Heads down time for our top three politicos
Unless one is a supporter of Waterford hurling, the mood of most people is quite downbeat after dreadful summer weather, and a constant stream of bad news on the economy.
It will take our politicians a little bit longer to return to do what we pay them to do, but the sooner they return and put their heads together to address the challenges facing the economy, the better.
The economic backdrop is obviously a challenging one. The housing market is still lacking any real semblance of life, job losses are mounting across an increasingly wide range of sectors, and business and consumer confidence levels are still low, notwithstanding some modest recovery in consumer confidence in August.
Many publicly quoted Irish companies are finding the going pretty tough, with Aer Lingus and McInerney both reporting fairly awful results this week. The reality is that many other companies are experiencing very challenging trading conditions.
There are some relatively positive developments also taking place. Oil prices have come off the horrendous highs of a few months back, the euro has lost almost 10% of its value against the dollar and the interest rate prognosis is getting gradually better, although the ECB will have to be dragged screaming into any consideration of lower interest rates.
For Government, the immediate challenge is to try and get the wage negotiations back on track in a rational way, but the much bigger issue is obviously the rapid deterioration in public finances over the past year.
Obviously what is needed more than anything else is strong political leadership.
Anecdotally there is a strong sense out there that the three most important economic players in the Government — the two Brians and Mary from Donegal — are not exactly providing that leadership.
This interpretation may be a bit harsh, as they are not in situ very long, but they will now need to stand up and be counted.
Back in 2002 the three heavyweights in Government — Bertie, Charlie McCreevy and Mary Harney — commanded considerable belief and respect, and this engendered a certain level of confidence amongst business leaders and the electorate that sensible corrective action would be taken. That sense is just not there at the moment.
There would now appear to be a bit of a political and policy vacuum in the country. This is creating a situation where all sorts of pressure groups are making suggestions, some of which could prove disastrous in the longer-term.
The notion that Government might take over some semi-state pension funds looks absolutely daft.
The problem is that when a vacuum is created undesirable forces are prone to step in and fill the void. This cannot be allowed happen.
The three politicians who control the economic levers must now take wise counsel and ensure that any measures taken will have a positive long-term impact on the economy.
The Minister for Finance, in particular, needs to stand up and clarify his take on the economy and what he intends doing to steer the country through these choppier waters.
There is no requirement to panic as the economy is just going through a painful adjustment that will pass — provided sensible corrective measures are taken.
The immediate priorities must be to cut out all wasteful public spending permanently and control pay. The rest should be easy. Stand up and lead or lie down and be devoured — that is the choice.
