Brian steps in

P

Purple

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So Brian’s steering the ship now.
Any opinions on how he will do?






(Does 'BIFFO' breach the posting guidelines? )
 
Not sure how he'll do but noticed he's a left-hander when he was signing at the Áras. ( as is Bertie by the way ) Lots of lefties can often do well due to their perceived differences in task management & multi-tasking abilities over right-handed people. Whether this helps his future political success, only time will tell.
 
I'd rather have him than Bertie anyway.

He does seem capable and appears to have a no nonsense personality which is a good thing IMO. Other than that, difficult to say where specific strengths lie.
 
Quote from today's Irish Times:

"The ultimate test of our progress will be the extent to which we can mobilise all of the people to think and behave in a manner that puts the interests of society as a whole ahead of their own private interest"

Looks like he's a socialist just like de Bert...
 
Purple said:
So Brian’s steering the ship now.
Any opinions on how he will do?
Click to expand...
Well his first act was to rearrange the deck chairs. Methinks he won't make much difference; although I hope I'm wrong as there are many many problems which need to be addressed; they're not intractable either, he'd need to apply determination, imagination and common sense. He brought in three(?) budgets, turning the screw on 'individualisation' each time, which IMHO is not consistent with his Times' quote above.
 
"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask rather what you can do for your country" - JFK
Does that mean that he was a socialist too?
 
Purple said:
"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask rather what you can do for your country" - JFK
Does that mean that he was a socialist too?
Click to expand...

No, although I don't like it when the collective is praised above the individual.

I get nervous when I see a politician talking about 'mobilising' people to 'behave' in a way that benefits 'society as a whole' - that way lies increasing incursion into personal freedoms and ultimately removes personal choice, replacing it with a 'state knows best' policy. Who is Brian Cowen to tell me what is in the interests of 'society as a whole'? What makes him so qualified to decide that?
 
In a general sense I share your concerns but not in this context. I think a bit more national pride and a bit less selfishness would be a good thing in Ireland.
Sherman said:
Who is Brian Cowen to tell me what is in the interests of 'society as a whole'? What makes him so qualified to decide that?
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Leader of the country?
 
I was very unimpressed with Brians handling of stamp duty and FTBs in late 2006/ early 2007. He stood at the budget and said there would be no changes for FTBs and then four months later annouced it was being scrapped. I understand that the decision was not his alone but was made largely because of the upcoming election but I felt some sort of backdating or concession to those who purchased in this period should have been made.
 
yeah, and look how things have deteriorated during his watch as minister. He has a lot to answer for
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People keep talking about how bad things are, but has it really deteriorated? I mean are we not in a really great position in terms of how far we have come as a nation, I read in a post earlier something like this 'and we wonder why other nations laugh at us' i thought this attitude was dead, we are not under dogs any more and the poor mouth doesn't suit us either.
 
MrMan said:
People keep talking about how bad things are, but has it really deteriorated?
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Yes, public finances have really detiorated over his short few years as minister for finance. Our inflation is much higher than EC average, govt receipts etc from stamp duty etc have fallen sharply and the average family has less disposable income. Our hospitals, schools, commuting times etc are nothing to be proud of, despite all the EC handouts we got. Remember what the German ambassador had to say about Ireland in his speech some months ago?
 
Leader of the country?
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I hate this term.

How about 'Person in charge of the assumed government of the country'? - Not as snappy, but maybe more accurate.
 
Fair play to BIFFO for having the brains to get rid of Tom Kitt. Pity he didn't do the same for Cullen.
 
leghorn said:
I hate this term.

How about 'Person in charge of the assumed government of the country'? - Not as snappy, but maybe more accurate.
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Assumed ? Don't you mean democratically elected ?


And 'person in charge' is probably less accurate than 'leader'.
 
Pique318 said:
Assumed ? Don't you mean democratically elected ?


And 'person in charge' is probably less accurate than 'leader'.
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I think 'delegate' is more accurate than 'leader'. We, the people, delegate our powers to our chosen representatives to exercise executive powers on our behalf.
 
Complainer said:
Fair play to BIFFO for having the brains to get rid of Tom Kitt. Pity he didn't do the same for Cullen.
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I agree that Tom Kitt is a bit of a light-weight. Nice man and good local TD that he is I don't think he's front bench material.
His FF colleague in Dublin South, Seamus Brennan will be missed.
I have the utmost respect for him for a number of reasons, not least of which is his integrity and how he never played ball with CJH, despite the huge damage that did to his career. He was, for the most part, an excellent minister, a hard working TD and, from what I hear, continues to be an honest and utterly decent person. Very few in politics, and Fianna Fail in particular, would live up to his standards.
I have had no personal dealings with him but those that I know who have has personal dealings with him have only good things to say about him.
 
I think Bertie had more to do with the financial incontinence that Brian. Bertie was a total populist; I hope Brian will do what needs to be done.
 
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