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Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Challenge for Brian Cowen
INCOMING Taoiseach Brian Cowen only has to look across the water to the local elections in England to realise the enormity of the challenge he faces on taking up the reigns from Bertie Ahern. There are a lot of similarities between Cowen and Gordon Brown in the manner in which they have attained the reigns of power in their respective countries. Both men have replaced long-serving premiers who were famed for the triumph of political style over substance in their administrations. Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair were also fortunate to come to power at a time when the global economy was on the cusp of an unprecedented boom. Their successors, on the other hand, have inherited a global economic recession that is already being compared to the infamous 1930s.
Cynics will argue that Brian Cowen is about to put a poisoned chalice to his lips when he is sworn in as Taoiseach later this week. Like Brown in England, he is taking charge of a party that has become sated with power, having been in continuous government for almost 11 years. He is also facing an electorate that is increasingly concerned at the economic downturn and is utterly disillusioned with the state of the nation’s health service. The challenges that Cowen faces are far greater than anything that Bertie Ahern had to confront when he took the reigns of a surging economy and burgeoning peace process in 1997.
Yet if anyone can meet the challenges of the new Ireland it is Brian Cowen. He has been undoubtedly the most impressive performer in Dáil Eireann in the last five years and his right to succeed Bertie Ahern as Taoiseach is beyond question. Cowen is a politician of substance and it is to be hoped that his premiership will be characterised by a no-nonsense, pragmatic style of governance that has been the hallmark of his political career to date. Ireland needs practical leadership at this moment in time and there is a genuine hope amongst the electorate that Cowen will be able to deliver.
However, it is critical that the new Taoiseach sends out a clear message to the electorate from the very outset about the challenges that lie ahead and the real need for economic prudence. What better way to do this than to withdraw the substantial wage increases that were promised to ministers and senior civil servants a year ago? It is simply unacceptable that high-ranking government officials should get significant hikes in salaries when the rest of the country’s workforce is being asked to tighten the proverbial belt. Indeed, the current situation is a recipe for serious industrial unrest and Cowen would be very foolish were he to pursue the wage hikes.
The new Taoiseach will have to hit the ground running as he faces an election albeit a referendum within a month of taking office. If he were to lose the Lisbon Treaty it would be a blow to his early premiership but what Cowen will be more concerned about will be next year’s local elections. As a proud Fianna Fáil man Cowen will want to deliver an impressive result in his first proper election as party leader. But the lessons of Gordon Brown in England will not be lost on the new Taoiseach. There are many pitfalls ahead.
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