By Anthony Sheridan
The almost complete lack of understanding of the reality of Irish politics by Irish journalists never ceases to amaze me.
Here’s Irish Independent journalist Gerard O’Regan’s take on the drinking habits of former Taoiseach Brian Cowen.
Cowen, according to O’Regan, decided to give two fingers to those who suggested he should have been more careful of his public image.
Cowen is not and never has been somebody who rebels against the expectations of society. He’s a chronically conservative Fianna Fail backwoodsman with no notion whatsoever of how to behave while holding high office. In other words, Cowen is a political idiot.
O’Regan goes on to expresses sympathy for Cowen’s political downfall as if the former Taoiseach was an innocent victim of events totally outside of his control. As if the corrupt Fianna Fail party was not the principal reason for the catastrophic events inflicted on the Irish people in 2008.
A political career which was brutally cut off mid-stream, owing to a confluence of unforeseen and almost unimaginable events.
A vicious recession, banks on the point of collapse, the arrival of the so-called Troika in Dublin, and the imposition of draconian bailout terms for the Irish economy by Brussels bureaucrats, saw Mr Cowen depart the political centre stage.
The message here is – Cowen could have been a great Taoiseach if only all those nasty people in Brussels and other completely unforeseen events hadn’t conspired to bring his career to a tragic end.
Here’s the truth:
Cowen is a political idiot. He was a disgrace and an embarrassment as Taoiseach. He was reared in the arrogant, we have a divine right to rule, mindset of the most corrupt political party in Irish history.
He’s one of those people who thrive as an obedient, unthinking foot soldier but immediately morphs into a political imbecile when promoted to high office. People of such low level intelligence frequently take to drink as a crutch for their failings.
Well-informed, objective journalism is one of the most crucial pillars of a healthy democracy.
Disturbingly, such high quality journalism is practically non-existent in Ireland.
Copy to:
Gerard O’Regan