Bully boys
King Claudius declared in 'Hamlet', that, "words without thoughts never to heaven go". So too our latest EU treaty should never make it into law without the application of a very careful thought process. There is definitely something of the Shakespearean tragedy in the idea that Ireland should be compelled to balance its budget or face profound consequences, after a pile of foreign and local private banking debt has been thrust into our arms.
I think we would be better off being carpet-bombed like Dresden or flattened like Hiroshima. At least the people of Dresden and Hiroshima made a fresh start right after the bombardment and, indeed, had considerable help from the people who bombed them to effect their recovery.
Is it any wonder that the Germans and French want to establish a 'year zero' for national sovereign debt. If there were any justice in this world, the merry-go-round of buck-passing would find the debt in question placed where it belongs -- with large European banks. Alas, our fate is that of all small nations that happen to be innocent in a time of great crisis: found to be the perfect size for stepping upon.
Germany and France need to be reminded that the whole point of the EU was to protect the principal of democracy and to limit the bully-boy tradition of Europe.
Declan Doyle
Lisdowney, Co Kilkenny
Irish Independent
