Message from Big Three has to be loud and clear
The 'Biffo Bounce' that followed for Fianna Fail in the spring, when Brian Lenihan and Mary Coughlan nominated Brian Cowen to be the new Taoiseach, seems to have well and truly been lost
Friday October 17 2008
"POLITICS is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies," is how comedian Groucho Marx once jokingly defined the political game of snakes and ladders.
But how apt does that description now seem for these turbulent political times which last night saw an embattled Government making another dramatic climbdown over yet another embarrassing debacle?
The past five months have proved testing, but decisive for the Dail's new leadership trio.
On May 7, the appointments of Brian Lenihan and Mary Coughlan to key Government posts gave Taoiseach Brian Cowen the benefit of the so-called "Biffo Bounce".
Such was the popularity of the Fianna Fail threesome that Fine Gael fell from its dizzying heights of 31pc popular support to a low of 25pc.
But then the Lisbon Treaty reared its ugly head, and with it Libertas, Coir and other right-wing groups crashing the Government's long goodbye party for former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
The Lisbon Treaty referendum was the first major test of Brian Cowen's leadership, but he and his party roundly failed to inform, inspire and instil a sense of trust amongst the electorate. The new threesome were off-message, disjointed and left utterly bewildered.
From there, the avalanche of problems simply grew.
Two weeks after the humiliating defeat of the Lisbon Treaty, the ESRI introduced the word "recession" to the Irish economic context and the Exchequer figures revealed that the Government would have to borrow three times more than planned and cut spending by €500m. From there it got worse. The World Trade Organisation talks collapsed on the Tanaiste and Agriculture Minister in Geneva, unemployment soared to its highest rates in decades, and more cases of cancer misdiagnosis became public.
That was all before the Irish stock markets shed billions, the banks ran to the Government for assistance and the country's first recession Budget since the 1980s was unveiled.
Amid these debacles, the Taoiseach's Finance Minister has finally found his stride, but the Tanaiste is yet to get to grips with the immense level of detail required of her, and the Taoiseach has failed to find the passionate voice which made him the respected deputy commander-in-chief under Ahern.
Despite this week's call on the public to honour their "patriotic duty", this Government has failed to speak directly to the electorate to convince them of the need for "tough measures in tough times".
If truly in touch with its citizens, this Government would have realised the minefield it was about to enter with its medical card proposals, and come armed with reassuring soundbites, ample statistics and comprehensive booklets.
Inept
Their system of communicating a simplistic and comprehensive message to the electorate, as witnessed this week, is inept.
That failure to convey a message was exemplified by Ms Coughlan's performance yesterday morning which had Fine Gael and Labour accusing her of misleading the Dail and producing inaccurate information. Hopefully, for her, the title of "Calamity Coughlan" which some opposition spokespeople have burdened her with, will not stick.
If Fianna Fail continues to fail with its basic communication, the opposition parties will continue to accuse them of arrogance and of turning their back on taxpayers. More debacles can only follow.
- Aine Kerr Political Correspondent
