And now this
W
hy was Enda Kenny’s ‘St Patrick was an immigrant’ speech—widely admired
internationally—so much less popular here in Ireland? Context is
everything. Some of us have collectively cringed as each Taoiseach since the
bowl of shamrock was invented made the annual pilgrimage to Washington and asked
for special conditions for the undocumented Irish in the US. We understood this wasn’t
ever an appeal for ‘illegal’ immigrants generally; if you want to know how we feel
about those, take a look at the way we treat the undocumented here at home.
The international community doesn’t necessarily know all that.
So, Enda pulled a hypocritical blinder. Straddling the fence, he stroked each side
simultaneously. For those who wanted to hear criticism of Trump’s racism, ‘St Patrick
was an immigrant’ might find it’s way onto T-shirts very soon. For the Trumpist,
white-supremacist White House—an administration with its head so far up its ass
only its entrails are visible—it was a tribute to white immigrants. Undocumented
immigrants in possession of a brown skin still need not apply.
And he pulled it off. Had Trump detected even a whiff of a criticism of his
policy, Kenny would have received the same petulant man-child treatment Angela
Merkel got. Had it been generally understood that he was pleading the special case
of the undocumented Irish, his speech would not have gone viral. Win/win.
W
atching the difficulties for the current Fine Gael-led coalition, and mindful
of what happened to the last three junior partners in coalition, it’s clear
that ‘new politics’ needs new rules. I have a few to suggest.
I’ll start with the big one.
Rule #1: End collective cabinet responsibility; allow for loyal dissent.
Collective responsibility simply allows the clique around the leader of the bigger
party to bully, dominate, and silence any cabinet opposition. Dissenters must
have a voice and speak out when they disagree. While they can be asked not to
vote against the government, they can be allowed to abstain in a Dail vote.
Yes, this will slow the legislative process. Yes, it will be messy. But Democracy is
slow and messy. Dictatorship is neat and efficient.
I
f Irish politicians have one talent, it’s fiddling with the deck chairs to distract
attention from the iceberg. The current heated debate between Fianna Fail and
Fine Gael— how to charge citizens who waste water—completely ignores the
established fact that the greatest wasters (all puns intended) are those who for
years have allowed the infrastructure to disintegrate. That would be Fianna Fail and
Fine Gael—and the green, red, and lily-livered junior partners they’ve devoured
along the way. And now, the partially digested Irish Water.