Woeful winter may be season to be jolly for SF
Republican politics changed dramatically between the recessions, and the armed struggle has now given way to the charm struggle. Hence, an incredibly awkward-looking Gerry Adams snuggling up to a voter-friendly Father Christmas at the gates of Leinster House.
Mr Adams has never scored very highly in the “Ho, ho, ho” department, so a party activist volunteered to don the outfit for the photo-stunt.
At least hard-line republicans could take comfort in the knowledge that Santa was always depicted in radical green until Coca-Cola got their hands on him in the 1930s and made the jolly old fella their corporate stooge.
Surely that deplorable de-greening of Mr Christmas is explanation enough for Sinn Féin’s economic policies, which were seen as so anti-business in the 2007 general election that the party squandered its long- expected breakthrough and ended up losing seats.
As republican mathematics means that 26 plus 6 always equals one, voters didn’t trust Sinn Féin numbers and decided to put another punt on Fianna Fáil’s feelgood promises of the endless boom bubble.
But that boom soon exploded in the electorate’s faces and suddenly bashing big business and bankers is all the rage again.
Which is why we caught Gerry hugging Santa Claus underneath the recessionary glow last night.
It was the day political panto came to the Dáil stage, with Brian Cowen picture-perfect in the role of the ultimate baddie, Baron Hard-Up.
He and Brian Lenihan also doubled as the Ugly Misters intent on ruining everyone’s Christmas as they desperately dive into the pockets of the poor to try and pay off the massive €26bn state deficit the pair have run up in two panic budgets.
The Fianna Fáilers looked a forlorn, beaten bunch as they hunched together on the Government benches during Leader’s Questions.
If they wondered where their future was, Labour leader Eamon Gilmore was soon on hand to play that essential panto role and shout: “It’s behind you!” as he lashed into them for abolishing the Christmas bonus for those on welfare.
Even when the country was going down the plug hole in the 1980s, ministers were always able to bung the poor a few quid to get them through Christmas, but not so this time around – though, as Fine Gael’s Enda Kenny pointed out with unusual precision, they still had billions to stuff into the stockings of Anglo Irish Bank and all the others.
Not so much robbing Peter to pay Paul, as robbing pensioner to pay plutocratic fat cat.
The Taoiseach was taking it from all sides as he defended cutting children’s allowance and snatching back the Christmas welfare presents with all the aplomb of Scrooge on roller skates trying to stay upright on a melting ice rink. It wasn’t pretty.
Mr Cowen, so desperate to wrap himself in the tiniest piece of thread-bare, the Government leaked the pre-budget estimates.
And it’s one hell of a sorry day when the only good news you have to spin is that the economy is going to crash by slightly less than you expected next year, and unemployment will “only” hit some 480,000 people, rather than 550,000.
The economic slump may induce Mr Adams, his mate Santa and the growing army of voters at the margins of society to conclude that Sinn Féin’s day has indeed come at last.
Especially, as Mr Cowen’s cutbacks have ensured that with the withdrawal of the lifeline yuletide bonus, the pensioners, lone parents and welfare victims of the crash now know their own Christmas Day will not come at all.
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