Yesterday Fine Gael hastily cancelled a press conference in which they were going to put forward the first anniversary of their term in goverment with a celebration of sorts. Then Labour Party minister Pat Rabbitte came on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland and called his coalition partner’s event “silly” and Taoiseach Enda Kenny, who was listening to Rabbitte as he was having his cornflakes, called the whole event off.
The debacle reminded me a bit of a mishap on BBC radio during the Second World War in which the King of Norway, Haakon II, was to give an address to his country, which had just been occupied by Germany with the help of the traitor Vidkun Quisling. The BBC director told staff to introduce King Haakon with suitably solemn music or perhaps a fanfare. So they sent down to the sound library with a request for a recording of a fanfare – you know the kind of thing, trumpets and drums. Unfortunately there was a slip of the pen or tongue between the studio and sound library and they were sent back a recording of a funfair by mistake. Even more unfortunately, nobody bothered to check that the right recording had been sent. So as the King of Norway cleared his throat and prepared to address his beleagured nation the drum roll began, followed by “Roll up, roll up, join the fun of the fair” accompanied with roaring elephants, tigers and whimsical sounds of clowns, monkeys and laughter.
At least some anonymous sound engineer at the BBC could be blamed for what happened King Haakon’s address to the nation, but the Fine Gael non-event of yesterday can only be blamed on the Fine Gael handlers, including the advisors whom the Irish taxpayers are paying handsomely. So as Labour and Fine Gael try to put a gaudy gloss on their first year in office, optics and charades continue to take the place of action as the new government begins to look more and more like the old.
The Daily Staple 