THE DISSOLUTION of the 30th Dáil has brought an end to this Government’s slow and ignominious decline. During close on four years, the Coalition parties lost control of the economy; then lost public confidence and finally lost faith in each other. It began with the demise of the Progressive Democrats, continued with the forced resignation of Bertie Ahern, accelerated with the banking and building collapse, continued with the International Monetary Fund/European Union bailout and ended with the resignation of the Green Party. Taoiseach Brian Cowen has emerged from the wreckage to offer the electorate an opportunity to choose a new government on February 25th, two weeks earlier than initially planned.
The seeds of destruction were sown before Mr Cowen took charge, as the taxation base was deliberately narrowed and bank lending and public spending soared. But he presided over pro-cyclical economic policies while minister for finance and, when the crash came, his Government’s response was weak and indecisive. The banking guarantee was given and defended by Government on the basis of spurious information. From there, it was all downhill.
Having devoted 27 years of his life to politics and spending 17 of them in Cabinet, it is understandable that Mr Cowen should wish to end his career in some style. A plenary Dáil session provided the platform and, boiled down, his message was clear and simple: he had always tried to do his best in politics. Nobody quibbled with that. Or questioned his personal integrity. But, on the opening day of an election campaign, it amounted to a non-political speech. Micheál Martin must have choked in frustration as the Taoiseach urged TDs to show respect for each other and not to talk the country down. Mr Cowen did nothing for Fianna Fáil, but he set the scene for open strife between Fine Gael and the Labour Party.
Enda Kenny laid out Fine Gael’s election platform. Fianna Fáil would not be able to dodge its responsibility for driving the country into the arms of the IMF, he insisted. In government, Fine Gael would keep taxes low, create jobs and establish a new health system based on universal insurance. It would cut the cost of the public service by €5 billion while protecting frontline services. It would restructure and reform politics. So far, so predictable.
Then Eamon Gilmore opened up, comparing Fine Gael to Fianna Fáil and warning that fundamental change could only come about with a Labour-led government. He offered jobs, reform and fairness and echoed US president Barack Obama’s election slogan with “we can and we will” refrain. From there, John Gormley proposed a new electoral system on behalf of an endangered Green Party and Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin of Sinn Féin condemned the IMF/EU bailout while offering future employment and public service protection. The election campaign is well and truly under way. But there is already a hint that a poorly prepared Fianna Fáil may have been left at the starting post.