Tomorrow is 31st January, 2013, and there will be a special “Noonan’s Day of Nonsense” on here, where some economic and governance issues will be examined, issues on which our Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has recently made pronouncements tantamount to gibberish, There’s a temptation to label 31st January generally “Noonan’s Day of Nonsense” and to keep track of the Minister’s failings over the forthcoming year, but that might be tempting fate into preserving the Minister in his position for another year.
Increasingly, the Minister, who will be 70 years of age in May 2013, seems uninterested in delivering on his democratic duties in providing transparency to actions taken in his name. He is inconsistent, evasive, at times ludicrous and all the while, billions are being spent and transacted at his ultimate behest, and when called to account on what is happening to our money and its governance, he spouts complete gibberish.
And this is the man most practically responsible in the State to deliver a debt deal which will encompass the promissory notes.
Now it is true that we are in the middle of an economic crisis, and as we have seen in other countries, the limits of democracy can be curtailed in the name of the common good during such turbulent times. It should also be recognized that Fine Gael is still riding high in the polls and at 26-28% most recently, you have to be impressed at how resilient that party has emerged from a very difficult budget and the already substantial stock of divisiveness over the abortion debate. It is just over a year to the next significant elections, local and European, so the calculation might be that any middle finger given to the organs of democracy in 2013 might be forgotten by June 2014.
But do we really have to put up with this drivel?
