John McNulty appointment: Treating the electorate with disdain

For a government that promised to put an end to the cronyism and stroke politics which brought Irish politics into disrepute, the performance of the Fine Gael–Labour Coalition in this regard has been truly abysmal.

The latest ‘stunt’, the only word for it, involves the appointment of the Fine Gael Seanad by-election candidate John McNulty to the board of the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA). It is perhaps the most blatant breach to date of the now threadbare pledge to root out the sort of nod-and-wink scams that caused people to look on politics in general, and politicians in particular, with deep cynicism.

Responsibility for the contemptuous disregard for public opinion lies squarely at the door of Taoiseach Enda Kenny. His pre-election promise to create a new way of doing politics in this country now lies in tatters. His betrayal of the much-vaunted pledge to break the historic mould of a long discredited political system by introducing transparency and accountability as the hallmark of his reign, has shown him for what he is — a political fraud.