Friday, February 26, 2010
Political awareness
My editorial from yesterday's Cork Indo:
On my way to work yesterday I was listening to Morning Ireland on RTE Radio One; there are so many things happening in the world of politics these days that there’s a genuine danger of blinking and missing another resignation.
The recent wave of resignations in Irish politics has been shocking, and very exciting for those of us who see politics as the next best thing to Eastenders. But I’m not so sure about everyone else.
On radio yesterday morning I listened to a brief debate between Trinity College Politics lecturer Elaine Byrne and RTE Political Correspondent David Davin Power, both of whom I respect immensely.
They spoke of political change, reform of the voting system, a public consultation process where people could give their views on political change. At the end of the discussion, Davin Power made an assertion I found quite striking; “we’re a very politically aware nation”.
Are we?
Granted, everyone was talking about Willie O’Dea last week. Everyone knows who Willie O’Dea is; the funny guy from Limerick with the moustache and the gun. The week before, it was George Lee; the country’s celebrity politician. The Déirdre de Búrca affair only seemed to be on the radar of political hacks; I’d bet money that nobody on the street in Cork would’ve been able to tell me who she was before she resigned.
This week, it’s Trevor Sargent. Again, I think it’s debatable whether most people here in Cork would’ve been able to identify Trevor from a lineup, despite the fact that he used to be leader of the Green Party.
For someone like David Davin Power, who is embedded in political Ireland, to assert that we are a very politically aware nation, tells us something; those inside the culture have no idea what’s going on outside it.
Davin Power spends his days in Leinster House and RTE and not out doing vox pops with people who’d rather discuss the price of petrol, or Cheryl Cole, or how long they had to wait for an appointment with a consultant; those are the things of which most of us are aware.
The vast majority of people in the country don’t give a fiddlers’ about the political system, and those who do tend to see it as a soap, with the fall of Trevor only just behind the fall of Bradley in terms of tragedy and honour.
But what people fail to see – largely because the media fails to highlight it – is that the political system has a very real bearing on how we live and why we live that way. People live in dire poverty and inhuman conditions in Moyross and Finglas because of corrupt planning. Drug dealers get rich off the back of inequality compounded by a cosy cartel of politicians, developers and bankers. Because of today’s bank rescue plans, tomorrow your son or daughter won’t be able to get a job, because there will be no money there to help them through college or support new businesses.
Political reform can only come when the majority of people in this country are prepared to invest some energy in the political system. When people begin to vote and actually think about their vote. When people start to ask what politicians can do for the country, rather than what they can do for them.
On my way to work yesterday I was listening to Morning Ireland on RTE Radio One; there are so many things happening in the world of politics these days that there’s a genuine danger of blinking and missing another resignation.
The recent wave of resignations in Irish politics has been shocking, and very exciting for those of us who see politics as the next best thing to Eastenders. But I’m not so sure about everyone else.
On radio yesterday morning I listened to a brief debate between Trinity College Politics lecturer Elaine Byrne and RTE Political Correspondent David Davin Power, both of whom I respect immensely.
They spoke of political change, reform of the voting system, a public consultation process where people could give their views on political change. At the end of the discussion, Davin Power made an assertion I found quite striking; “we’re a very politically aware nation”.
Are we?
Granted, everyone was talking about Willie O’Dea last week. Everyone knows who Willie O’Dea is; the funny guy from Limerick with the moustache and the gun. The week before, it was George Lee; the country’s celebrity politician. The Déirdre de Búrca affair only seemed to be on the radar of political hacks; I’d bet money that nobody on the street in Cork would’ve been able to tell me who she was before she resigned.
This week, it’s Trevor Sargent. Again, I think it’s debatable whether most people here in Cork would’ve been able to identify Trevor from a lineup, despite the fact that he used to be leader of the Green Party.
For someone like David Davin Power, who is embedded in political Ireland, to assert that we are a very politically aware nation, tells us something; those inside the culture have no idea what’s going on outside it.
Davin Power spends his days in Leinster House and RTE and not out doing vox pops with people who’d rather discuss the price of petrol, or Cheryl Cole, or how long they had to wait for an appointment with a consultant; those are the things of which most of us are aware.
The vast majority of people in the country don’t give a fiddlers’ about the political system, and those who do tend to see it as a soap, with the fall of Trevor only just behind the fall of Bradley in terms of tragedy and honour.
But what people fail to see – largely because the media fails to highlight it – is that the political system has a very real bearing on how we live and why we live that way. People live in dire poverty and inhuman conditions in Moyross and Finglas because of corrupt planning. Drug dealers get rich off the back of inequality compounded by a cosy cartel of politicians, developers and bankers. Because of today’s bank rescue plans, tomorrow your son or daughter won’t be able to get a job, because there will be no money there to help them through college or support new businesses.
