Budget backlash - In denial over power of grey vote

In politics, perception is everything. To illustrate this point, imagine what thousands of “grey voters” from all parts of the State, who protested over budget cuts in the teeming rain outside Dáil Éireann, would say if they were asked whether Government policy on medical cards underwent a sea-change months ago.

The answer would be a resounding “yes”. Yet, Taoiseach Enda Kenny persists with a loud “no” when confronted with the same question. In political terms, the yawning gulf between what elderly citizens believe and Mr Kenny’s repeated denials comes down to a matter of perception. It’s the sort of divergence that could make or break a government.

On one side of the coin, pensioners and the families of children deprived of vital medical cards know in their hearts that a secret policy change was rubber stamped behind closed doors long before the removal of cards began. On the other side, despite the strident denials of Mr Kenny — denials lost on the winds buffeting Leinster House — as the leader of the coalition government continues to adopt the ostrich position with his head deep in the sand.