Politicians take foot off the pedal as joyriders get away with murder

CHARLIE McCreevy has been roundly condemned for the manner in which he deceived the electorate during the last election campaign.

But, Fianna Fáil did the same thing in the run up to the 1997 general election when John O'Donoghue promised zero tolerance in relation to crime. Those promises were as false as the assurance last May that there would be no cutbacks, secret or otherwise.

Of course, some might say that the electorate got what it deserves. If you are fooled by the same people twice, especially twice in a row, you should blame yourself. A great many people realised that the Fianna Fáil promises of no cuts were false, but those people were in an invidious position because they knew that the Fine Gael promises of even greater spending were more reckless.