Gilmore & Burton - A comedy Act

Date: 11/10/2010
Posted by: Darragh

EAMON GILMORE & JOAN BURTON - THE ‘PAUL DANIELS & DEBBIE MCGEE OF IRISH POLITICS'

With no tax increases and no cuts, Labour response to deficit 'must be magic'

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore and Joan Burton have confirmed their position as the Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee of Irish politics, following Eamon Gilmore's latest interview with the Evening Herald.

Eamon Gilmore has rightly developed a reputation for not coming clean about his real policy agenda, but his interview with the Evening Herald, presumably with the approval of would-be Minister for Finance Burton, marks a new low. Challenged on how he would live up to his commitment to tackle the deficit, he has once again refused to be specific, except now he claims to be able to do it without raising taxes, without cuts to social welfare, without a property tax and without affecting middle income earners. As Paul Daniels himself might say, 'it's magic!'

It appears that no matter how serious a situation the country finds itself in, the Labour Party's new popularity is their first priority. Nothing will be allowed to jeopardise that! Mr Gilmore appears to have decided that the Irish people don't deserve honesty about how to tackle the deficit and secure the country's future, instead presenting them with meaningless slogans.

Mr. Gilmore talks about responsible Government but he refuses time and again to commit himself to anything that may dent his popularity. The Labour Party got it wrong on the banks and would have cost the taxpayer up to €10bn more if they had been in office for the last two years. We must move away from the constant electioneering that the opposition are engaged in. It is party politics in place of real civic leadership and does nothing to help the country back to growth.

The more we see of Eamon Gilmore and his fantasy economics, the harder it is to shake the feeling that the only reason he shouts louder and louder for an election each day is that he fears deep down that as this Government returns the economy to growth, the massive policy vacuum at the heart of the Eamon Gilmore project will be found out.

This Government is positive about Ireland's future. Yes we face a tough budget and a tough couple of years ahead but the talent, creativity, ambition and resilience that built this country hasn't changed. We are right to be hopeful for our future prospects and this is borne out in the economic data available. We're in serious times and we need people who are serious about fixing our problems - Gilmore's latest contribution proves that media stardom has its place, but it's not a credible answer to Ireland's problems.