We must ease the Coronavirus lockdown
A few weeks ago, I suggested here that Trump’s opponents needed to be careful in taking a stand against the ending of the lock-down because it is important for leaders to nurture hope and to be seen to be planning a way out of the current crisis. Trump’s encouragement of the anti-shutdown protests well illustrates […]
The US is led by an emotional and moral monster in Trump
Trump’s hysterical onslaught on the American media is rising to new heights, as Monday’s so-called press briefing in the White House demonstrated. His vicious personal responses to fairly innocuous but predictable questions reveal the true nature of the man. And there is one word – a word beloved by Trump himself – to describe his […]
New Seanad can pass legislation without incoming Taoiseach’s nominees
It has been suggested that the Oireachtas cannot legislate at the moment because the Seanad has yet to be “fully constituted” pending the nomination of 11 members by the Taoiseach appointed by the Dail after the General Election. The argument seems to be that the Seanad cannot lawfully be convened unless and until the 11 […]
Government in the public interest is needed now while financial chaos causes human suffering
Only time will tell whether the Goverment’s relief package including the wage subsidy will be effective in saving a broad range of enterprises from financial collapse in the coming weeks. Because it was emergency legislation, it was rushed. It leaves a lot of unanswered questions. The Act as passed seems to prohibit any subsidy in […]
Leaders need to nurture hope and solidarity during Covid-19
Watching the public pronouncements of Donald Trump in the face of the Corona virus crisis, I have to confess that a part of me is hoping that the crisis will at last awaken the great majority of Americans to the reality that they are led by a brutish egomaniac driven only by considerations of electoral […]
Five-year national programme needed in new reality of Covid-19
Just as we thought that the general election had created a perfect political storm in which no combination of two of the three largest parties could form a government unaided, we now have a national crisis superimposed on the political crisis. As crises go, the common coinage of politics right through the election campaign was […]