Eoghan Harris gets his reward
Friday, August 3rd, 2007Eoghan Harris, Sunday Independent columnist and die-hard defender of all things Bertie, has just been announced as one of an Taoiseach’s eleven nominees to an Seanad.
Having originally savaged Ahern for his failure to promise stamp duty reform in the run up to the election, Harris became a convert of the Church of Bertie shortly before polling day and spent the following weeks attacking anyone who said anything bad about an Taoiseach; including newspapers who reported facts that could have been seen as negative to him.
This was showcased with great style during his post-election rant on The Last Word, where he tried to attack The Irish Times for reporting news. He said then that his newspaper attacked Ahern until it “got what it wanted” and after that it toed the line and turned into a Fianna Fáil cheerleader.
Harris was also a passionate defender of Ahern on a pre-election debate on The Late Late Show, as well as in his weekly columns.
It now seems as though Harris has gotten his reward for playing nice and will enjoy a more than reasonable salary as a Senator. Ahern, the most cunning and devious of them all, has also managed to secure five years of favourable column inches from the Sunday Independent; although that probably wasn’t in doubt anyway.
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August 4th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
He really is an objectionable little man.
August 4th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
Choked on my tea when I heard it.
August 4th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
It’s the appointment of that idiot Ivor Callely which got me annoyed.
August 4th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
SquirrelIt’s the appointment of that idiot Ivor Callely which got me annoyed.
True. I’m not sure what’s more undemocratic - nominating a columnist who fervently defended you prior to the election or nominating a guy who had to step down from office amidst scandal, was deemed unelectable by his constituency and polled just 9 votes (the quota was over 106,000) in the quasi-democratic Seanad election process.
ShaneChoked on my tea when I heard it.
It broke in the middle of the 1 O’Clock news on RTÉ and when I heard his name first I thought “what the fuck?”. Then a second later I thought about the reasons why he might possibly get a nomination and then thought “what the fuck?”.
(Your example of Harris’ “critical eye” when it comes to Bertie was hilarious, by the way)
August 6th, 2007 at 2:07 am
I can’t see the problem with any of the appointments. Sure, there’s a problem it’s called the Seanad.
Anything but massive reforms and it will remain the joke that it is. It should be removed rather then stay in its current state.
Harris is the biggest flip flopper in the history of flip floppers, so what if he changes his mind when he gets what he wants.
As for the strength at which he does such, as far as I can tell he has always been a fanatic when on the ‘left’ or ‘right’.
And Bertie isn’t doing anything wrong here, I’d love to know the real difference between a bunch of political rejects being appointed and Harris being appointed.
The Seanad is an undemocratic organ with no place in a modern democracy, any defense of it I’ve seen reeks of the tone of what was said before group X, Y, or Z got the vote.
August 6th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
I can’t see the problem with any of the appointments. Sure, there’s a problem it’s called the Seanad.
Anything but massive reforms and it will remain the joke that it is. It should be removed rather then stay in its current state.
No question - the Seanad is in major need of reform but no party or Government is likely to support that - certainly not in a way that would make it democratic.
I’d rather see it shut down than continue in its present form (but I do believe our democracy would be better served by an independent, democratically elected upper house with real power.
Harris is the biggest flip flopper in the history of flip floppers, so what if he changes his mind when he gets what he wants.
He’s welcome to change his ideology every day, he shouldn’t expect to be given any attention as a political commentator, however.
My issue is with the fact that his newspaper, according to Harris himself, stopped attacking Bertie and became his cheerleader once it got what it wanted.
In other words the staff in the Sunday Independent started a vicious campaign to line their own pockets and the most vocal of them all is being rewarded for it.
And Bertie isn’t doing anything wrong here, I’d love to know the real difference between a bunch of political rejects being appointed and Harris being appointed.
As I said, I’m not sure what’s worse but then again the Taoiseach doesn’t have any obligation in the nominations he makes according to the constitution.
The fact that the nation voted to somewhat improve the undemocratic nature of the Seanad in 1972 and the Government of the day decided to ignore that decision shows just how desperate a situation the house is in.