Ireland, oh oireland

The Irish government is often likened, in my mind, to the blind leading the blind across a city street at rush hour. They expected a nation of well-educated and well-traveled people to vote for a federal treaty based upon rumor and hearsay. How so? The Lisbon Treaty is a complex and intricate document – tough reading for even a seasoned politician. Despite this and plenty of lead time, the government did nothing to make it more readable, prepared no synopsis, no summary, no study notes. They expected the public to vote for or against a document unseen, unread and not understood. The icing on the cake was when the Prime Minister, in a moment of imbecilic exuberance, blurted out that he hadn’t read it either. In doing so he broke the cardinal rule of politicians worldwide - he should have lied. We Irish have special word for a person this stupid - a gob-shite.

The former Prime Minister of Ireland is being investigated for alleged financial misdealing. The allegations cost him his job and he resigned a little while ago under the grey fog of “early retirement.” In reality he left before he was thrown out. Be that as it may. When asked the source of some of his cash, Mr. Ahern explained with a straight face that he had “won it on the horses.” Two points here. Mr. Ahern not only though that it was reasonable to present an excuse like, he also thought that the inquiring tribunal would go for it. Am I the only one shaking their head?

As we all know, the Irish people voted “No,” to the Lisbon Treaty. They did so with the determination and solid resolution of those who voted for the abolition of Slavery or the acceptance of Irish independence. Unfortunately the negative vote was not a result of an informed decision as nobody seems to have ready it. Nor was it the result of years of anguish brought on by mistreatment and oppression of Ireland by the EEC. Au contraire amigos - it seems that the people were angry with politicians over a host of national gripes and social issues and the no vote was a means of punishing them. The hysterical glee in the treaty's defeat could only be compared to joie that pub regulars would exude on hearing that the price of beer had been permanently reduced by 50% for anyone with a vowel in their first name.

Leaving aside the fact that it was an integral EEC federal issue (effecting 470 million other people) not only an Irish national one, the logic behind this is baffling. A further explanation in the Irish Independent last week was that the voters though that the treaty could changed and re-voted on. That, of course, makes a lot of sense...

And to think that this country was the birthplace of the Celtic Tiger convinces me that some things DO happen by accident. As this debacle has show there seems to be no such thing as intelligent design, as least not in some parts of Ireland.