WHEN MINISTER for the Environment John Gormley on Tuesday in the Dáil spoke from the heart of the stresses of the “asylum” that is ministerial office – “the sleepless nights, the no-win situation, and the non-stop criticism” – there was an eerie echo of the notorious Padraig Flynn complaint about the “cost of running three homes”. Sympathy and gratitude for their endeavours, as all politicians know, will be in short supply from a public feeling every bit as pressurised in their personal circumstances as the Ministers whom they are wont, with some justice, to blame.
Mr Gormley, it has to be said, has brought to his first stint of ministerial office a sometimes endearing, sometimes exasperating hint of naivety. But perhaps we should be grateful to him, if not for his conduct of the nation’s affairs, then at least for his “new man” candour in speaking freely about once-taboo issues of workplace stress when one has to assume responsibility with power for the fate of the nation. He warned Labour leader Eamon Gilmore that the stifling constraints of office mean he too shortly may “be faced with that lack of choice which will eat him up inside”.
Insomnia, irritability, sadness, feelings of insecurity – the lot of all politicians with an election looming – mood swings, a questioning of self-worth, withdrawal, and ultimately decreased productivity and job satisfaction are all among the classic symptoms of workplace stress. Some are clearly visible not only in the Minister for the Environment, but in more than one of his more experienced Fianna Fáil Cabinet colleagues, though they seem less eager to speak openly of such matters.
Mr Gormley speaks of the stress of his conviction that there is only one course of action free to him and others in the “straitjacket” of Cabinet choices these days. He believes there is no alternative. Psychologically, coming to such a conclusion, not obvious to others outside the hothouse of the Cabinet, seems to be a necessary coping mechanism. It is as if he must continue to rationalise it in order to keep going. Ultimately, Mr Gormley’s angst, and his parting of the ways now with Fianna Fáil, may then just be a reflection of the impossibility of reconciling the irreconcilable in himself.
He has done a service by expressing his anxiety. The Greens were not best-equipped for the “events” served up to them in their first experience of government. But, just maybe, these history-making “events” would have overwhelmed any Minister from any party – if truth be told.