I remember when I was at school our history teacher once brought us to a special screening of Nicholas and Alexandra. There wasn't a dry eye in the cinema when the Romanov family were gunned down by the Bolsheviks, even though some of us felt they had been the architects of their own misfortune. They were so introspective, we thought, so unaware of the world around them, that a grand tragedy was almost inevitable. Now, 80 years later, the Russians have finally laid to rest the bones of the imperial family, if not, perhaps, their ghosts. It was certainly an ironic twist of fate that had Boris Yeltsin attending the burial ceremony that held so much of Russia's past while his Prime Minister tried to drag the country into its economic future.
The problem for Kiriyenko is that the Duma rejected some new taxes which would secure the IMF $22.6 billion loan package. The package has been approved by the IMF, but Russia still has to implement the reforms necessary to actually receive the hard cash hard cash which it desperately needs. In the absence of all the necessary measures being taken, the IMF will only disburse a proportion of the bailout package and Kiriyenko told the Duma that it is in danger of jeopardising the country's future. He's hoping that he can convene the Communist-dominated lower house next month in an effort to secure the necessary package. In the meantime, though, strikes and protests are rife and Yeltsin's comments at the Romanov interment that attempts to change things through violence are condemned to failure are probably aimed as much at the people today as generations ago.
Prime Minister Kiriyenko reacted to the passing of some of the necessary laws by presenting bouquets of flowers to the women deputies last Friday. This unexepected gesture was to thank them for delaying their holidays so that they could debate the tax reforms. The male deputies departed empty-handed apparently Kiriyenko thought that presenting them with anything might look too much like a bribe! A few Faberge eggs might have gone down well all the same . . .
In Japan, the leadership election was put off until today to give more contenders time to put their names in the ring. Obuchi has been there from the start, Kajiyama (despite his previous denials) is running and so is the Health and Welfare Minister, Junichiro Koizumi. All of them have made economic recovery their goal and all of them have said that there is no need for a snap election. (Well, they would, wouldn't they?)
So far the smart money is on Kajiyama (the "comfort women" supporter!) who, at 72, is the oldest candidate. This is despite the fact that the public would probably prefer Koizumi
a mere pup at 56. But Koizumi doesn't have the support of the elders of the party, apparently, who are probably afraid he really would reform something, starting with the LDP. The candidates didn't have to do much overt electioneering on Monday, though, since it was a public holiday in Japan (Sea's Day, whatever on earth that means!) and at least they didn't have to start the week by looking at a ragged Nikkei and even more ragged Yen.
Some more people who didn't have to start the week by looking at anything to do with business were the starry-eyed couples who invited me to their weddings last weekend. Well, Thursday and Saturday to be precise and attending the festivities had me driving to Drogheda on Thursday and Kiltegan on Saturday.
I used to travel the Dublin-Drogheda road quite a lot at one time and Balbriggan was always a traffic nightmare. But not for much longer by the look of the work on the bypass which should certainly knock about 15 minutes off the journey time.
My friends in Drogheda had come home from the sunnier climes of Curacao in the Caribbean to tie the knot and were mightily relieved that July's almost obligatory downpour didn't happen so that they could show photographs of blue Irish skies and emerald-green grass when they returned.
A good time was had by all and so Friday saw me drinking plenty of Lucozade and water in order to be in shape for the further revels the next day. Saturday's event in Kiltegan also gave me the opportunity to drive on roads I haven't been on in a while a long while, in fact, because I used to go blackberry-picking when I was a child on what is probably the main road out of Tallaght now.
It's funny, though, when you leave the suburbs behind how little seems to have changed. But that's probably because I was overwhelmed by the elegant and romantic setting of Saturday's wedding. (All this romance in such a short space of time was making my head spin, obviously.)
Wait until both couples start running into problems with their fridges, hoovers, TVs etc. Remember I told you that everything I possessed that had come equipped with a plug had recently broken down? Just before we departed for Saturday's wedding, the man in my life switched on the dishwasher so that there'd be some clean cups when we got home. We arrived back 24 hours later to find it had got a third of the way through the programme and was still washing away like a mad thing! (Like everything else that packed in it's six years old.) Cursing and swearing I switched it off and took out all the dishes. Unfortunately I didn't bother rinsing them, and the man is now suffering the effects of salt-poisoning from the dishwasher-salt that still clings to everything.
Still, it's these little domestic trials that make relationships stronger . . .
However, it's not something I'd recommend to Declan and Dymphna or Jonathan and Jenny. Stick with the romance a little bit longer and forget about washing the dishes is my advice. (And if Declan and Jonathan take a leaf out of Kiriyenko's book and wander home with bouquets of flowers on a regular basis I'd say they'll both have very happy marriages!)
