Although I wouldn’t place all the blame on dear Taoiseach Cowen for the mess Ireland’s currently in – Bertie “Teflon” Ahern wins that honour – I wasn’t impressed by the draconian action taken by the government following a satirical prank played on the Taoiseach. Conor Casby, a Dublin school-teacher, was the mastermind behind a (half-)nude portrait of Brian Cowen, stealthily placed on display in the National Gallery on 7 March. RTÉ saw the opportunity and made a comical report on the prank.

The real news, however, was the sudden disappearance of their report from RTÉ’s website and the subsequent events. All the machinery of the state had suddenly sprung into action to defend the Taoiseach against the evil powers. According to the Sunday Tribune:

• The government press officer Eoghan Ó Neachtain was infuriated by the tone of the piece. He placed a direct call to RTÉ director general Cathal Goan… ( – which seems to have resulted in the RTÉ apology. )
• by Tuesday, Fianna Fáil TD Michael Kennedy was calling on RTÉ ’s director general to “consider his position”, while the national broadcaster made arrangements to broadcast its apology…
• plainclothes detective arrived at the studios of Today FM on Tuesday morning. He demanded access to the station’s email system and told the programme’s producer Will Hanafin that “the powers that be want action taken”…
• [Casby] was finally under real investigation on suspicion of three offences, namely: incitement, indecency and criminal damage [for hammering a nail into the wall of the National Gallery].

It really does seem like excessive government interference. If they are willing to take a heavy hand against something as trivial as that, then what hope is there for freedom of the press in Ireland? RTÉ was (IMHO) forced by the Taoiseach to retract the report and issue an apology:

“RTÉ news would like to apologise for any personal offence caused to Mr Cowen or his family, or for any disrespect shown to the Office of the Taoiseach by our broadcast”

Personal offence? Possibly – but haven’t politicians and other public figures been fair game for non-slanderous parody and satire by the formerly stifled press since Ireland threw off the shackles Charles Haughey and the Catholic Church and joined the ranks of modern Europe? Offence to the family? I don’t see how. Disrespect to the Office of Taoiseach? His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Cowen’s reaction to the prank unnervingly echoes the story of poor Australian writer, Harry Nicolaides, who was thrown in jail for 3 years in Thailand for insulting the Thai monarchy.

In the portrait, Cowen appears in all his glory parading the uniform Fianna Fáil delegates have been sporting during the bubble years. The only problem is that the crisis has unmasked bubble Ireland for what it is. A small child cries out that the emperor has no clothes on, and everybody suddenly emerges from their denial and property-inspired, taboo-enforced hysteria. The cold, unforgiving light of day lays bare the deficient, short-sighted leadership of Ireland.

I only wish the portrait had been of Bertie Ahern, although perhaps the visual impact wouldn’t have been quite the same   Thanks to his bashfulness, Cowen has been caught with his pants down – twice. Hands off, Cowen!

So, in the interest of freedom of the press (and with thanks to Damien Mulley for the YouTube upload) , enjoy:

Ireland Inc. has begun to resemble a giant pyramid scheme even more than usual recently. The Sunday Tribune reports that “AIB, the country’s largest bank, has revealed for the first time it has hugely increased its take-up of Irish government debt” Is it just me, or does anyone else consider it more than a little strange that a nation state should now rely on a bank that it bailed out to provide it with funds? (more…)

It is perfectly understandable that the public should be furious at the continued payment of bonuses to high-earning investment bankers and financial traders while the taxpayer is being called upon to rescue their banks. Well, finally, action is being taken. Several European countries have imposed caps on bank executive pay. In the United States, on Thursday, the House of Representatives approved a bill that would impose 90 per cent tax on bonuses to employees whose gross income exceeded $250,000 at bailed-out firms.

Astonishingly, investment bankers now seem to be braving the waters of public fury by striking back at limits imposed on their earnings according to an article in the Financial Times. (more…)

As Obamamania took hold during the early days of his presidency (and even before), the US electorate seemed to be relatively satisfied with the all-guns-blazing approach to tackling the crisis. As he is not George W Bush, we are not, thankfully, talking about Iraq

The media in the US seems rather unaware of how mixed the responses to the crisis are in the rest of the world. China announced strong measures which were subsequently understood to be a re-packaging exercise of already budgeted spending. Germany, the economic core of the European Union, has taken a rather conservative approach. France, keen to protect its national champions, offered capital injections to avoid some significant likely bankruptcies. Spain is currently debating whether to significantly increase its budget deficit to stimulate its economy and draw the wrath of the European Commission in the process.
(more…)

“Tax fugatives” is an expression that is used with fervour by exited commentators when arguing about people who take advantage of tax havens. Well, I would like to add another nominee for that definition – landlords who do not declare rental income or pay stamp duty on the purchase of their investment property. (more…)

Although Fianna Fáil government and their voters (along with the government-appointed Financial Regulator) deserve the blame for the financial crisis in Ireland, I must reluctantly admit that Fianna Fáil are probably the best choice to tackle the critical problems now faced by the state. Their determination to push through the pensions levy was needed in the face of fierce opposition. It is unlikely that another party would be prepared to take the necessary action without a strong mandate from the electorate. (more…)