Fianna Fail agree this with the IMF lads?
It’s time to end the blame game. This Government is now midway through its term and life still feels pretty grim for ordinary householders and struggling businesses.
Ireland remains broken and the real question is: what the hell are Fine Gael and Labour going to do to fix it?