BRIAN COWEN is experiencing political death by a thousand cuts. Disclosures concerning previously concealed contacts with Seán FitzPatrick in the months prior to the Government’s decision to nationalise Anglo Irish Bank have reignited concerns about his leadership inside and outside of Fianna Fáil. With a general election only months away, the reopening of controversy over a decision that heaped banking debts on the taxpayer and invoked a history of crony capitalism has sent shudders through the Coalition parties.
Withholding information from the Dáil may not be a resigning matter. It does, however, raise questions of judgment, accountability and transparency. When Mr Cowen decided to conceal material concerning Mr FitzPatrick’s contacts with him, both as minister for finance and as Taoiseach, he did so for political reasons. The Government was under immense pressure at the time because some economists argued that Anglo Irish Bank should not have been rescued because it was not an essential part of the banking system. Opposition parties suggested a sweetheart deal. Confirmation of those contacts would have – as now – fuelled suspicions that Fianna Fáil had looked after its banking friends.
Green Party leader John Gormley is hanging on in office, hoping for the passage of his climate change legislation along with the Finance Bill. But, as an assertive campaign by the Irish Farmers’ Association against climate change controls gets into its stride and targets Fianna Fáil Senators and rural TDs in particular, that prospect looks increasingly remote.
Having called “time” on the Government because of the public’s loss of confidence in its handling of the fiscal crisis and the subsequent bailout by the EU/IMF, the FitzPatrick episode represents just another stone in a deeply uncomfortable road for the Green Party. Mr Gormley made the point that Mr Cowen should have made the details public when asked. Then, having contacted the Department of Finance and found no evidence the Taoiseach had been involved in inappropriate behaviour, he deferred final judgment until after Mr Cowen answers questions in the Dáil today. It was a selective defence. But it was as much as Mr Cowen received from his own colleagues who were appalled by the notion that Fianna Fáil’s relationship with bankers and developers might dominate the election campaign.
The Opposition parties are taking full advantage of Mr Cowen’s difficulties. Dates have been deliberately confused to add spice to the matter. But their assertions of bad behaviour have involved frankness rather than fraud. This Dáil’s final session will open with the focus on Fianna Fáil’s unhealthy relationship with bankers and builders. It amounts to the party’s worst political nightmare. Fine Gael, the Labour Party and Sinn Féin will compete in their efforts to cause maximum damage and to offer credible alternatives. It is difficult to see where the controversy can go from there, other than to make life even more miserable for those Fianna Fáil backbenchers who despair of Mr Cowen’s leadership and the lack of nerve of his challengers.