Irish Examiner view: By ignoring context we invite chaos

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar survived a Dáil motion of no confidence brought by Sinn Féin over his inappropriate leaking of documents. Mr Varadkar was wrong to breach established disciplines, he and the Government cannot contest that. 

Without real, mutual trust, a relationship cannot survive. Trust might be stretched to breaking point but if it is well-anchored then almost any storm can be weathered. Trust, as the melodrama around counting votes in America shows, is a cornerstone of democracy’s housekeeping. That is why those behind the ordeal that began in 2016 did so much to undermine it. Two years ago, Steve Bannon, once chief strategist to the dismissed US president, described how to destroy democracy: “The Democrats don’t matter. The real opposition is the media. And the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with shit.” 

Bannon, predictably facing fraud charges, did all he could to break the trust between the media and America’s electorate. He succeeded to a dangerous degree, helped by a Democratic party that adopted causes that undermined its core constituency. It mattered little to Bannon that his attacks were often dishonest, his eye was on the bigger prize.

It is difficult, even at the best of times, to sustain unquestioning faith in the political process or all commentary on it; they are after all a mix of high and base ambitions. One of the ways to do that is to develop a healthy sense of perspective and context. If perspective and context play their part then toxins like Bannon can do little but watch “the best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men, Gang aft a-gley”.

This week events collide to suggest that our sense of perspective and context need to be refreshed if Bannon-grade dishonesty and disruption are not to become an even greater presence undermining our public life.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar last night survived a Dáil motion of no confidence brought by Sinn Féin over his inappropriate leaking of documents. Mr Varadkar was wrong to breach established disciplines, he and the Government cannot contest that. 

However, though Mary Lou McDonald was right to raise legitimate concerns over access to power, not even Sinn Féin could suggest that Mr Varadkar shared information for personal gain. Mr Varadkar’s credibility and reputation have suffered, a consequence of his hubris and what seems a sense of entitlement. But disinterested perspective and honest context suggest this is not a hanging offence. That last night’s motion was brought by Sinn Féin just days after a fourth party member resigned over three £10,000 Covid-19 grants to party offices in Northern Ireland offers further context.

It is inevitable that comparisons are made between Mr Varadkar’s difficulties and those faced by Supreme Court Judge Seamus Woulfe over the Oireachtas golf outing. However, Mr Justice Woulfe greatly exacerbated his difficulties by reacting to censure in a way so unaware, so out of touch with the mood of the day that Chief Justice Frank Clarke has suggested he resign. A Steve Bannon would exploit each situation even if it required a degree of dishonesty to conflate them and maximise damage inflicted. Perspective and context must weigh those events differently and recognising that will sustain trust where it is deserved and act as a bulwark against those who can only advance in a post-truth world.