Political reform can only come when the majority of people in this country are prepared to invest some energy in the political system. When people begin to vote and actually think about their vote. When people start to ask what politicians can do for the country, rather than what they can do for them.
A week? An hour is a long time in politics these days
Seriously!
I used to be a happy person in the mornings, chilling out to a bit of Ian Dempsey. These days I'm terrified of missing Morning Ireland in case somebody else resigns.
It seems the Willie O'Dea affair is over; I spent last Friday evening in South's Bar in Limerick chortling every time a national journalist (I counted three, but after a few pints who knows) did the rounds of the barflies for vox pops, in the city's proudest Fianna Fáil pub.
Limerick was a great place to be last Friday, although not if you work in the Limerick Leader; they could hardly get served ("first the bishop, now Willie, what are ye trying to do to us?" was the refrain).
When I say "over", I mean it in two contexts: firstly, Willie is "over" and secondly, the whole perjury/affidavit/investigation is more than likely "over". I doubt very much that the Gardaí will find anything to prosecute or get as far as doing so, and I don't think there is a public appetite. After all, as somebody (my dad, as it happens) pointed out to me, what has the man got to live for now? He has spent his entire life vying for position and now he has been cast out. As for his legendary constituency work, it's going to take a serious hit as he loses his army of civil servants.
Most damning of all of his record, though, was a vox pop last Sunday on Radio One. Most people surveyed (in his home village of Kilteely, Co. Limerick, which he doesn't even represent anymore - it's no longer part of his constituency). Most people were positive towards him, "great man for Limerick" and all the rest, but not one could name one significant thing he had done for the area. One staunch supporter asserted that he was "a great man for a funeral - t'would be great to have a Minister at the funeral of someone belonged to you". Indeed.
The Trevor Sargent resignation was a shock. But you have to respect him for adhering to his principles and resigning without a fuss. It appears to me that it was pure naivete that allowed him to write the letter he wrote, but perhaps it's naivete on my part to think so. The whole issue around the leak seems to be dying down, although I await this Sunday's papers with interest, because if it's going to come out anywhere, it'll be there. The Government press office are doing a great job of spinning the story and making it seem that the scurrilous allegations are being propagated by the Opposition, but I'm not so sure about that.
As for Déirdre de Búrca, she must be feeling pretty ignored. First her resignation is overshadowed by George Lee, then Willie O'Dea, and then her accusations about the DDDA are overshadowed by Trevor Sargent. So much for landing a blow to the Government, but then again, we'll know once the report comes out.
I used to be a happy person in the mornings, chilling out to a bit of Ian Dempsey. These days I'm terrified of missing Morning Ireland in case somebody else resigns.
It seems the Willie O'Dea affair is over; I spent last Friday evening in South's Bar in Limerick chortling every time a national journalist (I counted three, but after a few pints who knows) did the rounds of the barflies for vox pops, in the city's proudest Fianna Fáil pub.
Limerick was a great place to be last Friday, although not if you work in the Limerick Leader; they could hardly get served ("first the bishop, now Willie, what are ye trying to do to us?" was the refrain).
When I say "over", I mean it in two contexts: firstly, Willie is "over" and secondly, the whole perjury/affidavit/investigation is more than likely "over". I doubt very much that the Gardaí will find anything to prosecute or get as far as doing so, and I don't think there is a public appetite. After all, as somebody (my dad, as it happens) pointed out to me, what has the man got to live for now? He has spent his entire life vying for position and now he has been cast out. As for his legendary constituency work, it's going to take a serious hit as he loses his army of civil servants.
Most damning of all of his record, though, was a vox pop last Sunday on Radio One. Most people surveyed (in his home village of Kilteely, Co. Limerick, which he doesn't even represent anymore - it's no longer part of his constituency). Most people were positive towards him, "great man for Limerick" and all the rest, but not one could name one significant thing he had done for the area. One staunch supporter asserted that he was "a great man for a funeral - t'would be great to have a Minister at the funeral of someone belonged to you". Indeed.
The Trevor Sargent resignation was a shock. But you have to respect him for adhering to his principles and resigning without a fuss. It appears to me that it was pure naivete that allowed him to write the letter he wrote, but perhaps it's naivete on my part to think so. The whole issue around the leak seems to be dying down, although I await this Sunday's papers with interest, because if it's going to come out anywhere, it'll be there. The Government press office are doing a great job of spinning the story and making it seem that the scurrilous allegations are being propagated by the Opposition, but I'm not so sure about that.
As for Déirdre de Búrca, she must be feeling pretty ignored. First her resignation is overshadowed by George Lee, then Willie O'Dea, and then her accusations about the DDDA are overshadowed by Trevor Sargent. So much for landing a blow to the Government, but then again, we'll know once the report comes out.
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