Making predictions about the world a year from now is a risky game, so here are mine
One of the less endearing characteristics of professional political commentators is their caution against being proven wrong in the future. The result, frequently, is bet-hedging, vagueness in editorial style, a blend of the lofty, vacuous and the ambiguous. As a counterpoint, I pose the question as to where we will be in one year’s time. […]
Loyalists who burn people out of their homes are firebombing their own political futures
Reflecting on the odious communal violence in Northern Ireland over the last fortnight, the first thing that comes to mind is that burning innocent people out of their homes is not new. Nor is the sight of a family’s possessions being destroyed in a sea of flames as they are bundled into the back of police vans […]
A referendum to expand the size of the cabinet would just look like ‘jobs for the boys’
Taoiseach Micheál Martin recently floated holding a referendum to amend the Constitution to increase the number of members of government. Article 28 provides as follows: “The Government shall consist of not less than seven and not more than fifteen members who shall be appointed by the President in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.” As somebody […]
The US will face a reckoning one day. In the meantime, Trump just gets more volatile
What happens in the United States often feels more like a bad dream come true than the outcome of democratic politics. If, say, 10 years ago someone suggested that a US president would one day sue the Internal Revenue Service for $10 billion (€8.6 billion) and direct his own state lawyers to settle his suit by creating […]
Post bye-election squabble among left-wing parties does not inspire confidence for future
As the dust settles on last week’s two bye-elections, perhaps it is time to reflect on their outcome. Claims by some so-called left-wing parties that the results were affected by the policies of Sinn Féin need some critical analysis. First, we should remember that the voters were not choosing a government or even mapping out the shape […]
Trump accuses his opponents of treason. But it’s clear who the real traitor is
The visit by Donald Trump, the American idiot king, to Beijing for a summit with President Xi ended in apparent failure and toe-curling abasement of the United States. Trump, in an absurd riff, suggested that this diplomatic fiasco was the “greatest summit ever” and a summit of the type that observers had “never seen before”. […]