Sir, - Both Peter Sunderland and John Rogers are worried about various aspects of our relations with the EU. John Rogers thinks (correctly in my view) that there is no real Oireachtas supervision of EU policy-making. Peter Sutherland thinks we have no choice but to accept the Nice Treaty or else - and lectures both Government and Opposition on the need to try harder.
Both seem to ignore or misunderstand the limitations and constraints under which real politics operate. Often that means you can't do what you want because, inconveniently, the majority don't agree with you. It's called democracy.
But then neither gentleman has shown much stomach for the down and dirty mess that is democracy. One of them might try something as peripheral as contesting one of the university Seanad seats. It would at least be good for their humility and might persuade them to desist from lecturing those who do both run in elections and indeed get elected.
Promotion via influential allies may be a much less painful route (and less expensive in both cash and ego terms), but democracy it ain't. - Yours, etc.,
Brendan Ryan, Seanad Eireann, Baile Atha Cliath 2.