Public hatred for Fianna Fáil is fully justified

There is a fierce hatred out there for Fianna Fáil among the general public that we have never experienced in this country before.

It is not the first time that sections of the public hated Fianna Fáil; that party was hated by the Blue Shirts in the ’30s of the last century and by the IRA in the ’40s and ’50s.
But never before were so many hated by so many. Never before was the hatred for a political grouping – or for any group – so widespread.
That hatred was manifested by callers to Joe Duffy’s Liveline programme on RTÉ radio last Monday afternoon. Some callers were almost hysterical about the fact that Fianna Fáil held a national church gate collection last Sunday. They thought it was a ‘disgrace’ that Fianna Fáil were allowed to ask people for money at this time. One woman caller was so incensed that she confronted the collectors outside her own parish church. She called them “beggars”. They were not, apparently, obstructing her from going to mass. But the fact that they were there at all was enough to drive her around the bend. She was supported by several other callers.
While it was pointed out to them that they were not obliged to contribute to the Fianna Fáil collectors if they did not want to, that did not calm them. While they might have been far better off to ignore the collectors if they did not want to subscribe, they simply thought it a terrible state of affairs that Fianna Fáil found it necessary to seek financial aid from the people.
One could say that RTÉ, being the national broadcaster, should not have given air space to such ridiculous outbursts. But my own belief is that the station did us a service by broadcasting the complaints of what is probably a sizeable proportion of the population. They gave us an idea of how a lot of people are thinking.
Sometimes, I believe the Government is losing touch with the people. But if any member of the Government was listening to Liveline last Monday, he or she would be left in no doubt about a lot of the anger that is out there.
No wonder Fianna Fáil are languishing in the opinion polls. No wonder they lost so many seats in the local, European and by-elections in the recent past. If this continues, I am afraid that Fianna Fáil members will become an endangered species.
Recently we heard the leader of the Labour Party, Eamon Gilmore, accuse Taoiseach Brian Cowen of “economic treason”. The leader of the Garda Representative Association – himself a serving member of An Garda Síochána – also recently accused the Government of some dreadful deeds.
I am sure that if some of those protesting outside the gates of Leinster House last night got half a chance, they would have attacked the first Fianna Fáil member they came across.
Can we see Fianna Fáil becoming an unlawful organisation in the near future? How ironic it would be if the party which introduced the Offences Against the State Act found that certain provisions of the Act were used against themselves.
You might say that that could never happen. But don’t be too sure. I hear people blaming Fianna Fáil for all the ills of the world. Not alone did they bring this country to its knees but it also caused the global economic crisis. The Greeks should not be rioting in Athens; they should come over here and storm the gates of Leinster House.
People are claiming that Fianna Fáil brought this down on themselves. In some way, I am inclined to agree with them. Certainly, the Minister for Social Protection, Éamon Ó Cuív, did not do the party his grandfather founded any favours when he announced there might have to be some cutbacks in the area of pensions in the next budget.
Now, there might be an argument about the entitlement of wealthy people to a State pension designed for the needy. Just as one could argue about the entitlement of rich parents to the children’s allowance.
Minister Ó Cuív was right, from a just society point of view, to raise this debate. But he was 100% wrong from the political point of view. Political naivety is somethbing I never thought I would level at anybody related to Dev. But in this instance at this time ‘Dev Óg’ displated an immaturity I would never have expected from him.
By raising this question about people’s right to a State pension, Ó Cuív has provided further ammunition to those who will use any excuse to attack Fianna Fáil. Brian Cowen, along with Brian Lenihan, should have immediately rejected the notion.
No wonder there is such widespread hatred for ­Fianna Fáil at this time.