September 11TH put public servants back on the American political map. After a generation of talking down government and campaigning against Washington, public servants were the heroes of the hour, even for the political right. How long their hour lasts remains to be seen.
Newt Gingrich's description of Tip O'Neill as "fat, bloated and out of control", was in reality the central political charge of the Republican right against big government. New York typified the big city with a big public payroll that had gone out of control. Business and the middle class fled. The tax base shrank and crime soared. From Ronald Reagan onwards Americans turned away from New Deal politics. The idea that the state could help was dead.
President Clinton's big initiative for the American health services ended in total political failure. It was the high water mark of his attempts to roll back the Reagan revolution. Thereafter, he concentrated on smaller initiatives that eschewed government expansionism.
It was Bill Clinton's masterful political skills, however, that lured the Reagan Revolution, renamed the Contract with America by Speaker Newt Gingrich, on to the rocks.
The clarity and intensity of the attachment of the Bush presidency to public servants after September 11th marks a 180 degree turn. It also makes a point. Certain public services are essential. The point is practical, not ideological.
Just look at Britain. The privatisation of the railways and of the water supply has been disastrous. The conclusion that the state no longer needs and consequently should no longer be involved in the provision of certain services has been carried to ideological extremes. We in Ireland should learn the lesson the easy way, from the mistakes of others.
It is neither privatisation nor the nanny state that we have to fear. Rather it is the ideologues who are wrapped up in an outdated and spurious Boston versus Berlin argument. Given to intemperate judgment and dependent on ideology rather than common sense, they want to play politics rather than tackle the issues.
September 11th has also put the role of the wider Irish public service into sharp relief. Aer Lingus is on the edge of a precipice. A wholly owned State company, it has been an icon for a progressive Ireland for decades. It is now on its uppers.
Should we care? More to the point, should we pay? What special claim do Aer Lingus workers have over those - also taxpayers - laid off in hotels and golf courses after September 11th?
One answer is that we should care and insulting the company and its dependants at this time is terrible. The language of economics, like the language of war, can sometimes be obscene. Say downsizing quickly and it doesn't sound as bad as job loss. Say collateral damage quickly and it doesn't mean killing and bombing innocent people.
Another answer is that on balance the long-term economic interest of the Irish people requires a carrier that is committed to the North Atlantic. Similarly we need to ensure competition on major European routes. If we are not accessible from both Boston and Berlin we are effectively closed down.
The survival of Aer Lingus touches upon our very vital national interest. Analysis, not just emotion, informs our policy to ensure the survival of Aer Lingus.
Aer Lingus has served this country honourably and well over the years. I have received nothing but courtesy and kindness from flying and ground staff over my many years travelling with the airline.
Emotion, however, is understandably the first reaction of the thousands facing redundancy. What redundancy will be available? How many mortgage payments can I squeeze out of my package? It is to save as many jobs as possible that the Taoiseach batted so hard for Aer Lingus with the EU Commission on Wednesday. Although progress appears to have been made the outcome is not yet certain.
The focus must be on the viability of the company. Save as many jobs now as can be saved and provide a viable vehicle for expansion again in the future and hopefully then, the creation of new jobs.
The alternative is the full rigour of the free market. It is ironic that those who preach the purity of the market most vigorously would themselves be the net beneficiaries of returning Irish aviation to a one-horse town. Letting Aer Lingus go would not produce competition.
The realisation that we are an island nation that depends on aviation for access also casts the spotlight on Aer Rianta. The case for that privatisation is far from proven.
The energy of the board and management should be fully focused on their public service remit rather than on an ongoing campaign to get to the market.
As a public company it should be fully engaged in a politically determined policy of what Ireland Inc needs from its airport provider over the coming period.
The public is not served best by agencies who become independent republics. Public service brings with it no assurance of sanctity. It is prone to special interest from within and without. It is prone to restrictive practice and higher costs.
Most especially it is prone to losing sight of the big picture and succumbing to a narrow sectional interest. These inbuilt fault-lines have be constantly patrolled and dealt with.
Failure to do so undermines the credibility of the public services generally and leaves them open to ideological attack and public indifference.
The Taoiseach set out his vision for the public services, particularly health, last weekend. The coming years will be marked by sustained investment in infrastructure and services. Having created a first world economy, we must now build a first world society.
Investment, however, must be matched by reform. This will require leadership and partnership. It is interesting that nearly all commentary to date has focused on the need for additional resources in health. There has been very little said about the use of the colossal resources that have already been given over by the taxpayer.
We cannot have sacred cows grazing on the public pasture. There must be a measurable return. Failure to do so is self-defeating for those working in the service and for those who depend upon it.
Public servants have served Ireland well. They have educated us, nursed us, come to us in emergencies, transported us and been the administrative backbone of what by any standards is a very successful country. Any fair analysis would salute dedicated people for a job well done.
We should be clear and confident in our belief that the public services, including commercial semi-state companies, are an essential part of our economic fabric. We should recognise that short-term commercial realities fall short of the strategic national interest.
That interest is a socially and economically balanced agenda for our long-term national development. It is big picture stuff. It is something that the Savonarolas from both sides frequently cannot see.
dandrews@irish-times.ie