The celebrations in commemoration of the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago have masked the events which propelled the construction of the wall and the reasons for the divisions of Germany and of Europe after the second World War. The wall defused a dispute that hung over from that war, a dispute that could have resulted in far worse consequences, possibly a nuclear conflict in the heart of Europe. The background to that is significant.
Professors of economics know as much about the future of economies as does Mary Coughlan. Perhaps they know even more if they are professors of economics at the London School of Economics (LSE).
Experts on banking know as much about rescuing the banks as does Mary Coughlan. A person who is both an international expert on banking and a professor of economics at the LSE therefore suffers from a triple disadvantage.
There is a wilful resistance to acknowledge the scale of inequality here in the debate on how to fix the fiscal hole. And a wilful denial of the lethal consequence of that inequality.
Unbelievable. Well, almost unbelievable. Though perhaps it is naive to find anything done by this government at all believable. But almost unbelievable is what Brian Lenihan has done this last few days on NAMA, the bank rescue agency. It is certainly unbelievable that other members of the cabinet knew what he was doing or if they did that they understood it. There is no way the Green Ministers could have approved of what happened, if they knew. Fianna Fail backbenchers never know what the government is up to so what’s new there? But did Brian Cowen know?
Two sturdy stalwarts of our time were on the national stage last week: bold, defiant and heroic - by their own lights, anyway. Both were defending national institutions in their care, without fear or favour. Well, without fear.
The first of these stalwarts was the phalanx of Fianna Fáil backbenchers who have defined contemporary Irish politics in a way that none of us commentators have succeeded in doing. Politics is now no longer about the great issues:
Enda Kenny is seeking attention with a plan at variance with one he flagged just recently.
On Saturday night last at what is called a Fine Gael “Presidential” dinner, Enda Kenny said: “We will shortly publish a report on the New Politics. But tonight I would like to focus on a few key areas where a Fine Gael government would introduce radical change. I believe the Seanad should be abolished, and the next Fine Gael government will put this to the people. I have come to the conclusion that a second house of the Oireachtas can no longer be justified.”
Bertie Ahern’s book is a great read. Lots of bile, mainly directed at former colleagues. Insights into his closeness to his mother, how religious practice is very much part of his routine, his emotional self-control, his work ethic.
The Green Party is different. It does not try to fool the electorate, as other parties do. It fools itself. They actually believe that the morsels they got in the revised programme for government was “transformational”, rather than just another piece of clever Fianna Fáil condescension. The delusional Greens believe they are principled green egalitarians, rather than the reality: they are a crowd of flaky middle-class dilettantes, amusing themselves with the fantasy of power and the delights of its trappings.
These are the promises made by the Green Party at the 2007 election:
Housing - Ensure the delivery of 10,000 social and affordable housing units a year until the housing waiting lists are cleared.
Health - Provide an additional 4000 beds to cut A&E queues. Introduce medical cards for children under 6.
Child Care - Replace the Early Childcare Supplement with a higher Refundable Parenting Tax Credit available as a cash payment or used to reduce income tax bills.