TDs might complain at how hard it is to change anything, but it is a lot easier for them than for journalists
I HAVE to admit, I don’t understand Brian Lenihan or Micheál Martin. Of the two, it’s Lenihan I hold the grudge against. Perhaps because I so badly wanted to believe he knew what he was doing, I swallowed a lot of guff about the banking policy. Even now I can’t tell the difference between what he thought was true, what he hoped was true and what he thought was safe to tell the public.
Of course, Lenihan is not just any politician. Battling through the worst of the financial crisis after his cancer diagnosis was heroic. But his term as Minister is reaching a natural conclusion and patriotic duty is no longer an excuse to pretend he’s not sick. Surely it’s time he took the foot off the pedal and looked after himself? Instead he’s nurturing leadership ambitions.
As minister for foreign affairs, I liked Martin’s perspective that embassies should be viewed more as trading posts than old-fashioned bastions of diplomacy. He managed to sneak away from the nursing home payment row in the Department of Health, but I think he’s smart, likeable and this week proved himself more transparent than Lenihan.
And yet, like Lenihan, you can’t help noticing that his shirt collars are creasing as personal suffering takes its inevitable toll.
You end up looking at these very different men and thinking the same thing. “Why aren’t they at home with their families?”
But that’s politics for you. The workload, the pressure, the destruction of family life and the dog’s abuse would put most normal people off. I don’t believe any of them are in it for the money. The peculiarities of their psychological make-up is such that what would exhaust others energises them.
Of course they are hugely egotistical, but I’ve met a lot of unelected egos so their guilt in that respect is hardly exclusive. They believe they can change things and the truth is, they can. The higher you go, the more you can change.
As the convention season peaks, I salute all those who step up to take part rather than complain from the sidelines. I’m delighted to see some members of the commentariat take their shot at the Dáil.
I’m a Trinity graduate and was proud to nominate Shane Ross for the Seanad. I know some complain that the university seat system is elitist, but no one can deny that those Senators have consistently been the top performers in the Seanad – Ross leading the pack. So I’m really pleased he’s running for the Dáil. He warned us for years that the board-seat swapping in corporate Ireland was dangerous, and he was right. The people who were right should be the ones we want to promote.
Fortunately I don't live in Dublin South and won't be required to choose between him and Peter Mathews. Introduced to us by Tonight with Vincent Browne, Mathews's analysis of the banking situation has been searing and yet his measured manner is endearing. I think Peter is making the wiser choice by joining Fine Gael. If you want to change things, being in power adds considerably to one's potential to do that.
Over in Dublin South-East rumour has it that Paul Sommerville, another regular on Vincent’s show, is also making the jump. He’s a great analyst and hearing his voice in the Dáil rather than merely on the airwaves has got to be good.
People often ask me why I don’t run and my answer is that I simply don’t have the physical energy or the mental toughness required. Column writing and chattering on airwaves is much easier. I am under no illusion though that talking the talk is an acceptable substitute for walking the walk.
When I began writing columns I was taken aside by a veteran journalist who sternly warned me that I should abandon any notion that writing might effect change indirectly. Writing columns would change nothing – at all – ever. I think he was right. The most I do is change how readers feel for about five minutes. If they agree with me they’ll feel good and think I’m great. If they disagree with me, they’ll feel bad and give out about me in their heads, to a friend or on the internet. But no one will actually do anything different and nothing will change. So the best days are the days when I make some people feel good or, best of all, provide a laugh. It’s not the worst way to earn a living.
I wonder then should my senior and better colleague in this paper Fintan O’Toole take note. Between his speeches at the GPO and his online petition (fintanotoole.ie/petition) he apparently believes he can influence people to change their behaviour – specifically how they vote. But if his career worth of genuinely brilliant columns and books had persuaded anyone to change their minds about anything, Fianna Fáil wouldn’t be in power at all.
At the moment, he has about 12,000 signatures on his petition. Twelve thousand number ones would get him elected in most constituencies.
I know many TDs feel desperate frustration at how hard it is to change anything when they get elected, but they have a chance at it, which is more than journalists have. Lenihan and Martin may both be suffering from acute cases of denial, but I think the media should examine their consciences and see if they are similarly afflicted.