Madam, - Fintan O'Toole's column of August 14th brought to mind one of the lines trotted out by patronising politicians to Questions and Answers audiences at election time: that the Irish electorate is "sophisticated". I suspect these politicians are well aware that the way to most voters' first preferences is through their pockets. As recent general elections have shown, appealing to short-term naked self-interest reaps most political reward.
Sophisticated? We're actually very simple. Here's what we want:
All the pros of Boston.
All of the pros of Berlin.
None of the cons of either.
A nationalised, privatised airline.
Free for-profit hospitals.
Lower taxes and more money in our pockets - now!
Larger state pensions in our later years, paid for by our lower taxes.
Could it be any simpler? - Yours, etc,
DONAL HARRINGTON, Hampton Square, Dublin 7.