W2E-006 Coalition - Conscience-1.txt
COMMENT

Time to Leave the Farce Behind

With the televising of proceedings in Leinster House really coming into its own viewers were treated to ongoing entertainment with plots and counter plots, unexpected twists, back-stabbing, stage management, and political play-acting at its best, or its worst, whether you were regarding it as something serious or as the best farce in town that week.

If ever the public had any doubts about the inefficiency of the political system, of its departments and of the whole structure of running this country they must now realise that a major job of redesigning it is essential. The actors will have time during the Christmas recess to go away and take a new look at themselves, their parties and their performances because things will never be the same again in Leinster House.

Now it is down to the task of forming a government. As John Bruton negotiates with Dick Spring, we will soon find out whether Fine Gael's leadership negotiating skills and firmness will match, or excel, those of the Labour chief. The new regime takes office at a crucial time for the Irish economy. By and large that economy is healthy and growth prospects seem to be reasonably good. It depends on the management. Wrong policies and decisions could easily track us way off course. It would be disastrous if inflation got a nudge forward, or if the upward trend in public spending was exacerbated.

Proper control on the semi-state bodies is essential. Lessons should have been learned from events on that front earlier this year. The peace process, employment, control of the economy, all these are essential. The government will have to perform much better in areas of essential legislation and seriously come to grips with the snails-pace system of drafting and finalising Bills crying out for ttention and gathering dust in pigeon holes.

Who can say, with their hands on their hearts, that the press has no role in probing areas in the political life of this country, in the semi-states, within the various departments of Government. Despite the difficulties created for both public and press in our out-moded libel laws, some newspapers did take risks and if they had not would all of us now know some of the undesirable developments of the recent past? If politicians or others in high places, try to hide unacceptable practices to the detriment of the public, or to keep back information to which the nation is entitled must there not be a watchdog there to keep the public informed? Geraldine Kennedy's revealing article in 'The Irish Times' which made Dick Spring seem to have second thoughts was an essential development in the recent saga - though the controversy is ongoing about the sequence of events.

Press freedoms have to be handled responsibly and newspapers must be let know they cannot get away with manufactured, unbalanced or over-sensationalised items. At the same time the public is entitled to know what is going on in the running of our country, in law breaking and in accountability, or lack of it. Far too many people want to prevent that happening and it is time the shackles were broken.

The new Government has a difficult task, not least of all because of its disparate ingredients. However, with vigilance, responsibility and true concern for the future of this nation it can work. For all our sakes, let's hope it does.
