Trading political insults is only just a phoney war

World of Politics with Harry McGee – harrymcgee@gmail.com

Back in September 2004, at the Fianna Fáil think-in in Sligo, then-Taoiseach Bertie Ahern had a right old lash at Enda Kenny and Fine Gael. The headlines the next day all read something along the lines of “opening salvos fired in general election campaign”.

Of course, they were nothing of the kind, being about as lethal as the payload from a water pistol. Besides, the election did not take place for another two and half years.

That flurry of insults traded by all four big parties over the course of the past few days was more of the same.

It started with a naked attack by Fine Gael’s two big hitters, Enda Kenny and Michael Noonan, on Sinn Féin and its tax policies.

Both said the next election would boil down to a choice between a Fine Gael-led government and a Sinn Féin-led motley crew of smaller parties and independents.

It seems besides an attempt to hurt Sinn Féin, there was also collateral damage. That was to Labour and Fianna Fáil. Both took umbrage at being excluded from the power play and took subtle and not-so-subtle swipes at Fine Gael.

Gerry Adams responded with thirteen minutes of waffle and asinine generalisations on ‘This Week’ on Sunday. Noonan again weighed in, in response, saying Adams would leave the “squeezed middle worse off”.

And so it continued into this week with another round, this time with Fine Gael’s Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney having a lash at Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin. Martin had said the Government’s tax policies would benefit only 18 per cent of taxpayers. Coveney responded by saying Martin’s figures didn’t stack up.

It’s the kind of heightened rhetoric you hear only in the final throes of an election campaign?

So is an election imminent? Hardly.

But having being back-footed badly on water charges, it seems Fine Gael has taken a strategic decision to try to regain the high ground on tax policies.

Its argument, which it is putting forcibly, is that the policies of all other parties will leave the “squeezed middle” (those earning between €32,800 and €70,000) with less money in their pockets.

It is political positioning pure and simple, primarily directed against Sinn Féin, now regarded by all three big parties as the biggest threat.

And it is this middle ground of voters which are the focus of the war as they are the people who will decide the outcome of the next election.

Whichever party seizes their votes will have the upper hand, even in a situation where the political picture will be made very complex by so many Independent TDs.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.