Irish Examiner view: Promising start for RTÉ director general

Kevin Bakhurst has struck the right tone in a torrid time for RTÉ. Political machinations in India are a cause for concern. And we bid a fond farewell to the much-loved Ford Fiesta

RTÉ's new director general Kevin Bakhurst speaking to reporters in Montrose on Monday. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Director general’s promising start

RTÉ’s new director general  Kevin Bakhurst struck the right tone when, just after 7am yesterday, he emailed staff to say he was standing down the executive board of the broadcaster.

At the beginning of the third week of intense trauma in Montrose, Mr Bakhurst’s swingeing top-level changes had been anticipated by the resignation on Sunday evening of director of strategy Rory Coveney and followed at lunchtime yesterday — not long after the new director general’s mission statement — by that of director of commercial affairs Geraldine O’Leary.

His moves were understandably — in the light of the circumstances in which RTÉ finds itself — welcomed speedily by various members of the government, including Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, in an apparent validation of the need for metaphorical blood-letting at the executive level of the station.

The announcement of four new interim executive board members will appease some of the more rabid factions calling for existential change at the broadcaster, but it has to be remembered this is only the start of a process designed to put RTÉ on a more sustainable and transparent future and it will take time to convince everyone that the director general’s plans are achievable and rooted in reality.

It is important, too, for staff in Donnybrook to see finally that senior management is taking its concerns and fears seriously. That the new director general has already met with staff representatives to address the widespread unease within the organisation was necessary too.

Although working in something of a vacuum ahead of tomorrow’s twin appearances at the Dáil’s media committee and public accounts committee of Ryan Tubridy and his agent Noel Kelly, that Mr Bakhurst has acted so swiftly and with such intent is to be lauded.

What is not so laudable is that our political classes seem only now to have arrived at the conclusion so much needs to be done within the organisation in such a short timeframe. It has been obvious to even the most casual observer for many years that the chasm between the monies spent on the station’s ‘talent’ and on workers was unsustainable.

What has also been obvious is that successive governments have failed to grasp this nettle and put manners on those who appear to have treated the broadcaster as little other than a cash-vending machine. They also failed to act against those who for so long and so obviously used RTÉ’s platforms for their own ends in terms of financial or other gains.

There is no doubt the roadmap Mr Bakhurst has initially laid out will address many of the organisational and individual failings within RTÉ, but will take time to implement.

But, having finally decided the future of our national television and radio services required radical change or they would die, RTÉ has at last been set on a new path.

Quite what that means right now and what it will mean in the future, remains to be seen, but change at the broadcaster is afoot and not before time.

 

Worrying move in a democracy

Gandhi case

The leader of India's opposition Congress Party arriving at a court in Surat, India on March 23. File picture: AP

The refusal by a court in the Gujarat province of India to suspend a defamation conviction against opposition leader Rahul Gandhi once again suggests political interference in local judicial matters in the country.

Since his conviction on an allegation of defamation resulting from a campaign speech in 2019 in which he linked prime minister Narendra Modi to two high-profile criminals, Gandhi is facing a two-year jail sentence.

Coincidentally, that is the exact period that the Congress Party leader would be disqualified as a member of parliament and from running in next year’s general election.

Having applied to India's high court to have his sentence suspended, a judge last week ruled the conviction to be “just, proper, and legal” and said “no injustice” would be done to Mr Gandhi by refusing to grant his plea.

The case is now destined for India’s supreme court where a stay will be sought to allow him to run in the next election.

His Congress Party has accused prime minister Modi — leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata party — of weaponising the judiciary in order to silence one of its harshest critics.

Such tactics are commonplace in authoritarian regimes.

But, in a fully functioning democracy, political ploys such as this are unwelcome and unwanted.

Farewell, Fiesta

Cars entering retirement

It might seem a small thing in the broad sweep of international affairs right now, but last week saw the final Ford Fiesta roll off the production line at the Blue Oval’s manufacturing plant in Cologne, Germany.

So farewell then, Ford Fiesta. Ford sold 22m units of the car since it was introduced in 1976. Picture: PA

As the automotive world swings — seemingly inexorably — towards an electric future, the Fiesta had become an anachronism, and the decision to end production of this iconic nameplate was actually taken last November as Ford designs an all-electric future for itself.

Fiesta, introduced to the world back in 1976, has sold some 22m units in total, and the car has played a huge sociological part in so many lives in the near five decades of its existence.

And it won’t be the last four wheel casualty as we move towards a world where the battery electric vehicle is king. It is already known that Ford will stop making its Focus model (the successor to the mighty Escort) and an announcement from Volkswagen on the end of production of its Golf range is anticipated.

These cars — and many others like them — have been mainstays in our daily lives for generations, and have enriched us for so long with the combination of practicality and enjoyment they offered.

While probably inevitable, it is still a sad day when automotive icons for which there is such incredible global affection will no longer be part of what we are.