This bespeaks crippling arrogance

When the Irish Public voted in Micheal D Higgens as our President, I did not make a post speculating on what this could mean for the country, I opted to stay silent and see what would happen. I had not expected the poet would win it, nor did I expect his party to do well in the By-Elections. (my money was on Gallagher winning it, but it just goes to show you the Irish can be strange voters, opting instead to vote for the quiet man).

However, of course, I did not have to wait long for something to happen that betrays the second largest party in government's true intentions.

The last government, Fianna Fail, and today's Government, Fianna Gael-Labour, have very little difference between them in terms of how they act in government, and I already moaned about what I saw as a betrayal of its electorate that Fianna Gael handed over 'desireable' ministries to Labour as part of the co-alition even if it had been something of a campaign promise to cut back on, (public sector anyone?), their casual breaking of campaign promises and, of Course, Eamon Gilmore and Shatter's treatment of people opposing the Referenda which would have given the Oireachtas much more power then it should rightfully have betrays a hellish sense of statist elitism which goes beyond the usual political class' disdain for virtually everyone in the country.

But oh of course they're not done yet, feeling foolishly secure after their candidate had won the presidential Election, Labour leader Eamon Gilmore goes right ahead and announces the Closure of the Irish Embassy at the Holy See, and that the Irish Ambassador, well there and Tehran, Eamon Gilmore is giving a not too subtle hint as to what he thinks about the Holy See by this move.

I could go into a list of the reasons why closing the embassy is a politically foolish thing to do, and a historical insult given how the Holy See was the first to establish full diplomatic relations with Ireland back when we were still a dominion of the Empire. But we all know that this move is not motivated by political expedience, as hateful a cause as that can be, but rather by the utterly worse cause of symbolism. Eamon Gilmore is trying to further foment hostility in the Irish government, and the Irish public if it can get away with it, against the Holy See, and I don't think I have to explain why, they are Socialists, they answer should come easily enough.

This bespeaks crippling arrogance, Labour's position is not so secure it can try to pull diplomatic coups like this, nor can it tirade against the public when they dont get their way all the time on referenda, and expect not to have consequences for it. Higgins didn't win the election so much as Gallagher lost it, and they didn't gain seats in the previous Dail elections so much as Fianna Fail lost them, Labour's position is not so secure that it can continue acting this way without facing nasty surprises in the future, I do not expect the publicity stunt of closing the Holy See embassy to be what ticks the Irish Public off, but it will certainly help compound the overall effect. The Socialists will be facing a nasty surprise come the next elections if they carry on this way, hopefully one that obliterates their party's political foothold.