Don’t you just love the first
year of a new relationship?
Ah, the intense excitement and
romance of it all; not to mention the chemistry of bonding which floods the
brain. The desire to learn more about one another other; the budding
relationship is fresh, fun and adventurous. It has also been revealed that the simplistic
act of being in the presence of your other half on a daily basis can stimulate
love... So was that the case for Fine Gael and Labour?
One year on, having spent a year
cooped up in the Dáil together, we ask, has the union of Fine Gael and Labour
been the perfect partnership? Can this coalition stand the test of time? And
has the honeymoon period ended for Enda and Eamon?
Sure they had a rocky start to
their relationship, with the Tánaiste himself admitting they had been “knocking
lumps” out of each during the general election campaign, but the publishing by
the Government of its first annual progress reports details that they have made
a ‘solid start’ at tackling the problems faced by the State.
The 45 page publication claimed
that from 167 policy commitments listed in the implementation plan for the
coalition government in their first year together, more than 150 of them had
either been delivered or substantial progress had been made. The report also
served as a reminder of their ‘achievement’s including the extra
mortgage-interest relief for the negative-equity generation, the €10 billion
reduction in the interest bill on our bailout loans, the reversal of the cut to
the minimum wage by €1, and lastly, and possibly my favourite..... The €4m
saved on ministerial car costs!! (Such
expenditure was not warranted in the first place!)
(But remember this is their own self assessment of their progress... and
as the infamous saying goes, ‘self praise is no praise’)
They did however accept that they
had failed to delivered approximately a dozen commitments (how very noble of them!) but emphasised what they claimed were
successes on debt reduction, banking and restoring stability (Again debatable!).
Acknowledgement by the Taoiseach
Enda Kenny, that as a government they had failed to provide enough support to
struggling mortgage holders was welcomed and he alluded to the fact that a
temporary cabinet sub-committee had been formed to address the issue of
distressed mortgages. (Let’s hope some
action on this issue follows...as personal insolvency legislation is apparently
still awaited.)
Mr Kenny also cited that the
burden of the bank bailout was still “too onerous” on taxpayers (You think Enda?).
Also, despite his promise in May
2011, to publish “report cards” evaluating the performance of individual
ministers, they were not included in this report. However it was confirmed in
recent days that this would not be a public exercise. Instead Mr Kenny met with
ministers, senior and junior alike, and had an “honest appraisal” with them
prior to the publication of the Government’s performance in this report.
Furthermore, it seems like Mr
Kenny is adamant that this coalition will be a match made in heaven; expressing
his feelings that “The people will be the judge of the ‘A Class’ in due course
at the end of five years”. (You’re
sounding overtly confident Enda! Relationships are tricky... Who says it won’t
all crumble before then? Who says you won’t be deemed the ‘NG’ class?! Tread
carefully Enda, tread carefully!!)
An Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore
appeared to be somewhat more in tune with reality reminding us that whilst as a
government they had taken over the reins in “horrific circumstances” that they
had made progress, but he was not going to exaggerate it. Stating “We know full
well the extent of what we have to do and we know full well the difficulties
people are having”.
Of course the
opposition parties were on hand to suggest that the report was a mere
propaganda exercise, but both Taoiseach and Tánaiste denied any such PR
exercise was at the heart of this report or that it was a mere ploy to paint a
rosy assessment of their progress.
The bleak realism
pointed out by opposition parties captured a myriad of ongoing issues they
failed to address; the hoards of crowds queuing up at jobs fairs this week in search of employment opportunities abroad (undoubtedly a case of forced emigration!),
unemployment rates and the health
budget cutbacks of €750m (a vital service
which should not be ignored!).
Fine Gael had
previously planned to celebrate their first anniversary in fashion (without inviting the Labour Party along!) by
means of a photocall with TD’s and Senators holding up stars in an effort to
illustrate their achievements over the past year. Thankfully, for both us and
their better half, this ‘supposed’ celebration was cancelled as it was deemed
by some clever sod as ‘inappropriate’ (Whoever
you are – we are grateful!!). The sheer notion of celebrating alone raised the
obvious questions surrounding the cohesiveness of the coalition government.
They may have been all smiles at the publication of the annual progress report,
but they cannot fool the nation! This is no perfect partnership – this
coalition has got to work, for the sake of the nation and our hope of an
economic recovery! (This is one
relationship that cannot break up!)
Given the sheer
scale of the economic crisis, and the major issues which the coalition
government has yet to address, it is without a doubt not the time to be
celebrating when so many people in the country are struggling – FG and
Labour... Enda and Eamon, having reflected on your first year together, it is
quite clear that the honeymoon period is most definitely over!!! Now, get back to work guys... you have one
hell of a job YET to do!!
The Forgotten Irish Graduate, 9th March 2012
