|
An
Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern.
Fresh
from an overwhelming General Election victory, faced
with a divided, diverse and weak Opposition, the time
is ripe for an evaluation of this most enigmatic of
leaders. Given that Bertie can confidently look forward
to a further 5 years in power (for there are plenty
of willing Independents should the PDs decide to bolt),
what conclusion can we draw from his existing record
- and what can we look forward to in the governance
of the 26 Counties in the years to come?
To
be blunt, Ahern is a failure. The damage done to the
economic and social fabric of the country from his
first 5 years may take decades to resolve - and we
have 5 more years of bungling incompetence to come.
In the grand scale of Taoisigh, in my opinion, Ahern
must rank near the bottom. Yes, worse than John Bruton,
Garret Fitzgerald, Jack Lynch, even (God help us)
Liam Cosgrave. Bruton and Fitzgerald, for all their
economic foolishness and weak-kneed approach to the
matter of the Six Counties were at least socially
progressive. Lynch failed the country spectacularly
in 1969, started the long slide into poverty that
devastated the 1980’s in the south, and opened
the door to Il Duce Haughey to rise to power - on
any measure he was a disastrous Taoiseach, despite
the bletherings of the Church of Jack in the Dublin
media. And Cosgrave Jnr - the less said about his
narrow-minded, repressive parade of clowns (who could
forget The Cruiser, Red Richie Ruin, “Thundering
Disgrace” Donegan, to mention just three of that
ill-stared Cabinet) the better. Yet I must seriously
consider ranking Bertie below even these two paragons
of Irish political failure.
The
reasons are many - yet foremost among them is that
Ahern has managed, single-handedly, to waste the greatest
Irish economic boom in centuries. A good Taoiseach,
in such times of plenty, and from such a secure political
position, would have used the cash (and power) to
resolve all the myriad problems that plague southern
Irish society. Yet the ludicrous planning system,
the overly-centralised system of government with its
arrogant civil service, the pathetic state of local
councils, the increasingly out-of-control Gardai,
the collapsing health service, the under funded education
service (with many children still being taught, 40
at a time, in leaky substandard classrooms by undereducated
and unaccountable teachers), the lack of childcare
facilities, the inability of most young people to
aspire to their own home, the wholesale destruction
of one of the richest environments in Europe, the
frankly criminal “public transport” system…..
All
problems that existed before Ahern’s ascension
as Taoiseach, true. But he has been in power for 5
years now. What has actually been done on any of these
matters? Nothing. Most of them have got even worse
on his watch.
Instead,
over the last 5 years, southern Ireland has become
the second most expensive country in the EU to live
in - with average industrial wages still 30% below
the EU average. The gap between rich and poor in Irish
society widens at an ever-increasing rate. And the
litany of failure, incompetence, and sheer gombeenery
continues.
On
Ireland’s position internationally, Ahern has
done irreparable harm with the joining of the NATO
so-called “Partnership for Peace” (undemocratically,
without the promised referendum); the highly dangerous
provisions of the Nice Treaty; and most recently the
cutting of our international Aid budget to the poorest
countries of the world. Ireland, to the rest of the
world, used to stand for something - against war,
belligerence, imperialism, and exploitation of the
poor. No longer. Ahern has done away with such old-fashioned
notions, they being incompatible with the dictates
of global capital. Our official position as a “neutral”
nation is now nothing more than a sick joke.
Consider
the lamentable Eircom saga. Small savers throughout
the 26 are still smarting over that debacle - possibly
one of the greatest relative income redistributions
in favour of the State and the already-wealthy in
modern European history. Those who bought Eircom shares
when it was floated may wish to ponder exactly what
was done, and what happened to their hard-earned money…
First
of all, in the modern economic era, any nation has
two primary strategic assets - the education system
and the telecommunications infrastructure. Far more
than roads, rail, tax breaks and so on, these are
the two most critical factors for any international
or indigenous company wishing to set up shop and trade
from Ireland. From being the most advanced telecoms
infrastructure in Europe in the 1980s, Ireland now
has one of the worst - the rollout of broadband (or
lack thereof) being an increasingly important factor
in the accelerating decline in multinational investment
in Ireland. Yet Ahern cheerfully handed control over
this vitally strategic national resource to unaccountable
multinationals - ripping off the ordinary people in
the process.
And
what was done with the money? It went to the national
pension fund. Ostensibly a good idea - one whose purpose
is to ensure that the money is available to fund State
pensions for all citizens long into the future. Of
course, it depends on how the money is invested. The
National Pensions Board, in charge of making those
investment decisions, was headed by none other than
Mr Donal Greaney, head of Elan Corporation - a company
whose stock has lost 95% of its value over the last
year, and is now under investigation for accounting
“irregularities” - like Enron, WorldCom
and others.
This
Board of geniuses - appointed by Ahern’s Government
- proceeded to put all the money into stocks. This
is after the stock market slide had started
in the US, when anyone with the slightest knowledge
of such things could see that stocks globally were
hugely overvalued, and a prolonged bear market was
on the way. This act of criminal negligence - with
the money of the hard-working people of Ireland -
has resulted in the National Pension Fund - set up
to ensure all our futures in old age - losing 25%
of its value. Yes folks, a full quarter of
the money stolen from the people by Ahern has been
lost, forever, by Ahern’s lackeys, and all our
old ages are looking bleaker because of it. What is
being done about this grand act of theft/stupidity/negligence/incompetence?
Why nothing, of course.
Eircom,
in my opinion, sums up the nature of Ahern’s
“governance”. Look after the boys, make
sure all those who contribute to the election funding
get their well-paid government posts, kowtow to the
whims of any and all international companies or transnational
institutions, make sure you stay in charge and above
all do nothing that might actually benefit
the ordinary people.
To
my mind, any Taoiseach has two primary overriding
tasks - to ensure the independence, stability and
security of the State; and to look after the long-term
welfare of the Irish people. Ahern has manifestly
failed to do either. He is unfit to be Taoiseach.
And if he had any honour or decency he would resign
immediately.
Don’t
hold your breath.
And
look forward to much worse to come.
Index: Current Articles + Latest News and Views + Book Reviews +
Letters + Archives
|
