This was Enda’s big moment, his chance to nail it. His opportunity to soothe the worries of a nation while offering a way out of the morass. We switched on in our droves
“I’M READY for my close-up, Mrs Merkel. . .” And then wardrobe came along and superglued Enda’s hands to the desk.
They never moved again.
”. . .There now follows a party political broadcast, sorry, a national address by An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny.” We gathered in front of our screens to hear him speak. A bit groggy, granted, after the Sunday lunch and pre-Budget cut-price drink.
It was last night’s telly highlight.
We switched on in our droves.
Tell us, Enda, just how bad is it? What are you going to do? Why can’t you move your fingers? It’s a rare occurrence – taoisigh commandeering the national airwaves to talk to the citizens. It only happens in an emergency.
We’re in the middle of one now. Except The Emergency belongs to another era. What we are living through now is “The Exception.” Enda put this nicely, times three. (Like gardeners, speech writers always like to plant in threes.) “I know this is an exceptional event.
“But we live in exceptional times.
“And we face an exceptional challenge.” Enda made his unexceptional debut on the day before his Government’s first Budget – and it was the sixth such speech since the foundation of the State.
People keep talking about that infamous address by Charlie Haughey, after he told us all to tighten our belts when he was whooping it up on vintage champagne with businessmens’ cash, but in truth, most are too young to remember it now.
So this was Enda’s big moment, his chance to nail it. His opportunity to soothe the worries of a nation while recognising the economic reality and offering a way out of the morass.
This was never going to be a fireside chat: nobody expected him to announce he was going to burn the bondholders.
No, Enda was holding a national conversation, and because he’s in charge, he did all the talking.
It was time for The Taoiseach to deliver the Warning after the Night Before. (We all partied and now we must pay – that sort of thing.) But that’s one thing he had the good sense not to do.
“Tonight, let me say this to you, you are not responsible for this crisis” Enda told viewers.
If nothing else, that was good to hear.
The Taoiseach spoke from his office in Government Buildings, an Irish and an EU flag behind him. He never moved his hands, fingers entwined, from the desk.
But it was a good performance from Enda, delivered very well and far superior to his earlier outings on major TV occasions. His media handlers must be exhausted.
But they got their man out and he did justice to the script. It’s just a pity it didn’t tell us any more than we already know: we’re in trouble, the Budget will be brutal and we’ll survive somehow.
It had to be done.
The Taoiseach’s predecessor, Brian Cowen, shirked his responsibility to deliver a state of the nation speech. Before him, Bertie Ahern never had to talk to his subjects, what with meeting them on his travels when he told them what they wanted to hear.
The Taoiseach said last night Bertie et al will have to pay their own mobile phone bills from now on. A bright little nugget from a speech which had little new to tell us.
“This Budget will be tough – it has to be” said Enda, before sweetened the pill somewhat. “To give you some certainty for the year ahead, we’re leaving income tax untouched.” Then he took it back. “Instead, we will raise the €1.6 billion of extra taxes that Ireland needs mainly through indirect taxes, difficult though these will be.” It was hard to concentrate on the Taoiseach as we tried to figure out who was in the painting behind him. Viewers only saw the bottom of the frame.
Our money is on Michael Collins.
Still, at least the Taoiseach did us the courtesy of a state of the nation address. And his pink tie was lovely.
“I am very optimistic for the future” he said.
And remember: In the event of currency collapse, turn your back to the flash and stay indoors.
