Cork's DanBo Saves Dublin Government

24th Feb 2010

Cork's DanBo Saves Dublin Government

Keep the glasses on Danbo

Dan Boyle can take significant credit for restoring at least a modicum of respectability to the Dublin government. The Corkonian was the only one to keep his head up when The Green Party bowed down to the waffelology of former Minister Willie O'Dea who resigned last week.

For some reason, when Fianna Fail's immorality is exposed people look to The Greens to issue moral guidance to their government partners. It says a lot about Ireland that Fianna Fáil are not expected to have their own moral conscience.

Like an embarrassed mother of an unruly child in the playground The Greens are presented with an unpalatable choice: spank the child and risk losing their parenthood or do nothing and enrage those affected by the child's ludicrous behaviour.

Nowadays the electorate are intelligent and well educated and the gleeful spanking of Fianna Fáil will be done sooner or later but when the public suspect a fudge like Wille's pathetic explanation for his behaviour they're not going to be convinced by any ah-poor-me spin.

DanBo might be lacking punch at the cabinet table but at least his sense of integrity, or at least impropriety in office, appears relatively intact.

It is expected that The Greens will be wiped out at the next election but in Cork at least, at a time when trust of the political machine is at an all time low, they shouldn't underestimate the public's appreciation of political morality.