Anthony McIntyre favours a societal front government in the battle to defeat Covid19. 

Many citizens of the society in which we live face an existential threat from the Coronavirus. While the government, to give it credit, has been working flat out trying to avert a plummet into the abyss, party political interests have not taken a back seat. 

During the week, talks between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail took place against a backdrop of a body count that has saw a shift from incremental to exponential, with the peak predicted around mid-April. As a society that has largely unquestioningly deferentially acquiesced in an increasingly but unavoidable authoritarian culture, the least we might expect from our elected representatives is that they put their own sectional interests on hold and work to fashion a government that is as talented as possible so that we are best equipped to fight Covid19.

Yet we find something else, a determination to be exclusive rather than inclusive. If we are all in this together how do we explain the determination of both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail to insist on sending Sinn Fein to the back of the bus? The Mary Lou McDonald-led outfit has more votes than either of the two parties currently jockeying for government. We can criticise it for many things but being talentless is not one of them.

I am not a Sinn Fein supporter, and cast not even the lowliest preference its way in the recent general election. In an ordinary situation I would not want to see Sinn Fein in government for a host of reasons articulated elsewhere and which require no repetition here. But these are extraordinary times. We have seen the old certainties turned upside down and inside out. We have assented, even reluctantly deferred while holding our noses, to an array of draconian measures that would normally see us pouring onto the streets to protest in a manner that would mock any concept of social distancing. We are aware of the very real dangers that once the policing and surveillance agencies have eaten from the forbidden fruit, they will never relinquish the taste and as such we are creating a whole array of problems down the line. We pragmatically live with the trade off, the lesser of evils, in the knowledge that in order to fight another day we first have to live to fight another day.

We understand that governments will always be found, but to have good government we need a robust opposition. Yet, even here, we could park the concept of an official opposition in the face of an existential threat on the basis of understanding the Bulgarian proverb that we are permitted in a time of great danger to walk with the devil until we have crossed the bridge. I no more believe in the devil than I do in god - baloney the both of them - so the analogy is figurative. And having engaged with or listened to some Christian hate merchants this week, it is impossible to see any difference between the vindictive devil they claim to abjure, and the hate filled god they claim to love. Yet opposition is crucial. Its vital indispensable function would need to shift to civil society including social media. The task of opposition would not be to scrutinise just the government but also to rubbish the crankology of the conspiracy cockwombles willing to believe and then amplify anything so long as it is whispered or preached to them.

It is almost certain that this society will need further emergency legislation to be passed to enhance our efforts to push back against Covid19, including assisted dying if ICU capacity is maxed out, leaving many with the prospect of a horrible death. Constitutionally such legislation cannot be effected until a new Seanad is in existence and that can only happen after the office of Taoiseach has been regularised instead of the caretaker capacity in which it currently functions. There is no point in changing the captain now on a ship battling to stay afloat unless his command has been so cack-handed that we face a Costa Concordia outcome. The vessel he captained, from the moment it set out, was not remotely seaworthy to ride out the current storm, a consequence of chronic underinvestment in the health care system, leaving us with one of the most compromised ICU systems in Europe. Too late in the day to head for port and change boat, we are now in the eye of the storm and the journey through to the other side has to be undergone. There is no retreat. Varadkar started so he should finish. Not because we approve of his politics or share his ideological slant, but because it is difficult to see how rupture can trump continuity.

Arguably, the ship can be best fortified by an expansive and embracive mindset which recognises that our chances of making it across - even though we will lose many on the way, thousands of us buried at sea - are enhanced if we have in the engine room the best logistical brains that this society has to offer. As a society can we afford to have people like Eoin O'Broin and Pearse Doherty stuck in the cabins while less capable minds are in the engine room? It is an arrogant fallacy to feel that the best brains exist everywhere but Sinn Fein.

We stand to gain more than to lose if this society has a government drawn from all parties and none, inclusive of people like Eoin O'Broin, Pearse Doherty, Ged Nash, Peadar Toibin, Paul Murphy et al.  The government in a public health emergency should not be the outworking of some sectional interest but a societal front against the existential threat society faces. Sinn Fein's economic policies which have been designed for a normal time should not be a factor in the abnormal situation in which we find ourselves. The party should be judged on logistical ability and competence to deliver in a crisis situation, not on what its taxation policy might be in a world that no longer exists.

Once the emergency ends the parties should immediately go before the electorate. For now, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have a duty of care to stop playing party politics with people's lives. If no one left behind is to have any meaning it must also apply to Sinn Fein.

No One Left Behind

Anthony McIntyre favours a societal front government in the battle to defeat Covid19. 

Many citizens of the society in which we live face an existential threat from the Coronavirus. While the government, to give it credit, has been working flat out trying to avert a plummet into the abyss, party political interests have not taken a back seat. 

