A number of readers of the FG persuasion have accused me of just being anti-FG, which is ironic because I normally get emails from people accusing me of being anti-FF. Having said that, I have been laying it on a bit thick on the blues, so this morning I thought I’d say something nice about them.
1. They have a noble history, probably more so than FF. When Dev was willing to let people die in a civil war rather than take an unpopular position, FG stood up and did the business.
2. By forcing FF to take their seats in the Dail, they destroyed their own political dominance of the country in the national interest.
3. They took the country out of the British Commonwealth and made it a republic. Not the Republican Party, Fine Gael.
4. On the North, it was FG who took the lead with Sunningdale and the Anglo Irish Agreement. FF came late to the peace process.
5. They occasionally do honour, like resigning, such as when Phil Hogan as junior minister accidentally released budget details. FF only does honour when their coalition partners put a blade to their goolies.
6. They recognise that most Irish people (secretly) like the Brits.
“Power Play” by Newsnight’s Gavin Esler (I’ll bet he hates being described like that) is a thriller about a US Vice President vanishing whilst on a visit to Scotland, and the British Ambassador to the US’s struggle to help find him. There’s nothing fancy about it, in that it is a solid thriller with a good story that will keep you reading to the end. Most of the American characters are thinly veiled versions of existing politicians, and Esler does have a tendency to use quotations or make observations which, although possibly fresh to non-political readers, would be old news to politicos.
It’s not Frederick Forsyth, but enjoyable, and I’d certainly read another. A holiday yarn.
“Power Play”