What Kind of a Beast Has Bertie Ahern Created?

national | politics / elections | opinion/analysis Friday June 15, 2007 18:12 by Sean Crudden - impero sean at impero dot iol dot ie Jenkinstown, Dundalk, Co Louth. 087 9739945

A Change in the Plot or a New Story?

We talked about our country and the way we were oppressed
The men we sent to parliament to have our wrongs redressed
"I have no faith in members now nor anything else you see
For we’re led by blooming humbugs," says The Turfman from Ardee.

Bah! Humbug! or a creative alliance? On the surface, at least, the coalition of The Green Party, The Progressive Democrats, Fianna Fáil represents a quantum change, a step change, a crossing of the Rubicon. There is nothing gradual or incremental or even proportionate about the political creature this new government is. Its genesis may have originated almost by chance in the unexpected arithmetic of the election result but what we have now is a totally new and formidable political beast.

It seems to me that green issues are foremost in the mind of every thinking person not only in this island but all round the intelligent world. It is reassuring to know that they have now been recognised as a catalyst in key positions in the new government.

To my simple mind there is a key tripartite loop of government departments at the centre of gravity of the new government - Transport and the Marine; Environment, Heritage and Local Government; Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. It will fall to their lot to develop policy around the key areas - urbanisation, transport, energy - where sustainability is an issue demanding attention. Personally I can foresee a time when Agriculture and Fisheries (a ministry of food) will be drawn into the same loop.

In general the political direction the coalition is setting out on may be headed into cold and difficult weather. But it now seems to me to be lined up in the best possible way to confront the most pressing problems of our age. No-one has explained in a convincing way, as far as I am concerned, the provenance or genesis or the "how" of the Celtic Tiger. Whatever it was the Celtic Tiger was a small miracle of a previous age when compared with the wonders that demand to be worked in the next 5 or 10 years.

From now on the fundamental requirement of politics is clarity and understanding. For one thing if we all understand what is being done and why it is being done then it may help to fortify us against difficulty up ahead. It would also serve to reduce the incidence of heated bickering and aggressive, empty confrontation which characterised much of what passed for political dialogue in the last few years - particularly from Fine Gael.

Clearly my opinion is not in favour of silence and sullen conformity. Debate - particularly if it is honest - is apt to help clarify everyone’s thinking and it should encourage the development of new ideas in a phase of history when the main questions facing mankind are relatively obvious but the answers are relatively obscure.