elections

May 06 22:45

Why I Feel Sorry for Bertie

Poor old Bertie. It's been quite a week for him: a fouled up announcement of the election (whatever happened to the Council of State?) to the rising controversy over his finances to Vincent Browne's spectacular grilling (and put-down of P.J. Mara) at the Fíanna Fáil manifesto launch to the PD's self-serving ('vote for me: I'm not with stupid!') wobble and subsequent statement.

What's happening to him? There's a reason Bertie has been Taoiseach for ten years and that's that he is a smart and sophisticated politician. This week has been precisely the opposite of that.

My suspicion is that we ought to take pause before condemning him outright, however.

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Apr 30 22:40

Running on the Commuter Ticket

There is a great photo of Councillor Nicky Kelly on the platform of Wicklow railway station in the current edition of the Wicklow People. Unfortunately, I have yet to locate it online. The photo was taken about 3 minutes after the 5.25 train from Dublin had reached Wicklow. Apparently, Nicky Kelly and other local politicians had thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to meet and greet the prolitariat as they arrived home from a day in the office. However, as the train arrived in Wicklow, the doors opened and the swarms of people did what they usually do, jump off the train and sprint out of the station. Few people even looked up to see who was handing out leaflets, let alone stop to talk. Pity, as train congestion from Wicklow is a significant bone of contention. The one solitary commuter pictured with Nicky Kelly had all the time in the world to voice her concerns.

Apr 22 21:49

France? Not so bad

While we're all reading up on first round of the French Presidential Election, it might be worth skipping over to A Fistful of Euros for some perspective on France's economic woes.

Not that France doesn't have economic woes. And it certainly has political problems, perhaps even to a catastrophic degree. But badly-compiled comparisons don't help.