Peter Mathews: "I am better than Noonan"

[Gekko]

Richard Bruton is a research economist by profession. He was educated in Oxford university. He worked in the private sector before going into politics. His thesis was done on the subject of Irish National Debt

I don't remember him proclaiming himself to the saviour of the Country and better than the sitting Minister of Finance.

Maybe he should be.

There's a banking expert stuck on the backbenches and an Oxford educated research economist somewhat marginalised because of his failed leadership heave. Meanwhile a teacher rules the roost in the Department of Finance.

The gombeenism and cronyism that has brought this country to its knees.

 

[Sunny]

Maybe he should be.

There's a banking expert stuck on the backbenches and an Oxford educated research economist somewhat marginalised because of his failed leadership heave. Meanwhile a teacher rules the roost in the Department of Finance.

The gombeenism and cronyism that has brought this country to its knees.

I agree with you to a certain extent. I am willing to bet though that Peter Matthews in the bankbenches is completely different to Peter Matthews the Minister when he has to put into practice what he thinks. FG and Labour were shouting about NAMA and bank lending etc while in opposition and yet have changed nothing since they got into power. Matthews is playing opposition politics from the Governments backbench.

 

[DrMoriarty]

So you're acknowledging that he appears to have played the market well and criticising him for it?

Serving as the nation's Minister for Finance is about a bit more than just brokering sharp deals and looking after your cronies.

Oh no, hang on a moment...

 

[onq]

So you're acknowledging that he appears to have played the market well and criticising him for it?

Very odd.

I'm saying I don't trust the motives of this past poacher and would be gamekeeper.

I also didn't make any assumptions about how well he did what he did.

Not odd at all.

ONQ.

 

[onq]

Maybe he should be.

There's a banking expert stuck on the backbenches and an Oxford educated research economist somewhat marginalised because of his failed leadership heave. Meanwhile a teacher rules the roost in the Department of Finance.

The gombeenism and cronyism that has brought this country to its knees.

Corruption, greed and incompetence brought this country to its knees.

Competence at riding the Tiger in property when times were good has no bearing on managing our troubled economy now.

Qualifications and experience in providing advice to developers in easy trading conditions doesn't translate into job generation and supporting entrepreneurs in difficult trading conditions with dysfunctional banks who have sucked capital into themselves and refuse to lend.

ONQ.

 

[Gekko]

Corruption, greed and incompetence brought this country to its knees.

Competence at riding the Tiger in property when times were good has no bearing on managing our troubled economy now.

Qualifications and experience in providing advice to developers in easy trading conditions doesn't translate into job generation and supporting entrepreneurs in difficult trading conditions with dysfunctional banks who have sucked capital into themselves and refuse to lend.

ONQ.

I disagree.

You pointed out that the guy made money for clients during the good times and got clients out before the crash came. That's a green tick on his copybook. Add to that his banking experience and professional qualifications and we're looking at one of the most capable and commercially experienced individuals in the Dail. The fact that he's stuck making speeches to teachers and social workers about economic policy is a sad indictment of our political system where gombeenery is the name of the game.

FG/Labour is just more of the same spoof. Why haven't experts been parachuted into cabinet via the Seanad? Because gombeens have to rewarded for mickey mouse electoral success in their local parishes.

A joke.

 

[Complainer]

Peter Mathews should be the Minister for Finance. He's a chartered accountant and banking expert. But sure this is Ireland...let's give the job to a teacher!

Running the Dept Finance has little enough to do with accountancy or banking. It is about running an economy. We've had our fill of accountants who don't know the difference between an economy and a business. We don't need more of them.

It might have been handy to have a banker or two around in Sept 2008, but that ship has sailed.

 

[onq]

I disagree.

You pointed out that the guy made money for clients during the good times and got clients out before the crash came. That's a green tick on his copybook.

No it isn't - see comment below

(Mathews promotional material snipped)

FG/Labour is just more of the same spoof. Why haven't experts been parachuted into cabinet via the Seanad? Because gombeens have to rewarded for mickey mouse electoral success in their local parishes.

A joke.

I agree with you.
Incompetence in the face of Economic Armageddon is a joke.
And we've seen enough money wasted on "experts" by the last three governments.

However, I fail to see how someone like Mathews - skilled at borrowing money to make investments on a rising economy - can in any way claim to be skilled or competent to advise on how best the manage a situation where banks aren't lending and the domestic economy is stagnant.

Perhaps Mathews day will come again, but on the face of it, it looks like today isn't his day.

In the interim, I see no reason why Mathews has chosen to puff and bluster in an attempt to parlay what little he may have to offer in the way of relevant advice into a ministerial position.
If Mathews genuinely wants to contribute to the recovery of the Irish economy and has meaningful comments to offer, let him do so now for the good of the electorate by submitting a paper to the cabinet on how best to move matters forward.

Savvy politicians do all that behind the scenes in the ministerial appointments race.
Mathews didn't get a place on the podium and now he's trying to embarrass the government into offering his a ministry on the grounds of competent, qualifications and experience?
That's not how its done - that's how you get cast into the wilderness for the life of a government.

But let's look at it from another perspective taking the above into account.
If Mathews is genuinely competent OTOH and knows where his current unwise course will end up it does give one pause for thought.
Does Mathews see this current government failing so spectacularly in the medium term that he wants to ride in from the back bench wilderness like a white knight to the rescue?

Is all his financial acumen telling him Ireland is a failed cause - what a downer!
But if he thinks that just because he uttered a few comments about his abilities and didn't get a ministry on 2011 he'll escape the wrack in 2013 - should it occur - I fear he's gravely mistaken.

ONQ.

 

[Gekko]

You seem to be missing the point. He made money for clients as the bubble inflated. That's what any sensible and rational person should do. The salient point is that he saw the bust coming and got his clients out before the crash. That gives him credibility. He's not just another Morgan Kelly or David McWilliams saying "I told you so". Real money appears to have been made.

I also believe you are too easily dismissing his experience of working out bad loans (for example).

This is a very odd discussion in that people are disputing whether the man is entitled to be called a banking expert (despite his obvious experience in the area). The alternatives in government and the Dail are largely teachers, low level civil servants and gombeens. Even if we concede that he's not a "banking expert", he still has 100 times more commercial and real world experience than the majority of our elected representatives.

 

[tvman]

You seem to be missing the point. He made money for clients as the bubble inflated. That's what any sensible and rational person should do. The salient point is that he saw the bust coming and got his clients out before the crash. That gives him credibility. He's not just another Morgan Kelly or David McWilliams saying "I told you so". Real money appears to have been made.

I also believe you are too easily dismissing his experience of working out bad loans (for example).

This is a very odd discussion in that people are disputing whether the man is entitled to be called a banking expert (despite his obvious experience in the area). The alternatives in government and the Dail are largely teachers, low level civil servants and gombeens. Even if we concede that he's not a "banking expert", he still has 100 times more commercial and real world experience than the majority of our elected representatives.

Is all this based on his blog entries - or do you have some independent evidence. It's very easy to make vague statements about the direction of your private advice years after the fact. It's also easy to puff up your role in a company decades after the fact. As someone who worked in the sector of the FS industry Matthews claims to be expert in he strikes me as a blustering blowhard.