WHY FIGHTING COVID-19 CAN NEVER BE ABOUT POPULARITY
COVID-19 has meant that our political system is replete with “known unknowns”. Ministers don’t know when the lockdown in Ireland will be lifted; whether schools will open any time soon; whether new virus strains are more deadly and can “beat” the vaccines; or how these new strains from abroad can be stopped from entering this jurisdiction.
In a host of weekend interviews, including one with this newspaper, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who marks his 10th anniversary as Fianna Fáil leader tomorrow, spoke with refreshing candour about the road ahead of all of us. His approach was a clear reminder of the major political element in this pandemic.
Simply put, it is that there are few if any political gains to be had from Covid-19 in the short, medium, or even long term. Eventually, it is to be hoped that history will record that the current Government steered an even course which helped get us through this crisis – and that the Opposition, by and large, was co-operative in that effort.
Realpolitik tells us there is no point in courting popularity by taking certain decisions. Our leaders need to make the “right decisions” to promote public health based on the best available advice.
Hindsight is of limited value save only for our ability to use it to point to the future. It certainly tells us that it was wrong to reopen the country to such a degree before Christmas.
But hindsight also tells us that the bulk of the nation wanted an easing of Covid-19 restrictions for Christmas. If you look back on early December you will find a preponderance of criticism which was about failures to open up more and earlier because the people were weary.
The value of that hindsight for us now is to know that, with our health services close to breaking point, we cannot afford another early lifting of
Covid-19 restrictions, even if as is hoped, the downward trend in new cases continues in the coming weeks. The people are even more weary now – but the virus is very far from weary and impervious to our sentiments or morale.
As winter’s icy grip continues to hold us, it is hard to discern too many clear positives. But one positive is that, bar some specific and targeted criticisms, our opposition politicians have so far refrained from trying to court popularity by attacking the Government and its health advisers.
It is reasonable to assume that this level of measured opposition comes from an assessment by more canny opposition politicians that courting short-term popularity over Covid-19 is a dangerous game full of risks that it would rebound to considerable long-term disadvantage. In short there is a strong likelihood that going that route could make a politician and his or her party look rather cheap.
All of us must simply trust that this Covid-19 crux, and its potentially lethal consequences, will in fullness of time also pass on. Meanwhile, all of us need to keep on keeping on, grit our teeth from time to time, and find what positives we can as the daylight lengthens and we take advantage of the open spaces.
People are weary – but the virus is not