Today FG leader Enda Kenny was elected Taoiseach. He was proposed by 24 year old newly elected FG TD Simon Harris. The Harris speech was highly apposite for the occasion. He was seconded by newly elected Labour TD Ciara Conway. Once more the speech was highly appropriate.
FF leader Micheal Martin announced that FF would not oppose the election of Enda Kenny. His speech was conciliatory.
However the same cannot be said for the contributions of, Joe Higgins Gerry Adams and Richard Boyd Barrett. Their speeches were laced with venom and completely out of place on a day like today.
Joe Higgins is of course right to attack the IMF/EU deal.However he engaged in a Marxist-Leninist rant. He seems blistfully unaware that Marxist Leninism failed abysmally in the old USSR and Eastern Europe. Some of his prescriptions reek of crackpot economics. It is all very fine to speak about the Socialist James Connolly who was executed after the 1916 rising. However this is 2011. Of course the IMF/EU deal must be renegotiated. However there is also a €19 billion deficit in the public finances. This gap must be plugged over a 4/5 year period. Sadly some of the measures will be very painful for most people. But there is no alternative. Renegotiation of the IMF/EU deal MUST result in large concessions to Ireland. Otherwise a default looms within two years.
Gerry Adams and Richard Boyd Barrett engaged in a similar attack on the new government.
It is time for Higgins, Adams and Boyd Barrett to wake up. Ireland to quote Ruairi Quinn is in receivership. There are no soft options.
Higgins, Adams and Boyd Barrett wish to be all things to all men with a view to securing electoral gain.
It was interesting to listen to the contribution of Shane Ross in his maiden speech. Whilst supporting Kenny he was highly critical of the new programme for government.Possibly some sack cloth and ashes may be appropriate for Shane also. Shane waxed lyrical about the tax cutting policies of people such as Charlie McCreevy. Now of course he is correct to stress that the new government must tackle the IMF/EU deal head on. Of course Irish taxpayers should not be landed with the burden of banking debt. It is all very fine to run a referendum on the IMF/EU deal. However the new government has little time to devote to this. It must immediately set about mending fences with Europe. It is in Europes interests to slash the interest rates and extend the repayment period to 15 years. Such a concession would give the economy a chance to recover.
The contributions of Independents Finian McGrath, Michael Healy Rae and Tom Fleming were devoid of rancour. Indeed Michael Healy Rae made an excellent speech.
In marked contrast to Higgins, Adams and Boyd Barrett, Enda Kenny made an excellent acceptance speech tre Gaeilge agus Bearla. Indeed the exchanges between Kenny and Martin were quite witty.
The snarling from the hard left today leaves a sour taste. These elements have failed to come up with WORKABLE policies. They constantly opt for the soft option. They are AGAINST everything. They are doing this country a disservice. The hard left is determined to make its mark. Policies advocated by the hard left would result in the inability of the state to fund the public service and social welfare. This is something for public servants and social welfare recipients to contemplate. It is time for hard left elements to eschew cloud cuckoo economics. Dont hold your breath. Gerry Adams is opposed to cuts in the South. Yet Sinn Fein is in government north of the border and is implementing swingeing cuts. I rest my case.
No comments:
Post a Comment