Politicians have proved unwilling to share the pain

THE mere mention of pay or expenses is enough to set many politicians’ teeth on edge. Ministers, TDs and senators get deeply irritated at the suggestion that they are overpaid and pampered. They frequently grumble about the attention the media gives to the issue. And yet, they are their own worst enemies in many ways.

For roughly a year now, politicians on both Government and opposition sides have been saying the public doesn’t understand just how dire the country’s economic plight is. This charge is usually made when the politicians in question are arguing the case for public sector pay cuts, or the need for increased competitiveness [code for private sector pay cuts]. The politicians say everybody has to share the pain.

Yet if politicians wanted the public to accept pain in terms of pay cuts, they should have led by example. But in that regard, they failed badly.