During the week, talks between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail took place against a backdrop of a body count that has saw a shift from incremental to exponential, with the peak predicted around mid-April. As a society that has largely unquestioningly deferentially acquiesced in an increasingly but unavoidable authoritarian culture, the least we might expect from our elected representatives is that they put their own sectional interests on hold and work to fashion a government that is as talented as possible so that we are best equipped to fight Covid19.

Yet we find something else, a determination to be exclusive rather than inclusive. If we are all in this together how do we explain the determination of both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail to insist on sending Sinn Fein to the back of the bus? The Mary Lou McDonald-led outfit has more votes than either of the two parties currently jockeying for government. We can criticise it for many things but being talentless is not one of them.

I am not a Sinn Fein supporter, and cast not even the lowliest preference its way in the recent general election. In an ordinary situation I would not want to see Sinn Fein in government for a host of reasons articulated elsewhere and which require no repetition here. But these are extraordinary times. We have seen the old certainties turned upside down and inside out. We have assented, even reluctantly deferred while holding our noses, to an array of draconian measures that would normally see us pouring onto the streets to protest in a manner that would mock any concept of social distancing. We are aware of the very real dangers that once the policing and surveillance agencies have eaten from the forbidden fruit, they will never relinquish the taste and as such we are creating a whole array of problems down the line. We pragmatically live with the trade off, the lesser of evils, in the knowledge that in order to fight another day we first have to live to fight another day.

We understand that governments will always be found, but to have good government we need a robust opposition. Yet, even here, we could park the concept of an official opposition in the face of an existential threat on the basis of understanding the Bulgarian proverb that we are permitted in a time of great danger to walk with the devil until we have crossed the bridge. I no more believe in the devil than I do in god - baloney the both of them - so the analogy is figurative. And having engaged with or listened to some Christian hate merchants this week, it is impossible to see any difference between the vindictive devil they claim to abjure, and the hate filled god they claim to love. Yet opposition is crucial. Its vital indispensable function would need to shift to civil society including social media. The task of opposition would not be to scrutinise just the government but also to rubbish the crankology of the conspiracy cockwombles willing to believe and then amplify anything so long as it is whispered or preached to them.

It is almost certain that this society will need further emergency legislation to be passed to enhance our efforts to push back against Covid19, including assisted dying if ICU capacity is maxed out, leaving many with the prospect of a horrible death. Constitutionally such legislation cannot be effected until a new Seanad is in existence and that can only happen after the office of Taoiseach has been regularised instead of the caretaker capacity in which it currently functions. There is no point in changing the captain now on a ship battling to stay afloat unless his command has been so cack-handed that we face a Costa Concordia outcome. The vessel he captained, from the moment it set out, was not remotely seaworthy to ride out the current storm, a consequence of chronic underinvestment in the health care system, leaving us with one of the most compromised ICU systems in Europe. Too late in the day to head for port and change boat, we are now in the eye of the storm and the journey through to the other side has to be undergone. There is no retreat. Varadkar started so he should finish. Not because we approve of his politics or share his ideological slant, but because it is difficult to see how rupture can trump continuity.

Arguably, the ship can be best fortified by an expansive and embracive mindset which recognises that our chances of making it across - even though we will lose many on the way, thousands of us buried at sea - are enhanced if we have in the engine room the best logistical brains that this society has to offer. As a society can we afford to have people like Eoin O'Broin and Pearse Doherty stuck in the cabins while less capable minds are in the engine room? It is an arrogant fallacy to feel that the best brains exist everywhere but Sinn Fein.

We stand to gain more than to lose if this society has a government drawn from all parties and none, inclusive of people like Eoin O'Broin, Pearse Doherty, Ged Nash, Peadar Toibin, Paul Murphy et al.  The government in a public health emergency should not be the outworking of some sectional interest but a societal front against the existential threat society faces. Sinn Fein's economic policies which have been designed for a normal time should not be a factor in the abnormal situation in which we find ourselves. The party should be judged on logistical ability and competence to deliver in a crisis situation, not on what its taxation policy might be in a world that no longer exists.

Once the emergency ends the parties should immediately go before the electorate. For now, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have a duty of care to stop playing party politics with people's lives. If no one left behind is to have any meaning it must also apply to Sinn Fein.

16 comments:

  1. AM

    Well put. If I learned anything about Republicans while in the Crum or the H-Blocks -when faced with adversity Republicans can act with a unity and cohesion second to none -all personal animosities, infighting and old grudes can be set aside in an instant to take on external problems. So I would agree that the members of Sinn Fein that you refer to would probable serve as assets in all of our common interests -policking will always be there were we left off when things get back to normal.

    I think the country as a whole is prepared to take on the challenge without much need for any drastic draconian powers. But emergency powers will be needed during this crisis and probably even for a reasonable period post-virus. I would even be mindful of the possibility down the road that we may arrive at a point where those most susceptible to the virus or suspect carriers may face a backlash of discrimination from peoples fears and suspicions.

