‘Doing a Hogan’ on the treaty campaign

It was hardly the best omen for a yes campaign that has already got off to a shaky start when the “Stability Treaty” placard proved so unstable it toppled over in the light breeze.

As the Taoiseach and Tánaiste toddled out of Government Buildings to sit behind the little sign for a photo op for stabilitytreaty.ie, the prop was hastily re-erected and placed rather haphazardly on a stand — but, like the treaty it commends, the placard appeared lopsided and slanted to the right.

It was always pretty obvious the sign was bound to fall on its face, but this is now known as “Doing a Hogan” in government circles, named after Feck-It-Up Phil Hogan who invented the Coalition’s ethos that all publicity must be bad publicity.

But then this whole referendum campaign is beginning to become reminiscent of the doom-laden Lisbon I effort in that it has kicked off late, and with more than a whiff of arrogantly taking the electorate for granted.

Ministers sneered in January when the United Left Alliance, Sinn Féin, and even some right-wing economists branded it an “austerity” treaty, insisting it was the fiscal compact treaty and to call it anything else was misleading.

But suddenly, it has been re-christened the “Stability Treaty” by its supporters, so by their original logic, “stability” must be as abstract a description as they previously claimed “austerity” to be.

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore shamelessly denied he was breaking the rules by using taxpayers’ cash to push the yes agenda via the website he and the Taoiseach were here to promote — despite the fact it has links to highly partisan speeches by the leaders extolling the virtues of the stability/austerity (delete as applicable) referendum.

Mr Gilmore insisted this did not even break the spirit of the law as — even though the referendum is less than six weeks away — it has not been officially called yet by the environment minister. And who is that minister? Oh, yes, Feck-It-Up Phil — the Coalition really does seem to be determined to “Do a Hogan” on this campaign.