Braced for another f lop in 2016

MANY of you will have noticed that since the Troika departed a year ago, ministers have been behaving like over-promoted incompetents unfit to run a bingo hall, never mind a sovereign nation.

If the 1916 rebels had known the kind of leaders that would follow them almost 100 years later, they might have avoided a trip to the post office that Easter and headed to the pub instead.

As it happens, the commemoration of 1916 in less than 18 months’ time looks likely to be the next thing the Government makes a mess of.

The video that launched the celebrations was notable for its lack of mentions of the Rising, and instead seemed focused on packing in shots of celebrities such as Bono, Queen Elizabeth and Bob Geldof, only two of whom had relatives in the GPO during the rebellion. In fairness to the organisers, Geldof is one name that comes irresistibly to mind when you’re thinking of distressed, badly governed countries but even so, the tone of the video suggests that the Government sees Easter 2016 as Part 2 of The Gathering.

It needs to be more than that. It should be a chance for the country to have a proper debate about who and what we have become and how to avoid repeating some of the mistakes of the past 100 years. The Government U-turned spectacularly on water charges last week. It should now go back to the drawing board on the 1916 celebrations, too.