“Who will Government blame when it is facing the electorate?”

From an interesting piece in today’s Examiner about the intelligence of admitting defeat so readily so close to an election.

Admissions over the chronic condition of Health Provision from both Bertie and Mary coupled with admissions on the backlog on driving tests and life sentencing, seems to be at best an attempt to right wrongs and at worst a painful admission of wrong so far into power and so close to an election. It is clear that no strategist worth their salt would ok such chat unless there existed a decent plan behind it.

1) Begin to lower expectation of delivery-basically keep talking down the degree of change and progress available in the hope of being forgiven for doing sod-all.

2) Hope that whatever plans and spending are available/budgeted kick in over the next 14 months and the current is only a passing crisis similar to the Rip Off backlash last September. Bertie is still the teflon taoiseach even though the shine is coming off his tired looking cabinet.

Its clear that admissions of guilt, while in office since 1997, over dodgy handling of social services, is a risk. There is now no excuse available for a lack of marked improvement between here and the election. The acceptance of liability is the first step on a potentially slippery slope for a government.

Im not sure if the FF/PD are playing with fire or rolling the dice in the hope of a pick up. Its very early to be getting panicked into reverse gear, the internal numbers must be worse than those in the Post.

But let us be clear, there could be no other way. Bertie and Mary are to be commended for admitting they have not done very well. However it is very late on in the day for such talk. The next step has to be a serious appraisal of where it has gone wrong and what shape a new and invigorated government’s plan would take. What outline and vision is there to be? That much has not been forthcoming but if this is to be more than a scheme to get out of jail it must be.