The Celtic tiger is losing its roar (September
2003)
During the two weeks I spent in Dublin, there was news about Italy in the
papers almost every day. I didn’t expect that. There are seldom
articles about Ireland in the Italian papers. The articles didn’t only
regard the fact that Italy holds the present semester of the European presidency,
i.e., the question of whether the new European constitution will be signed
in Rome or in Dublin, since Ireland has the next semester, or whether or
not there should be some reference to the Judeo-Christian roots of European
culture.
Unfortunately, there were also examples of more digging news like Berlusconi’s
comments on Mussolini, his squabble with Schultz in the European Parliament,
how the former Clean Hands Trial judge, Di Pietro, is gathering signatures
to remove the prime minister’s immunity, and on a nicer note, news of a newly
released CD with songs written by the Italian premier. It must be said,
though, that in recounting the Italian gossip, the Irish papers are much
less malicious than the French or oven the German papers. Whether you
read the Irish Times or the Irish Independent, there’s little trace of any
ideology.
In fact, the most important political parties in Ireland, Fianna Fail, the
party that holds the present majority, and Fine Gael, the major opposition
party, don’t distinguish themselves for their left or right wing ideology.
If you ask anyone, they’ll tell you that they’re both “middle of the road”.
Rather, the two parties make their distinction from their historical origins.
Born in the twenties after the war of independence, Fine Gael was unionist,
that is, for the compromise that left the counties in the north to Great
Britain. Fianna Fail was republican, in favor of the independence of
the entire island.
There are also smaller parties like the Labor Party or the Progressive Democrats,
not to be confused with the continental progressive democrats, who are usually
former communists. In Ireland, they are more like Bush said he would
be during his election campaign (though he really isn’t), a compassionate
conservative. They correspond more to that questionable candidate,
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who’d like to be the next governor of California
or like Goldwater republicanism: economic policy from the head, social
policy from the heart.
In any case, like all people, the Irish complain often and willingly about
those who govern them. Every once and a while you have to change them,
when they forget to maintain their promises. The Irish complain mostly
about problems with the public health system, the sex scandals in the Catholic
Church, similar to the episodes born in Boston, and about the growing cost
of living. Romano Prodi can forget about trying to convince the Italians
that the inflationary Euro is a problem that regards only Italy. As
president of the European commission, he should know that complaints are
just as loud from the Irish, the French, the Germans, the Spanish, and the
Greeks, to mention only those I know of from direct personal contact.
Fianna Fail has enjoyed the fortune of riding the crest of the wave of the
economic miracle of the last 15 years that has defined Ireland as the “celtic
tiger”, after the Asian tigers of the eighties. A country of emigrants
for centuries was transformed into one of immigrants, and not only foreigners,
but the Irish who were encouraged to come back home. However, it’s
now on the tip of everybody’s tongue: the tiger is losing its roar.
It’s highly likely that Fianna Fail will be the ones to pay the political
price for the country’s growing discontent and for the economy’s increasing
lack of luster.
Sandra Giovanna Giacomazzi is an American commentator from Boston.
She teaches law and economics in Turin, Italy and writes for the Roman daily,
L’Opinione della Libertà. She was awarded the Mario Soldati
Prize for Journalism and Criticism for 2002 and the Mario Pannunzio Award
for 2003.
giogia@giogia.com Return to List Return to home page