DERMOT AHERN
We might forgive the Government’s failings if they can manage the vaccine rollout efficiently
LAST week, a nationwide poll provided insights into the current state of mind of the general public, both from a political and a Covid perspective. Clearly, the two issues are intertwined. As always in polls like these, it is difficult to put one’s finger on exactly how the public feel about an issue. For instance, a sizable proportion of those polled, 24%, felt that the restrictions were not tough enough, whereas another 31% felt that there should be an easing of the current restrictions.
The public are entitled to have such a divergence of views on many issues affecting them. But it is the job of the politicians they elect to high office to make the hard decisions based on the best expert advice available to them. That is why the Government members are well paid: to weigh up all considerations and then to make decisions in the best interests of the public.
The Opposition, on the other hand, have the luxury of being ‘all things to all people’. They can criticise every decision made by the Government. That is their right to do so. Indeed, quite often, they haughtily declare it is their duty to ‘hold the Government to account’.
Critical
For instance, most of the Opposition have been extremely critical of the Government’s efforts to properly quarantine visitors to our shores. I often wonder to myself, when I hear some of the criticisms in this regard, am I missing something? Certain politicians, who normally espouse highly liberal views, seem to be the most vociferous, nowadays, in locking up anyone who attempts to arrive in Ireland. Never having been in government might be an excuse for them. By making these demands, they largely ignore the complexity of the practical, legal and constitutional considerations that need to be taken into account.
In most situations of crisis in Irish political history, there has, thankfully, been a tendency for the main political parties to adopt a bipartisan approach to issues which are regarded as being ‘above politics’. For instance, generally, it was the case that, during the many years of the Troubles, no matter which party was in Government – Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, or Labour, there was an unwritten rule that none of them would play politics on the issue. It was accepted that they would not try to gain political advantage on the issue.
At the start of this pandemic, there had been a general ‘pulling together’ between those who inhabit Leinster House. That was mainly because the caretaker government at that time, led by Fine Gael, was making all the right moves, aided by its decision to throw open the State coffers. Also, there was a sense of novelty for some, but not all, surrounding the first lockdown.
It has to be acknowledged that the mood of the public now, deep into the third wave, is much more gloomy than at the start of the pandemic. Unfortunately, this current Government has not performed well in the last few months. As was said before: it is easier to close down a country, as opposed to reopening it. And the fact that the virus has morphed into different variants has made the Government’s job much more difficult.
The hitherto consensus has dissipated. Now, the Opposition is harrying the Government at every twist and turn. Poor decision making, poor communication, and lack of coherence have given the impression that the current Government is not up to the job. Internal party unhappiness, especially within Fianna Fáil and the Greens, has diminished the ability of the Government to show leadership. And, more recently, cross-party sniping within the Government has allowed the Opposition to find its voice more and more over the last few weeks.
The public have clearly begun to lose any belief they might have had before now in the ability of the Government to properly chart our way out of this crisis. That is one of the big takeaways from last week’s poll. Unless the respective Government parties clean up their internal rumblings, and get back to working together in some kind of unified fashion, they can expect nothing better than the plummeting poll rankings seen recently.
Fortunes
The Government parties have one other possible way of saving their political skins: that is, by ensuring that the vaccine rollout happens in an expeditious fashion. Despite the wide divergence of the public’s views on Covid, another finding from the poll is that they expect the Government to orchestrate the vaccination rollout in a timely, rational, and easily understood way. The public appreciate that we are behind the curve mainly because we hitched ourselves to the EU wagon, and while they may not say it openly, they do look enviously up North and across the water to see how the rollout can be done properly.
It could be a rough few months for the country as a whole, before we are all fully vaccinated. Equally, it will be a very bumpy time ahead, politically, for the Government parties. How they cope with this huge challenge will determine their respective political fortunes in the coming months.
While the Government parties and their leaders may have been spooked by the recent poll findings, they should knuckle down and concentrate on getting us all through the next few difficult months. By doing this, in the long run, they have a better chance of the public giving them some credit whenever they next go to the ballot box.