DRAPIER: The present Government has been in office now for nearly eight months and it's clearly time for a report. Let's look at the Cabinet first.
The shining light is Martin Cullen. Readers may say why? - is it because he's new to the Cabinet table and thus a refreshing change from some of the faces we've been seeing for some time? Not quite. Martin Cullen has an edge and grittiness to him à la Des O'Malley. He manages to give out the bad news without overly insulting anyone (a quality much needed in politicians but not always evident). Of course Martin came from the PD stable but he is definitely one to watch.
Equally impressive is Michael McDowell, with a sharp intellect plus a common sense approach. The Fianna Fáil faithful are said to be mightily impressed.
The most interesting if not downright disturbing element of Government is the naked hostility between the Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy and the Minister for Health. It's out in the open and very sharp. It will certainly do no good for Micheál Martin. Charlie is always prickly and is only popular when he is neither seen nor heard whereas Micheál Martin has had a good public persona. Is it time for Bertie to use his famous emollient skills?
For Fianna Fáil, Jim Glennon has impressed both for the quality of what he has to say and the camaraderie which he has struck up with his colleagues from all sides of the House. His height definitely helps and he has a good sense of humour too.
Now for the other parties. For Fine Gael it's a choice between John Deasy and Olwyn Enright. Both are young, attractive, and articulate but Olwyn Enright suffers from having been trumpeted endlessly in the first few months whereas John Deasy surprises by his interventions and often adventurous statements.
Richard Bruton will be of enormous benefit to Enda Kenny. Bruton has a forensic debating skill and an ability to focus on an issue and expose it with a paucity of language.
For the Labour Party, Brendan Howlin remains one of their most articulate members. Listening to him on Morning Ireland recently one could only be struck again by his clarity of thought and precision of words and talk. He is undoubtedly clever and his experience will be definitely needed by the Labour leadership. That is if the Labour leadership decides to use him. It is not clear yet how that relationship is working but the Labour Party needs every ounce of brain power it has among its members and Pat Rabbitte must surely realise that.
And what of the PDs? They nearly all have jobs in Government but the bright light shines on Fiona O'Malley. Indeed it shone the day she first entered the House with her outrageous hat. She continues to speak her mind in a forthright way.
Who stands out among the Greens? Dan Boyle seems to be the one who catches the eye and the ear. He is ponderous but knowledgeable and a definite asset to his party. Next up Sinn Féin, and Arthur Morgan is the member here who is interesting and lively. A definite plus in a party ever inclined to lecture and pontificate.
And that leaves the Independents. Finian McGrath is a strong contender here for the "best" of the Independents on the eight-month showing. He is a person of integrity and is a most committed worker. Spare a thought though for Jackie Healy-Rae whose glory days are over.
The first real test not just of the Government but of all the parties in the Dáil will be the local elections of June 2004. The punters feel "let down" in a big way following the pre-election splurge of promises. The dual mandate is already proving to be a thorny issue. There are strong rumours of a pernicious viral bug called nepotism which is already rife within Fianna Fáil and no doubt will spread to all the other parties.
Almost all of the deputies and senators are seeking to be succeeded on the local council by their mothers, fathers, wife/husband, aunts, uncles, daughters, sons and an assorted rag bag of relations. It seems Fianna Fáil will put a patina of respectability over the whole process via a series of regional committees but that doesn't really wash, so watch out for a strong rush to nepotism that hasn't been seen since Roman days!
War, Iraq, US, Saddam, Bush, crime, Limerick, Shannon, all of these issues are moving about this week. More and more the impending likelihood of war with Iraq looms nearer and more and more people all over the world it seems are becoming distinctly uneasy about it.
Words have no meaning in this fraught milieu. As O'Casey remarked: "The world is in a state of chassis." And the frightening aspect of it is that people feel they have no control over influencing these events. Any person who says they are against war is deemed to be automatically anti-American. This is complete nonsense but that is the way the debate has been going. George Bush appears arrogant in a simplistic way, Tony Blair seems demented and speaks in an increasingly Messianic mode. As for Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen, they are playing it cautious and maybe, in the end, it's the way to go for the moment.
And finally to health. Health is always with us - but on a daily basis now with a plethora of reports, studies, seminars often overlapping, frequently conflicting with one another and much of it leading to confusion in what is already a very complex area.
The latest word out of that benighted Department is the mooting of the appointment of a second secretary-general to run matters. More anon.