Bring back Bertie?

[LeDroit]

John Drennan, in the Sindo today, has suggested that FF could reasonably use the many skills of Bertie about now.

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/hes-heroic-smart-and-cunning-so-why-not-bring-back-bertie-2325241.html

I imagine that Mr. Drennan has his tongue firmly embedded in his cheek and he is well known for his sarcastic excoriations but amidst the facetiousness there could be a little wisdom in the lateral thinking.

Firstly, being given a choice of sauces to put on your sh!t sandwich is small comfort, but I have to admit I would prefer Bertie to Cowen right now. He is undeniably a communicator as opposed to Cowen. He is an eternal optimist while Cowen is patent depressive. He is synonymous with the Boom while Cowen is the totem for the Bust. He has undeniable organisational and negotiating skills, which seem to be all Arabic to Clowen.

But there's two further moral incentives to a Bertie return. First, it's his bloody mess. His profligacy in those benchmarking deals have us where we are with our current spending. So let him fix it. Haughey redeemed himself as a Taoiseach on his return after a disastrous first stint. Second, he was selected as Taoiseach by the electorate not Cowen. He has more right to the office than Cowen and there couldn't be the same level of objection to his return to that office by the opposition since it's his more than it's either of the Brians'.

So is the solution right under our noses? Is it time for Bertie 2.0? Are we ready to give the buco from Drumcondra a chance to redeem himself and save the country?

[the agent]

never, the man should be in mountjoy

[callmedave]

So is the solution right under our noses? Is it time for Bertie 2.0? Are we ready to give the buco from Drumcondra a chance to redeem himself and save the country?

Are you out of you're right winged f**King mind????

[Cato]

John Drennan, in the Sindo today, has suggested that FF could reasonably use the many skills of Bertie about now.

John Drennan: He's heroic, smart and cunning, so why not bring back Bertie? - Analysis, Opinion - Independent.ie

I imagine that Mr. Drennan has his tongue firmly embedded in his cheek and he is well known for his sarcastic excoriations but amidst the facetiousness there could be a little wisdom in the lateral thinking.

Firstly, being given a choice of sauces to put on your sh!t sandwich is small comfort, but I have to admit I would prefer Bertie to Cowen right now. He is undeniably a communicator as opposed to Cowen. He is an eternal optimist while Cowen is patent depressive. He is synonymous with the Boom while Cowen is the totem for the Bust. He has undeniable organisational and negotiating skills, which seem to be all Arabic to Clowen.

But there's two further moral incentives to a Bertie return. First, it's his bloody mess. His profligacy in those benchmarking deals have us where we are with our current spending. So let him fix it. Haughey redeemed himself as a Taoiseach on his return after a disastrous first stint. Second, he was selected as Taoiseach by the electorate not Cowen. He has more right to the office than Cowen and there couldn't be the same level of objection to his return to that office by the opposition since it's his more than it's either of the Brians'.

So is the solution right under our noses? Is it time for Bertie 2.0? Are we ready to give the buco from Drumcondra a chance to redeem himself and save the country?

Whatever it is you're smoking could you share it with the rest of us? It seems to help with the current climate of despair.

[LeDroit]

Whatever it is you're smoking could you share it with the rest of us? It seems to help with the current climate of despair.

Chillax Cato dude. When the default comes and the IMF sort us out there'll be a renegotiation of everyone's debt. Live on the credit card, salvation is coming bro'.

[jmcc]

Bring him back. The nation needs some entertainment. He can be made to dance like a puppet on a string.

Regards...jmcc

[jc_ie]

I was about to charge in an call you insane for event thinking of it.

But you make good points.

It is his mess and Bertie is on the surface a better communicator.

However rememeber why he quit in the first place. The public reason for it anyway.
He has no credibilty and no one really trusts him anymore.

And why would he even want to do it himself? He jumped at the right time and is now living pretty.

[Cato]

Chillax Cato dude. When the default comes and the IMF sort us out there'll be a renegotiation of everyone's debt. Live on the credit card, salvation is coming bro'.

There is a definite Sunday morning feel to your posts today. The sermon at church must have been quite uplifting!

[LeDroit]

I was about to charge in an call you insane for event thinking of it.

But you make good points.

It is his mess and Bertie is on the surface a better communicator.

However rememeber why he quit in the first place. The public reason for it anyway.
He has no credibilty and no one really trusts him anymore.

And why would he even want to do it himself? He jumped at the right time and is now living pretty.

The much talked about Mahon report hasn't arrived and to be honest, does anyone really give a shyte anymore? We've moved on to a MUCH bigger issue now. The Mahon stuff is old news.

Would he do it? In a bloody heartbeat. His whole life was politics, he even sacrificed his marriage and family life to it. He'd relish it which is another reason to consider it, you can hardly say the same for Cowen.

[Schuhart]

So is the solution right under our noses? Is it time for Bertie 2.0? Are we ready to give the buco from Drumcondra a chance to redeem himself and save the country?

In the pure, naked Machiavellian sense of promoting 'good' government, I agree with you. I think Bertie would be far better at mobilising what we might broadly term the 'pro - NAMA' forces in Irish society. Given that the bulk of our business/professional/political elites are exposed to property in one way or another, it wouldn't be hard for him to do.

But I'd be worried at Bertie's ability to marginalise and bury any real dissent. I don't think we'd know half of what we do about the bank guarantee/NAMA if Bertie was at the helm. It just wouldn't have come out at all.

And I do accept I'm saying this in a context where there are still unanswered questions. But, under Bertie, I very much doubt that we'd be able to browse through even a selected sample of the internal documents leading up to the night of the guarantee.