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The hyperventilating about closed golf gatherings of the elite who run Irish society and so on this week was faintly ridiculous when you looked at the list of attendees.
But it wasn’t a secret meeting of the political elite. It was a FG and FF old farts’ convention.
But it wasn’t a secret meeting of the political elite. It was a FG and FF old farts’ convention.
Don’t get me wrong – the event was a disgraceful and almost certainly a deliberate violation of measures in place for everyone’s benefit, and those who attended should have known better.
The resignations and sackings were entirely appropriate, though I suspect they wouldn’t have been forced without the outpouring of public anger that was less – to my eyes anyway – a lynch mob than a genuine and spontaneous expression of the public’s view on the matter.
No doubt some of the attendees think they are the creme de la creme; that doesn’t mean they are.
And there may well be secret gatherings of the powerful and influential in Irish society where backs are slapped, deals done, arms twisted and economic agendas pushed. But I don’t think they are organised by Donie Cassidy.
It’s not all about the past; it’s about the present too. The golf and pints, beef or salmon, Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael character of the event in a way highlighted how much about our politics has changed since the days when these were all that mattered.
The episode also tells us something about what is to come. The anger expressed by people this week is a taste of what is to come for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael if this Government fails in its essential tasks –
managing the pandemic, sustaining our society during it, and promoting an economic recovery that can protect public services and living standards into the future.
The fierce and unmistakable response of the public to the golfing and dining fiasco is a sign of the pent-up public frustrations that are a part of our politics now, and will be turned on parties and politicians they believe have failed them in the future.
What will matter most of all is that the substantive business of government decisions and the implementation of them is seen to work, and make a difference in people’s lives.
Fail, and the Government parties now know what awaits them.
Fail, and the Government parties now know what awaits them.
