Sir – The response here in Ireland to the worst global oil crisis since the 1970s has been somewhat bizarre, to say the least. Instead of blaming the perpetrators of the Iran war, public anger has turned on our Government here, even though they clearly had nothing to do with it.
And to add stranger to strange, if I might put it that way, a small sector of society took to the streets to protest, demanding that they alone should be protected from the impact of rocketing prices on world oil markets.
At times like this, it behoves politicians and civic leaders not to add fuel to the flames, but instead to bring a level of calm and commonsense, or of leadership, even. But a few populist politicians on Opposition benches couldn’t resist the opportunity to add value to their brands, so they rowed in with their tuppence worth. We witnessed TDs from Sinn Féin, Independent Ireland and Aontú speaking from the protesters’ platform, winding up the crowd instead of being the adults in the room, for once.
Are we all just slow learners? It took the people of Hungary 20 years to realise that the populist promises of Viktor Orbán were as empty as the diesel pumps in the west of Ireland last week, but they did finally get rid of him at the weekend and they can now begin to rebuild their democracy.
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In Ireland, far from learning lessons from Hungary, we seem determined to head down the very same route. We are heading for somewhere that doesn’t actually exist, a place where somebody else pays for everything.
While promising everything for nothing in return for your vote, populists never tell you that governments don’t actually have money, apart from our money. So, anything somebody gets for nothing has to be paid for by somebody else. That’s just how it works.
An old man once gave me a piece of advice about business. He said, “If in any situation, you don’t know who is the patsy, then maybe you’re the patsy.” So, if you are demanding the Government pay anyone’s bills, but you don’t know who might be picking up the tab, maybe you should just look in the mirror? – Yours etc,
John Mulligan,
Boyle,
Co Roscommon.
Sir, – Diarmaid Ferriter rightly observes the “sharply edged” nature of contemporary fuel protests compared to the 1966 farmers’ strike (“When Charles Haughey refused to meet the ‘Nine Frozen Arses’ protesters”, Opinion, April 17th). However, beyond the “menace” and symbolism, a more profound shift is occurring: the systemic sidelining of established representative bodies like the Irish Farmers Association and the Irish Road Haulage Association.
While protesters accuse the Government of not listening, the more uncomfortable reality may be that the Government is listening to the wrong people. If national organisations no longer speak for the grassroots, they cease to be “representative” in anything but name. Perhaps the real story is not that the State is out of touch, but that our traditional intermediaries have lost the room. – Yours, etc,
SEAN KEAVNEY,
Castleknock,
Dublin 15.
Sir, – The inevitable waste of Dáil time on a pointless no confidence motion was, at least, an opportunity for Opposition TDs to publicly condemn the unacceptable actions and language of the so-called fuel protesters, as described by your columnists and letter writers.
Unfortunately, there was only silence. It seems that political opportunism won out. – Yours, etc,
Martin McDonald,
Terenure,
Dublin 12.
