W2E-010 Diverse editorials-1.txt
What Else Is Buried In Political Mire?

It is fortunate for Irish politicians that Christmas is about to create a natural break of a week or two in political life in this country. Otherwise the recent cycle of debacles which has already engulfed Albert Reynolds as Taoiseach, Fianna Fail and Labour as partners in government and several individual ministers, might well swamp the entire political system. With each passing day we are getting further evidence of the less-than-wholesome manner in which people in power carry on their business. So far it has not been a pretty sight. The break for Christmas will be a relief.

There are few people celebrating the revelations of recent weeks. Even the large anti-Fianna Fail lobby in this country are not triumphant about the way the party has been humiliated in recent weeks. The sight of open warfare in Fianna Fail would normally delight political opponents but this time there is an air of despair among the general public because it is obvious that the Labour party is not a lot better when they get their hands on power.

Whether Fine Gael, Democratic Left or the PDs would be any different if and when they become part of the government we cannot yet tell. But what is about power that makes otherwise sensible and honest men and women behave as as of they owned the country and were unanswerable to the general public? How can members of a government so quickly forget that the basis of their power lies not in the chauffeur-driven Mercedes but in the votes of the plain people of Ireland? If they remembered that salient fact they could scarcely become so contemptuous of the voters.

This country should have a general election in January so that people of Ireland, in whom power ultimately lies through their franchise, can have their say. It matters little that after the elections we might have roughly the same alignment of political parties in the Dail. After the events of recent weeks all politicians, but particularly Fianna Fail and Labour ones, should be made face the public, knock on doors and answer questions from ordinary people without seeking immunity. It is fair to say that the general public has been shocked and genuinely dismayed at the amount of intrigue and deception which has been shown to operate in government circles in recent weeks.

What worries people most is this. What we have witnessed in recent weeks may be just the tip of the iceberg. If so much dubious conduct took place in relation to a minor event such as the appointment of a judge, how much more of the same sort of unsavoury conduct may have taken place over the years in connection with far more serious matters - such as the recent Tax Amnesty for instance?

This newspaper and others have often been savaged by Fianna Fail activists in the past few years for daring to criticise the behaviour of politicians. After the revelations of the past three weeks we are entitled to feel justified in our criticism.
