Why we really did mourn passing of American greatness

AN APPLE a day could be relied on to keep the doctor away, but how do you stop contagion from a rash of political promises? There was a time when the starting point of any grand strategy centred on marrying ends to means doing what you can, in line with resources.

Making the interests of the people who elect you a focal point for your campaign makes sense once there are limits. And yet we see Taoiseach Leo Varadkar set out a four-page letter pledging his troth to Fianna Fáil for two more years while dangling a golden carrot for middle-income earners in the guise of a €600 tax break.

But when bad luck rains it tends to fall not in showers but thunderstorms, and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin must be feeling thoroughly soaked to the skin. Mr Varadkar can’t seem to help himself from sticking it to him. If the Fianna Fáil leader graciously accepts his invitation to renew the Confidence Supply Agreement for two more years he looks like a schmuck. Fine Gael reaps the benefit for all the cornucopia from unprecedented revenue, while Fianna Fáil takes the flak for all the bad stuff. For Mr Martin, there is also a pebble in the shoe, that should he amble agreeably along the road, Mr Varadkar may steal a march on him by doing a cut and run at the earliest opportunity should an early Brexit deal be struck. For all that, Fine Gael ought not to be feeling overly pleased with itself. Today we carry a report on how homeless charities are finding more children living on the streets in Dublin. Mr Martin is correct to insist that the Budget should make housing the key priority. Unsurprisingly, Fianna Fáil has dismissed Mr Varadkar’s letter as a “distraction” and “kite flying”, but the prize for both would be better presented to Sinn Féin. The party has put down a motion of no confidence in Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy, who certainly has left himself open to attack. But Sinn Féin enjoys a free rein in sniping from the ditch, but never taking responsibility. If it has housing solutions, and if it wishes to play a constructive role in Government, then it must make itself credible.

Instead, leader Mary Lou McDonald was once more ambivalent and non-committal on the PSNI security assessment that the IRA structure remains in place. Such reticence will rightly hinder the party in establishing full democratic credentials. Ms McDonald should be at pains to seize every opportunity to allay suspicions that the gunmen might still be calling the shots for her party.

If she has a difficulty in answering this question, she will have an even greater one in establishing trust with voters. The party is equally shaky on its support for the Special Criminal Court. It’s fine for trying drug cases but not when it comes to dealing with threats to the State. We are still in a phoney war stage, but sooner or later there will be a time to face the country. No party or government should be under the illusion that it will be rewarded for treating the electorate as a puppet in their game.

We are still in a phoney war stage, but sooner or later there will be a time to face the country