Who's that guy who sleeps through meetings?

[badboy2]

Spotted this gem in the IT. Thought it says it all about out Taoiseach's performance and attention to detail.

Ireland, though cut down to size, still trusted by the French - The Irish Times - Fri, May 15, 2009

A HALF DOZEN French financial journalists are waiting for Finance Minister Brian Lenihan in the Ambassador’s office. One of them tells a cruel story, to illustrate the turn in Irish fortunes. When President Nicolas Sarkozy and Taoiseach Brian Cowen were both finance ministers in 2004, Sarkozy asked one of his advisors: “Who’s that guy who sleeps through meetings? Why doesn’t he participate?”

“That’s the Irish finance minister,” an aide told Sarkozy.

[yehbut_nobut]

“That’s the Irish finance minister,” an aide told Sarkozy. “He’s got 10 per cent economic growth, zero unemployment and huge budget surpluses. He doesn’t need us.”

Another journalist recalls that Xavier Musca, now Sarkozy’s economic advisor, warned Ireland and Spain around 2005: “Your boom economies are going to blow up in your faces.” Musca was head of the EU’s economic and finance committee then. “The Irish didn’t listen,” the journalist adds.

They're not listening still...

[oceanclub]

"Who’s that guy who sleeps through meetings? Why doesn’t he participate?”

“That’s the Irish finance minister,” an aide told Sarkozy. [/I]

At least Yeltsin had the excuse that he was an alcoholic.

P.

[cactusflower]

Its worth reading all of that article.

Now, says Alexandrine Bouilhet, international economics editor at Le Figaro , “there’s something ironic about seeing the Irish coming to Paris selling sovereign debt, on their knees. The balance of power has been restored: Ireland is again a little country.”

Tirades like Bouilhet’s are not uncommon among French officials and bankers. “The Irish wanted to have their cake and eat it too,” she says. “Too much property. Too many tax breaks. And you wouldn’t listen. Under Europe’s protection, you attracted US companies with your policy of fiscal dumping. You raked in agricultural aid, and you voted No to the Lisbon Treaty. Then you played the lonely cowboy on the bank guarantee. There’s a feeling that Ireland has been cut down to size.”

Enter Brian Lenihan, cheerful but serious. Aides distribute a booklet entitled Ireland: Adjusting to a More Sustainable Path , filled with graphs and with a harp on every page.

Regarding the Irish banking sector, Lenihan stresses repeatedly to journalists, and later to potential French investors, that “the excessive lending is related to toxic land, not toxic paper. At least land has an underlying value”.

The Government is doing a job in trying to create conditions for more big bond sales.

Apropos of the OP topic, I recall Brian Lenihan saying in an interview last November "we have been working really hard for the last few months". He had been in the job for over a year.

[Marlowe]

Spotted this gem in the IT. Thought it says it all about out Taoiseach's performance and attention to detail.

Ireland, though cut down to size, still trusted by the French - The Irish Times - Fri, May 15, 2009

A HALF DOZEN French financial journalists are waiting for Finance Minister Brian Lenihan in the Ambassador’s office. One of them tells a cruel story, to illustrate the turn in Irish fortunes. When President Nicolas Sarkozy and Taoiseach Brian Cowen were both finance ministers in 2004, Sarkozy asked one of his advisors: “Who’s that guy who sleeps through meetings? Why doesn’t he participate?”

“That’s the Irish finance minister,” an aide told Sarkozy.

He said he was going to do it his way.And he sure has.

[jpc]

Regarding the Irish banking sector, Lenihan stresses repeatedly to journalists, and later to potential French investors, that “the excessive lending is related to toxic land, not toxic paper. At least land has an underlying value”.

Anyone care to mention the difference between Irish and French agricultural land prices to him?

[orbit]

Overall, it's quite a positive article, as the following piece shows:

Whatever resentment the French feel about Irish hubris during the Celtic Tiger, Lenihan’s presentation was well-received. “The French are much more worried about [the economy of] Greece than Ireland,” said Bouilhet from Le Figaro. “I don’t see the Greek finance minister in Paris. We feel confident about the figures the Irish provide. The Irish are credible, like Anglo-Saxons. The yield on Irish bonds is 4.5 per cent over 10 years. You feel no anxiety, because you know you’ll get your money back. It’s a good investment. The Irish are serious people.”

[greengoose]

They're not listening still...

Perhaps they never will!

[SIZE=1](apologies to Don Maclean)[/SIZE]

[MsAnneThrope]

Sarkozy asked one of his advisors: “Who’s that guy who sleeps through meetings? Why doesn’t he participate?”

“That’s the Irish finance minister,” an aide told Sarkozy.

Cities like Brussels and Paris are great to explore at night. Inevitably you find yourself in a comfortable, frequently lively cafe/wine bar with soothing music. They can be very hard to leave before 4 or 5 a.m.