New-look cabinet but same old politics

THE excitement is too much. Over the last few days, a wave of heightened emotion has been sweeping across the country as the citizenry wait with bated breath. Will he, won’t he? No, not Garth Brooks, but Enda Kenny.

Who’ll step in and who’ll step out in this massively anticipated cabinet reshuffle? Will Enda deliver a sermon from the plinth on how his “new” government will engage in a democratic revolution, eschewing the old way of doing things? Will he use the occasion to warn the country about Gerry Adams? Or Micheál Martin? Or, and this is a real long shot, will he actually submit to a grown-up interview of the type that is routine for democratically elected leaders? OK, maybe the excitement is getting to me. There’s no real chance of that.

Notwithstanding the throes of silly season, the speculation around the cabinet reshuffle largely misses the point. We are told that the Government must “freshen up” its image; that “new faces” are required; that this represents a chance for the executive to better communicate its achievements in time for the next general election.