Leading by example

THE measures proposed to encourage use of smaller cars are very desirable.

However, what will make such initiatives universally popular is good example from those who bring in the legislation.

Let us start with the President and Taoiseach. Both are carried about in the largest Mercedes cars that money can buy — our money. Such pompous extravagance is vulgar and wasteful and sets the sort of bad example we could do without. Handing back these monster cars is the kind of simple act of leadership that shouldn’t require too much effort from the two people in question.