Madam, – With the captain about to go down with his foundering ship, is it any wonder that his loyal and steadfast crew who remain clinging to the life-rafts (along with the bilge rats) are happy to leave him at the helm? – Yours, etc,
A chara, – Congratulations to Brian Cowen for winning the confidence tric. . . I mean vote ( Front page, January 19th)! – Is mise,
Madam, – The arrogance of the main party in this present dysfunctional Government never ceases to amaze me. A vote of confidence in its leader is portrayed as a virtue and a vindication of its flawed policies. Meanwhile, a number of members of the Cabinet gave us a wonderful display of horsemanship by demonstrating how to ride two horses at the same time. I have no doubts that by next week the whole sorry saga will be the fault of the Dublin “Meija”. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Was it fortuitous or the ironic eye of a cameraman who placed Micheál Martin and Brian Cowen each in front of a bookcase which displayed my 2001 book Maverick on RTÉ on Tuesday night? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Is it a catch-22 for Fianna Fáil supporters seeking a change of leadership? Many Ministers and Deputies expressed support for Brian Cowen leading the party into an election because it is too late to change leader. Hardly a ringing endorsement of his leadership of the country. Yet a vote for a Cowen-led Fianna Fáil is a vote of confidence in that leadership. Can we risk five more years of that? The lesson is clear; to secure change for Fianna Fáil, don’t vote for them. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Now the Fianna Fáil tussle for power is over it has been exposed for what it is. Both protagonists have shown they have no interest in the future of the ordinary people of Ireland, indeed both care only for their own need for power. They constantly talk of what the people want: I can certainly tell them it is not Fianna Fáil, regardless of who is leader.
On a personal level, my 62-year-old father, who still has to work, has, upon getting his first pay-cheque of the year, discovered he is down €100 per week. He now earns €360 for a 39-hour week. Many people on low wages who have worked and paid tax their whole life are now being screwed. Regardless of who is Fianna Fáil leader, the party’s policies remain the same: make the lowest earners in society pay for the sins of the richest. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Brian Lenihan did a Bertie! – Yours, etc,
Madam, – “It’s never the wrong time to do the right thing” – call an election now, perhaps! – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Having heard several interviews with our Taoiseach on Tuesday, starting with Morning Irelandand ending with an interview on the Nine O'Clock News, I heard the quote "It's never the wrong time to do the right thing" on at least six occasions. May I paraphrase our great leader: "It's never the right time to do the wrong thing". – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Now that Brian Cowen has secured the support of his parliamentary party, it will be intriguing to see how well he decides to communicate with the people of Ireland over the coming months. He was practically invisible when the IMF/ECB were knocking at the door, yet when his potential last eight weeks (or less) is threatened we have been subject to a barrage on radio, television and the press. The power and influence of Fianna Fáil across all spectra, in spite of rumours to the contrary, is alive and well, and positively thriving. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – We never read of people being prosecuted for perjury but we know it happens daily. Hiding the truth has become a key element of our Celtic Snake culture.
The current charade of Brian Cowen’s discussions with his parliamentary colleagues is a publicity stroke to get media exposure that might help repair the party’s position coming up to the election. I believe he already sussed out the necessary support before he announced his vote of confidence. This has given Mr Cowen repeated opportunity to state how he and his party are sorting our country’s financial mess, without any mention that he, as minister for finance during the years of poor financial regulation and costly public service benchmarking, is partially responsible for the whole mess.
So the vote of confidence was carried. Those who opposed it will have the opportunity again to make their case when the Labour motion comes up. But they won’t on the grounds it’s an attack on the Government parties.
Would it be too much to wish that the general election might bring us a new type of politician in the mould of Seán Lemass or Liam Cosgrave who had a true vocation to do what they believed was best for the nation? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – “It is important that we have a competent Minister for Foreign Affairs in the EU at this time” (Editorial, January 19th).
“The Taoiseach has confirmed he will take on the Foreign Affairs portfolio” (RTÉ, mid-morning January 19th).
What have we as a people ever done to deserve this? – Yours, etc,