‘Golden circle’ allegations cause sparks to fly

POLITICS is a bitter business at the best of times. Even by those standards, though, the current spat between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael has increased the mutual animosity between the two parties by several levels.

The exchanges show a Government under strain and an opposition party attempting to finish it off.

The scandals at Anglo Irish Bank — and in particular, a statement from Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny — are at the centre of the spat.

On Tuesday night, shortly after Taoiseach Brian Cowen told the Dáil he did not know the identities of the so-called “golden circle” of investors who had been given e300 million by Anglo to buy shares in the bank, Mr Kenny’s press office issued the statement.

Headlined “Cowen still refusing to answer key questions on Anglo”, it went on to list the issues on which Fine Gael wanted clarity.

And it was the following sentence in the statement which caused sparks to fly.

“At every stage of the Anglo debacle to date, the Taoiseach has been slow to reveal the inner workings of what was a grossly dysfunctional financial institution and has continually attempted to protect high-level officials within the bank. It is time he came clean.”

Fianna Fáil was positively apoplectic at the suggestion that the Taoiseach was defending “high-level officials” within Anglo. Mr Cowen himself made clear his annoyance on Wednesday morning in the Dáil, accusing Mr Kenny of impugning his personal integrity.

When Fine Gael continued its line of questioning about the golden circle and the possibility of links to the cabinet, Mr Cowen let fly. A “juvenile conspiracy theory”, a “political slur” and “smear”, and so on. Mr Kenny shot back, saying he had never impugned the Taoiseach’s integrity, but persisting with his questioning about the Anglo issue.

The row continued yesterday as Defence Minister Willie O’Dea and Fine Gael frontbencher Phil Hogan battled it out on the national airwaves. The level of venom is particularly marked, but easy to understand. Fine Gael believes any link between ministers and the golden circle could bring down the Government, as the Greens have already intimated such a development could cause them to reconsider their support for Fianna Fáil. But the “links” would have to be very strong. After all, it would be unusual if a cadre of wealthy investors in the country’s third biggest bank didn’t have some connections to the party that has been in government for more than a decade.

There would have to be some evidence of wrongdoing by a minister or ministers, and at this point in time, there is nothing to suggest that.