Anglo: the biggest con-job since state was founded

EVER heard of the three-card trick?

Well, to sum it up quickly... it’s a classic con trick where, by obfuscation and concealment of reality, a mark, or victim, is tricked into taking a punt on the “money” card among three playing cards, but thereafter, with the aid of a foil, the con artist shuffles the cards with a sleight of hand in order to ensure the victim loses out.

I believe since the Government provided a blanket assurance to the Irish banks in September 2008 and the Taoiseach and Minister for Finance admitted they’d provide an “open cheque” for same, the Irish people have been the victims of the biggest three-card trick ever perpetrated in this state. And this is courtesy of a collection of con artists with years of experience of this kind of thing. Take the 22 billion the Government last month admitted it would never recoup from propping up Anglo Irish Bank. It’s a colossal sum — 22,000 Twenty-two thousand million — flushed down the pan and no one works up a head of steam about it. Now this has been expanded to include an 11.5bn loan from the Central Bank to Anglo, secured on Anglo’s loans to developers. Naturally, these were of shaky foundation, so most likely the 11.5bn accompanies the 22bn down the drain.