Boyle’s tweet and run sparks rumour in foreign press

A TWEET by Green Party senator Dan Boyle complaining that it’s “difficult” to be in government at this time, lead to international headlines that the Irish Government was cracking.

As the country edged closer to a bailout, the finance spokesperson of the junior coalition partner wrote on his twitter site yesterday morning: “There is a questioning of trust and an adding to uncertainty that is making the basis for being in Government much more difficult.”

Mr Boyle’s tweet, at about 10am, immediately sparked international reports that the coalition was shaky, with the British Guardian newspaper asking “Can Brian Cowen’s coalition survive this crisis?”

The newspaper’s website interpreted the tweet as meaning that “the visit by an IMF/EU delegation to Ireland undermines the arguments for staying in government”.

It was another case of “tweet and run” for Mr Boyle, who is known for sending out statements on twitter and then refusing to explain them afterwards. Mr Boyle could not be contacted by telephone yesterday.

But using the same social network medium, he later attempted to row back on his comments, saying it referred to the public perception of the Greens being in government.

“My Seanad quote is about my understanding and belief of where public perception stands at this time. We need to see what is being proposed,” he tweeted two hours after the first tweet.