    One thing governments know is that in times of crisis they can air their dirty laundry or indulge in undemocratic practises without drawing much public attention or criticism. There are no doubt a lot of things the media might not be reporting or overlooking at the minute given that all eyes are focused on the pandemic. That is all the more reason why a broader spectrum of political opinions ought to be respected now.

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    1. Christy - there is probably not enough getting out to the public as you suggest which makes the need for scrutiny even more of an imperative. The challenge is to find the best way of doing that. If Boyne Rover is right and SD are impossible to work with, that creates a different situation.

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  2. Anthony,

    You say: “Varadkar started so he should finish.”

    I am all for unity of purpose in trying times.

    After all, FDR & Churchill ally with Stalin & Mao during WWII.

    So, I too would hold my nose for Sinn Fein now.

    But Varadkar, a physician, is part of the problem, not the solution.

    Ironically, he under-invested in the Irish health care system.

    To pay off bank bondholders despite saying earlier they shouldn’t be.

    Taking your metaphor, he poked holes in the ship of state:

    “According to one Irish minister, Leo Varadkar, every Irish family would have to contribute around 3,600 euros per year to fully fund the universal healthcare scheme. Mr. Varadkar believes this is adding too much of a burden in taxation on Irish families. With a general election around the corner, the minister thinks that the plan could hamper his government’s re-election.”

    http://www.medic8.com/news/irish-healthcare-plan-stalled-6950/

    And leopards don’t change their spots.

    So, as Naomi Klein warns...

    Beware disaster capitalists and their government minions:

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/06/naomi-klein-how-power-profits-from-disaster

    Besides, as you say, there is other talent in the Dáil now.

    Therefore, Varadkar should fall on the sword...

    And step aside like Neville Chamberlain.



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    Replies
    1. who could take over and do it better as Taoiseach? It is not a question or rewarding him with the office but trying to ensure continuity. Which means it is not a question of punishing him either for where we are. The luxury of that at this point is probably beyond us.

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  3. While reading this article I was reminded of a situation in work many moons ago , while having a meeting with the Senior Engineer about a compressor and what steps we could take to repair the problem , after listening to our opinions the engineer went through our solutions one by one , we began to discuss which plan to take when one person spoke up and said why didn’t you discuss my idea to which the engineer replied “ your plan was all questions not solutions “
    Trying to work with Sinn Fein would be the same problem question after question with no solutions. Since Sinn Fein came to prominence they have been called the party of protest with all the answers. Eoin sounds great but still has to wait to be told what to do, Pearse is great at raising his voice. Fine Gael and Fianna Fail will not talk to them which I believe to be very childish, in the interest of democracy they should be all discussing a program for government, but to have a situation like the North were people have to share power against their will, well we see the results of that particular setup everybody making sounds with nothing being done. So, for that reason a stable government is really required to see us out the other side of this horrible nightmare, Sinn Fein would be impossible to work alongside

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  4. Is it possible that "draft dodging" Sinn Fein members could learn the act of good governance if given the opportunity to do so. Like it or not, Sinn Fein do have an electoral mandate to serve in Leinster House in some capacity.

    The problems associated with compulsory power-sharing in Northern Ireland are inherent in a consociational democracy set which is what the North (and Lebanon). The Republic conforms more to the pattern of liberal democratic governance in which voluntary coalitions are formed on the basis of mandates for parties which are not ethnic groups representatives who, because of their community designation, are a priori part of governmental arrangements.

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  5. It remains to be seen. Had Adams been at the helm we know that every thing would have been done to further his political career rather than for society: the lying would have been incessant. If the current SF is just a continuation of his hold rather than an attenuation of it, I think you would be right. But I tend to agree with a point made by Christy in another post that his cabal is losing the ability to influence things down here. I don't think people like O'Broin will prove as deferential to the cabal as O'Muilleoir did. Great comment nonetheless.

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  6. Anthony,

    I'll go with anyone who will lie less.

    To want such continuity means doubling down on a bad bet.

    With Varadkar the lying will also be incessant.

    But coaches always substitute players and so should we.

    Make no mistake though, it’s not about what you or I want.

    The banks want Leo too so the banks will get Leo.

    And for good reason.

    He is their man in times of crisis no matter what he says otherwise:

    “Anglo Irish Bank is not getting another cent of our money and any bank coming to us looking for more money is going to have to show how they’re going to impose losses on their junior bondholders, on their senior bondholders and their other creditors before they come looking to us for any more money. Not another cent.” - Leo “the Liar” Varadkar, 2011

    https://www.thejournal.ie/kenny-says-well-pay-our-dues-a-year-after-varadkar-said-not-another-cent-350805-Feb2012/

    Hence the headlines:

    Bank Bondholders to Be Paid While Irish Public Howls

    https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/24/business/global/bank-bondholders-to-be-paid-while-irish-public-howls.html

    Because again (pardon the pun) leopards don’t change their spots.

