The world and its mother now know about Brian Lenihan’s health problems. The man himself has been very forthright about it, giving more details than most people would have politely asked for (cough...TV3...cough). I’m not going to go into well trodden ground about the revelations by TV3 of such sensitive personal information over Christmas (again, the world and its mother thinks they’re idiots), but rather his decision to stay on as Minister. I think people need to recognise the sacrifice the man is making for the good of the country and the effect that it will have on our psyche.
Brian Lenihan is in probably the most important job there is at the moment in this country. As Minister for Finance, his ability to control and direct spending wisely and to negotiate on our behalf with the IMF, the ECB, the EU and the Irish banks will almost solely determine how quickly this country emerges from recession. Despite being new to the job when the shit hit the fan back in 2008, he has shown himself to be capable and someone who I think could fix this.
Now throw cancer into the mix. What has been his reaction? Essentially, it can be summed up as “Meh, I’ve work to do”. No time off, working from a hospital bed, continuing with his 14 hour days; this man has overnight become a colossus in my eyes. His attitude clearly singles him out as the most badass finance minister we’ve had since Michael Collins.
The effect this attitude has is huge. Not only is the stability in the department of finance good to keep the value of the stock market from plummeting further, but what we finally have now is a vision of a politician who is putting the public good ahead of his personal good. Let’s be honest, Fianna Fáil have endured scandal after scandal over the last 15 years. FF have been haunted with scandals of members both high up and low down accepting bribes from the construction industry in exchange for zoning changes. When faced with the biggest public spending cuts in the history of the State, what do the backbenchers threaten a coup over? Drink driving legislation. The TD who lead this revolt had previously been charged with assaulting a man in a pub. Even Brian Lenihan’s father’s Presidential campaign in 1990 was derailed when it came out that he had put pressure on the President to refuse the request of Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald to dissolve the Dáil. What FF have lacked massively recently is integrity.
Finally, we have someone who is putting country over not just his own political future (he did that already in his budgets), but also his own personal health. This will do wonders for the political system as a whole as well as providing a solid base of support for the Minister with all the tough decisions that still lie ahead.
Mr. Lenihan, while I may not agree with you on much of your policies, you have restored my faith in the Irish political system.
Seriously? Where as I think it is a good thing that Ministers put their jobs first, there is a limit. You may think he is a 'badass' but what do his family think? He is already seriously ill and the amount of strain placed on him keeping his position would have to be detrimental to his condition.
ReplyDeleteFrom our POV though - cancer is tough. Hate to state the obvious but does he really think he will be able to keep up his job performance? Maybe it would be better for finance if he did resign, no one would hold it against it.
Resigning because of pancreatic cancer is not the same as decking someone in the pub (that was my TD by the way). This is NOT a scandal, it is not the same thing.
I wish Brian Lenihan all the best and I hope dearly that he recovers but it may not be the best thing for himself, his family or the country for him to remain in his position.
I'm pretty sure he consulted his family before he made the decision to stick at the job. Regardless, he is a public figure in a high profile job and all taxpayers are essentially his employers; surely we have a right to question the effect his illness will have on his job performance.
ReplyDeleteI would have in no way looked down on him if he had stepped down, or of he does decide to step down later; the point I was making was that this clear action of self-sacrifice is a shot in the arm for the political system as a whole.