WHERE PRESIDENT Michael D Higgins is concerned, the public is getting exactly what it said on the tin. Long before – and during – the presidential election campaign Mr Higgins made no secret of his left-wing leanings, as he championed community values and the arts and intellectual discourse as antidotes to unbridled individualism and market forces. Support from one million voters suggests that he struck a chord.
On a first visit to London last week, the strongest impression was of Mr Higgins’s obvious pleasure at being there and representing Ireland. He expanded on the themes of his election campaign and emphasised the centrality of community and culture in providing optimism at this time of economic crisis. Reaching for the minds of expats at a visceral level, he declared: “There is nothing small about a great play; there is nothing small about a good song.”
Such sentiment should not cause concern in Government, where a president’s speeches are closely monitored. Bypassing a suggestion that “people went mad” during the bubble years, Mr Higgins likened their behaviour to a more homely “day at the races” with consequential financial hangovers.
The President’s criticism of extreme individualism, irrational market forces and privatisation of public services was capable, however, of raising political and media dust. That was clearly intended. Public debate on such issues has been seriously lacking in this State.
The greatest recession in modern times can be traced to the irrational and exuberant behaviour of international financial markets. Yet those markets continue, unconstrained, to dominate public life.
A president who promulgates challenging, intellectual views operates on a different level from a Government trying to raise money and create jobs under the gimlet eye of financial markets. But should such markets dictate the content of public discourse?
Twenty years ago, the electorate was warned that Michael D would “go mad” if he got into government. Well, he didn’t. As minister for arts, culture and the Gaeltacht he identified the commercial as well as the cultural values of arts, crafts and the theatre and provided them all with an enhanced status. Focusing public attention on irrational market forces may prove to be equally useful.
Economic studies have shown that social solidarity and employee participation are key components in the more successful western economies. Individualism, creativity and profit are equally vital elements. The mix is what is important. One tiny path towards a high-tech horizon is being plotted by CoderDojo, a free computer-coding club for young people, established here. Run by mentors and volunteers, its network is growing rapidly in the United States, Canada and Britain.
In such a rapidly changing world, there is an obvious need for cultural and social stability. If speeches by President Higgins generate a robust debate on all of these matters, so much the better.