    Not surprisingly: “(Pearce Doherty) accused the Government of prioritising banks, vulture funds and bondholders. The State would take on the victims of cervical cancer or those misdiagnosed in Kerry with it or people going to court to seek rights for their children “but when it comes to bond holders who are unguaranteed,” the State (led by Leo Varadkar) would pay €33 billion of debt.

    https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/oireachtas/taoiseach-rejects-roll-over-leo-claim-in-anglo-bondholder-payout-row-1.3736886

    So, the usual drug addicts will conspire for power...

    To rob the chemists as they always do:

    A coalition would mean Varadkar, currently caretaker taoiseach, would stay in power and rotate the office with Micheál Martin, the leader of Fianna Fáil during an expected four- or five-year term.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/26/ireland-old-political-rivals-fine-gael-fianna-fail-hold-talks-historic-coalition

    And so, we'll get continuity for what that's worth.

    But it'll be that same continuity since circa 1927.

    Now for the good news!

    FF and FG will at least erase their badly drawn butt crack.

    Perhaps ending their long running duopoly kabuki theater show.

    And maybe nudge Ireland closer to authentic left-right politics.

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  7. Eoghan - I'll go with anyone who will lie less.

    Nobody is going to solve that one for you then so I guess we are stuck with Leo.

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  8. One question that needs to be asked is that regarding a political path. Republicans were told leave the violence behind and the political path will be open to them. They weren't told 'the political path will be open, except for the justice ministry in the North. Oh, by the way, if you get more candidates elected than anybody else in the south, in 20 years time, you won't be welcome to govern'.

    This 'political path will be open promise' had no caveats yet we see, 20 years later, insurmountable obstacles. The political path will be open yet closed. Like a 'Schrödinger's path'.

    If you explained to republicans back in 1994 that in 2020 if Sinn Fein got more peole into the Dáil than any other party but no-one would agree that they could get into government would peace have arrived with such enthusiasm? What about violence today? What sort of message does this send?

    Does politics work or does it not?

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  9. Good commentary AM, though I can't see assisted dying being legislated for here during the crisis. De facto of course, it will occur everywhere ... just as it has in both Italy and Spain. When the ICU's become jammed and there aren't enough ventilators hard choices will be made; those deemed to be 'worth' saving will be given priority and others will be sedated and left to die.

    Ideally, we should have an emergency term government, a war cabinet of sorts leaving the two Simons and Varadkar in place but with pro-rata representation from all parties and none.

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    Replies
    1. Henry Joy - I don't see assisted dying being legislated for either but it will be practiced as you point out. Better that we have medical professionals doing the right thing for ethical reasons rather than leaving it to us to risk botching by doing in the back garden. And it is my firm belief that the onus is on us as older people to make the terrible choice of declining ICU so that a younger person can avail of it. Sedated and left to die is probably the best many of us can expect. Much better than death by effective waterboarding.
      An emergency term government is probably the best term I have heard yet to describe it.

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    2. AM,

      in the aftermath of this crisis and when things are somewhat calmer, I believe it will be relatively easy for those of us who survive to promote and secure the 'right to die'.

      Delete
  10. Anthony,

    That’s so funny it hurts, but fear not!

    You’ll continue to get the same continuity you’ve been getting…

    Since at least 1927.

    And like the frog with the scorpion…

    You are all likely to get stung by Dr. Varadkar…

    As you all have before.

    Since that is his nature:

    "A scorpion asks a frog to carry him over a river. The frog is afraid of being stung, but the scorpion argues that if it did so, both would sink and the scorpion would drown. The frog then agrees, but midway across the river the scorpion does indeed sting the frog, dooming them both. When asked why, the scorpion points out that this is its nature."

    --Fable of the Scorpion and the Frog

    Ah well, stay safe and good luck!

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  11. 'The party should be judged on logistical ability and competence to deliver in a crisis situation, not on what its taxation policy might be in a world that no longer exists.'
    But Anthony, it does exist and in fact is very much alive and well. Just look at the stock market figures.

    Now is exactly the time to nationalise those tax-avoiding entities who are making a killing in the current crisis. I'm sure some of those you named, especially paul Murphy, would agree with this.

    Mike

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    1. Mike - the world that does not exist is that sans the public health emergency. SF will not nationalise anything nor will Paul Murphy because (a) SF has no intention of behaving any differently form what went before; (b) Paul Murphy won't have the ability to.
      Imagine a world in which the socialists had not squandered the opportunity - socialism would be such a powerful idea and we might just be in a position to apply the measures you recommend. Keeping SF out because of its policy on taxation is an excuse not a reason.

      SF

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