Public reaction to radio performance bombards airwaves

LIKE the Taoiseach himself, the defence was slow to get going but by the end of a very long day for Brian Cowen his supporters had finally found their voice.

Initial public reaction to Mr Cowen’s interview on Morning Ireland was overwhelmingly negative with listeners bombarding radio stations with texts and emails expressing disgust, dismay and disappointment with his demeanour after his late night party at the Fianna Fáil annual gathering in Galway.

Some of the tone may have been set by radio presenters themselves as RTÉ’s big names all gave the subject a lash. Pat Kenny opened his discussion on the issue by describing the Taoiseach’s performance as “less than convincing” while Ryan Tubridy said somebody needed to get him some Berocca or strong coffee.

John Murray played a clip of a crowd wailing, saying it represented Fianna Fáil backbenchers considering their re-election prospects. On Newstalk, Damien Kiberd said Mr Cowen was “less than sharp-sounding” while on Today FM, Matt Cooper described him as “sounding a bit rough”.

Listeners responded in kind, many contrasting their own straitened financial circumstances with the extravagance on display at the bar in the Ardilaun Hotel or expressing anger that the Taoiseach would treat his job with apparent disrespect when so many others were desperately struggling to hold on to their own jobs.

The occasional comment defended the Taoiseach’s right to let his hair down given the pressure he is under, or dismissing suggestions that his performance was due to anything other than sinus problems or not being a morning person.

On the Taoiseach’s local station, Midlands 103 FM, however, there was a more balanced reaction and many of those who criticised him concentrated on the wisdom of Mr Cowen agreeing to the interview rather than on the appropriateness of his behaviour the night before.

“There has been a more mixed response here but that’s to be expected. The Taoiseach is very much one of our own and people would be well used to seeing him around socialising at weekends when he is home in the constituency so they have a more relaxed attitude to it,” said station reporter, Liam Dumbleton.

By afternoon, the tide was turning somewhat. Joe Duffy’s Liveline show was taken up completely with the issue and there were numerous contributions from listeners strongly defending the Taoiseach’s right to socialise.

Supporters also said too much attention was being paid to the way Mr Cowen sounded and not enough on what he said, and some praised the fact that he had gone on air in his raw state without spin-doctors to prepare him.

On the Politics.ie website, however, the vast majority of the hundreds of comments left throughout the day were critical of the Taoiseach. One said: “Today’s a good day to get him to sign off on stuff because I doubt he’ll remember.”