Bertie's Legacy

[rockyracoon]

One thing is almost decided. Bertie will be Taoiseach. Does anyone think his next term will be a little softer? Maybe a few crumbs thrown to the average worker to entice them into the FF fold. Or has FF, like Labour in England, become the de facto government. All FF has to do is hand over power to one of their own. (I'm not putting this very well; a little dejected.) Can anyone with some FF insider's thinking give up an idea?

[Ceacg]

I dont know if Bertie will get the job. We all know he wants it, but the tribunal may make him re think his position. He might hopfully follow his good buddy Blair.

[Peann luaidhe]

Bertie's electoral legacy is that he has made FF more attractive for transfers...if that trend continues on into the next leader, FF will be very difficult to shift from any prospective Gov't coalition..

[rockyracoon]

I dont know if Bertie will get the job. We all know he wants it, but the tribunal may make him re think his position. He might hopfully follow his good buddy Blair.

Naw, Bertie's with us for the forseeable future. He's thinking in legacy terms himself - e.g. poxy €5m statue at the border. I'm really just wondering is it full steam ahead a lá PD agenda or will there be any subtle shift to the centre.

[The Last Socialist]

Bertie has preside over the greatest period of prosperity this country has ever seen and what do we have to show for it? Feck all! We in the West have nothing but empty promises and lack of service. When he goes we will not remember him for what he has done but rather for what he has not done. And give over about the Peace legacy, the real talking was done by the shinners and Brits behind the scenes while Ahern and Blair were there for window dressing!

[Agrona]

From dictionary.com

leg·a·cy [leg-uh-see] noun, plural -cies.
1. Law. a gift of property, esp. personal property, as money, by will; a bequest.

Well he has received enough of these

2. anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor: the legacy of ancient Rome.

He has inherited an amazing ability to fudge the truth from his predecessors, epecially CJH.

5. of or pertaining to old or outdated computer hardware, software, or data that, while still functional, does not work well with up-to-date systems.

The e-voting system, PPARS etc

[wildmind]

Apart from being genuinely brillant on Northern Ireland, Bertie Ahern tapped into the psyche of a country going through a very crass nouveau riche phase and instead of forging a great scandanivian type social democracy, chose the easy option of PD Thatcherism.

[madura]

Hasn't he said that he'll devote his energies to the health service and education this time around? Now that the North along with one other matter (can't remember what it was) is "sorted".

[rockyracoon]

Ah, lads and lassies, we can rail at the outcome, but the people have spoken. If Berties brings 40% of the electorate with him in a Proportional Rep voting system, it's as good as a landslide in the first past the post system.

I'm no fan of Berties. I now know for certain that our wee hospital in Monaghan is either gone or will be become private.

Will it be business as usuall with FF or will they jettison the PD's and take a softer approach is what I'm trying to gauge. Methinks it's business as usual.

[The Attorney General]

In the last 75 years, Fianna Fail has been in power for 60 and others for 15.
The only legacy I wanted from any administration was to have a quality of life comparable to any other western European country. My sentiments concur with anyone who has lived on the continent and I quote a letter that appeared in the Irish Times on Tuesday, 22 May, as it describes perfectly how I feel too, following my time in Munich and Geneva.

Madam, - I live in a quiet, residential street in a suburb of the city. At one end is a large diverse park with various recreational amenities. In the other direction, on the street itself, is a children's play area with climbing frames and swings.

I can cycle to the city centre in 15 minutes on wide cycle-paths which are often separated from traffic by a kerb or grass verge. I have two tram-lines within five to ten minutes' walk of my home which will take me to the city centre within 15 minutes. Cycling for less than 10 minutes, I can reach one of three railway stations, where I can take inter-city trains or a local underground metro.

I don't own a car and I have no need for one. I can cycle to point in the city in less than half-an-hour. I have a sports hall within five minutes of my home and many others within easy reach. Within a 10-minute walk from my front door is a street which provides a supermarket, a chemist, a baker, a household-goods shop, an off-licence, a cheese shop, a newsagent, a health-food shop, a number of other small shops and several restaurants.

None of this is unusual in this city; my friends in many different areas have the same amenities on their doorsteps. The city in question is Amsterdam, where I have lived for the past three years. As an aside, the fact that all amenities can be most easily reached by walking or cycling has a very obvious effect on the obesity rate in this country, which is one of the lowest in Europe.

Ireland remains my home and the home of my family and I hope to return to live there soon. For which party should I vote if I hope to attain this standard of living in an Irish city? - Yours, etc,

KEELIN MURPHY, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

All Bertie's legacy amounts to is sprawling housing estates with no public transport, no public amenities, no community spirit, no sense of design or warmth and no hope for change in the foreseeable future. All Bertie's legacy amounts to is long commuting times of up to 4 hour round trips for workers every day. That's 20 hours a week of leisure time gone. That's why quality of life is better on the continent.