BRENDAN O'Carroll is the ideal choice to make a Rainbow Coalition video. His own politics are on the red end of the spectrum; his main character is a Mrs Browne; and his comic style - reflecting the Opposition view of Fine Gael's input in the outgoing government - is just a little blue.
There is nothing X-certificate about the Democratic Left election video to be broadcast on RTE tonight, but it is certainly ruder to its subject than the standard political propaganda film. DL leader Proinsias De Rossa barely gets a word in, and the climax of the film is a joke about his stammer.
Humour is a risky business for politicians. Introducing the video, for example, the comedian (O'Carroll, that is) explained that one of his aims was to make Mr De Rossa "look human". This could easily have been taken as serious comment by the press, but the guffaws of the DL activists assured us it was a joke, so we laughed along.
We giggled at the stammer line, too, but only after furtively checking that Mr De Rossa was laughing with us. After years of pretending not to notice, it was a great relief to know it was allowed.
With the Minister getting constantly interrupted throughout the two-minute feature, DL's achievements are left to the other characters to explain. But in case viewers might laugh off their claims for the party, the message is reinforced with standard subtitles.
After the showing, O'Carroll warmed to the subject of the speech defect and explained that his initial script required the DL leader to stumble on the "g" in "Good Luck". Mr De Rossa explained that he was better on "Ms", so the cue was changed to "Mrs Browne". Then, in the first take, he forgot to stammer at all.
Despite his political sympathies with DL, O'Carroll was paid for the production. Indeed, with a decent-sized room and biscuits laid on yesterday, DL's finances have clearly improved since the manifesto launch.
Complete with a sense of humour and now sporting more different ties than Bertie Ahern has Tanaistes, Mr De Rossa looks more and more the complete politician. Viewers can judge for themselves tonight, when the video goes out between the Nine O'Clock News and Kenny Live. A "teaser" will be broadcast on Radio 1 at 12.50 p.m.
