There is much commentary these days that has an undercurrent of shame. We Irish are fools and squandered away good money goes the line. Many Irish people are hanging their head in shame. You can hear it in their speech as the espouse the merits of the Germans and criticize things Irish.
Our leaders hung their heads in shame themselves during the IMF/EU/ECB negotiations. "We had messed up and we will do what is required of us". This will be done, our leaders believe, by showing our EU partners how remorseful we are by implementing bewilderingly large cuts in the recent budget.
Some think this is all about money. Yes there is a large scarcity of money in Ireland but it is this shame and lack of dignity that will hinder us greatly.
Where did this shame come from?
Is it shameful to have no money?
Can we not stand up with dignity and look the Germans and French in the eye?
A Euro problem
We in Ireland were offered loans from the Euro at 2% when our inflation was running at 3%. In any modern consumer society the only sensible option is to borrow and spend. And so we did for 8 years and had a property bubble.
The Euro was set up by the EU leaders, including the Irish. The system they set up was inherently flawed in that it was a sharing of monies yet there was no proper sharing of regulation. Now we have a sharing of regulation as the EU are enforcing budget limits and more importantly limits on banks across Europe.
Yet the horse has bolted. All this should have been done when the Euro was set up.
This was a serious short sight by the EU leaders and has led us to the current impasse. This impasse is so serious that the whole Euro and the EU as a whole are under threat.
Yet if this is the case why did the Irish leaders hang their heads in shame at the recent EU/IMF/ECB negotiations?
The EU - a community?
Since the EEC was set up in the 1970's in was done in the spirit of sharing. We shared markets, rules and resources. We would be stronger and more prosperous together. We shared citizenship, land rights and laws. Each member gave away a lot. The belief was that this sharing would lead us to good times.
In Ireland we welcomed the Poles and Lithuanians. These are citizens of Europe like us; we all had signed up to Maastricht and Nice.
During the recent negotiations our Irish leaders lost sight of all that we have given away. They hung their heads in shame and did what they were told. The believed the argument that "We all partied" in Ireland and now we have to pay the price.
If the rules and systems of the Euro were not fit for purpose should we pay the price?
The EU was set up in the spirit of sharing. So in the good times we shared but do we also share the hardships of the bad times.
The unfinished house in Longford is a problem for the Euro currency. The people who control the Euro need to fix this with the Irish. The Germans and the French think this is an Irish currency problem. Yet this is not so.
As the Kerry Eagle has said before, the Irish leaders instead of hanging their heads in shame and waiting for the IMF/EU to arrive at the door they should instead have looked around for colleagues in times of trouble. They should have had meetings at EU level and solved the problem in Brussels and Strasbourg where it originated.
Have all the members shared/given away their markets, land rights, citizenship, currency and political choices for nothing? These are the cards we have in the negotiations so that each member can look the other in the eye with dignity.
The Irish break the rules
But the Irish leaders annoyed their EU partners when they guaranteed large bank debts without the agreement of the EU. Instead of understanding that as part of a single currency large money issues need to be discussed and solved at EU level the Irish went mistakenly alone. The EU leaders were furious.
This is one reason that the Irish leaders were ashamed.
We Irish have a long history of poverty and shame stems from this. With ancestral cries in our ears we were unable to stand up for ourselves.
This shame emanting from our leaders has found resonance with the public. Do we Irish have any dignity now when we have little money? Is this what the Celtic Tiger has done to our spirit? In the 90 years as an Independent nation has we not come to terms with our historical past of poverty and head bowing to outside powers?
Dignity centres on principles of honesty and fairness. It is also to do with being true to who you are. It deals with the nurturing of the human spirit.
These skills of nurturing the human spirit for which the Irish have been so famous have been severely corroded.
The next round of Negotiations
It is important to realise that there most likely will be further negotiations, especially with the EU/ECB. If the new Irish negotiators understand what is going on and are more principled and honest with their EU partners then we should get a better deal.
Our membership of the EU has been tarnished. At a wider level the Euro is under threat and new rules are needed. Ireland is not the only country with debt problems.
Political tensions across Europe
Of course the large complicating factor here is that actual size of the debts that have been built up in Ireland and other countries. This will cause large political tensions to arise across Europe. The people in Germany and those other countries who will be asked to foot the bill will not be happy. The leaders in these countries
are afraid of the political consequences. They could very easily lose their jobs. Many of these leaders have been avid advocates of the European project, as was seen in the Lisbon debates in 2008 and 2009. Can these German leaders now admit that they were wrong and that the Euro systems were insufficient and that the German tax payer must pay the bill for their short sightness? This is very difficult for them and so it is easier to go and beat up on the Irish as bold EU partners.
The German leaders have other political fears, alternative groups are waiting in the wings. In Ireland we have Sinn Féin, Socialists and a raft of independents. All of these look set to prosper in these times where the established political parties look dishonest and not fit for purpose.
It is interesting to recall the Lisbon debate in Ireland. On the Yes side were all the established political parties as well as many others people who were content with the status quo. On the No side were the aforementioned Irish alternative groups as well as the disgruntled people. A motley crew. Yet it will
be this motley crew that will gain much political power in the forthcoming Irish elections.
But what is required in Ireland is leaders that can engage creatively with our EU members and solve these large issues. The Irish people are caught in a bind. The established parties track record in Lisbon and other EU negotiations is not good. Ironically it was Fianna Fáil traditionally who were good at horse trading
yet this time the could not grasp the problem.
The non established parties have no track record in engaging with our EU partners. Will these be better negotiators with the EU?
The new negotiators should understand all that Ireland and other members have shared/given away. This is the spirit of the EU. They can still look other Europeans in the eye even if they currently have no money. They have sufficient earning potential. Yet they should be honest and fair with their EU partners.
This is a time of crisis, important decisions need to be taken.
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