The departure of George Lee from the Dail is regrettable, though understandable. The worst charges that can be laid at his door are
Geerge Lee
naivety and impatience. He has exposed the rotten and dishonest system of government whose putrefaction has spread to all levels and which really is democratic in name only.
Lee probably thought that he could make a difference, and where better to influence things than at the theoretical centre of power. The principle of the division of powers was first put forward by eighteenth-century French writer, Baron de Montesquieu. There are three: the judicial, the executive and the legislative. Of these the legislative is, or at least should be, the first amongst equals. It’s the only branch whose members are chosen by the general public. It only took George Lee nine months to realise that, as a member of the Irish legislature he was as impotent as a eunuch.
I feel that those well-informed canines, the dogs in the street know this anyway. What’s more George has been rubbing shoulders for long enough with politicians, so he had heard all the comments by both present and past TDs that membership of the Dail gives you one of the best parking spaces in central Dublin, but sweet FA else. Still he wanted to try and make a difference. Naïve yes, but he is not to be blamed for trying. He may have believed that he might be able to influence the nation’s economic policies, but surely he realises by now that these are formulated by a small cabal of far-right economics and Finance ministry officials, many with links to shadowy Masonic or quasi-masonic organisations. It’s not really about economic policy at all, just making sure that those with lots of money keep it, and that those with little pay for the excessive tastes of those in power.
Thousands of people voted for George Lee; as their representative he has been cold-shouldered by “the system”.
George Lee was certainly impatient. I doubt that he is the first frustrated idealist in the Dail. Had he been a little more patient perhaps he could have tried to sit it out and meanwhile enjoyed the highlife – the parking space, the salary, the perks. He could have worked through his frustration with alcohol and prostitutes, like many parliamentarians before him. This way he might have eventually been allowed near the levers of power, but only when he had been completely transformed into a cynical, self-serving individual – in short, into a rank-and-file TD.
What of the thousands who voted for George in last summer’s by-election? Has he let them down? No doubt many voted for him because of what they hoped he could do, and if he feels that he cannot be true to the trust placed in him his resignation must be respected. He could have emulated public representatives at both national and local level who respond to the trust placed in them by the electorate by basically giving their voters the two fingers on being elected and saying that, as public representatives they deserve holidays and five-star accommodation.
George Lee has resigned not just from the Dail but from the Fine Gael party. This demonstrates how absolutely useless and defunct that party is and how little it differs from the bunch of scoundrels in power. In fact the liars and cowards of Fianna Fail would not be able to get away with half of their criminality if there was a genuine and authentic opposition. Fianna Fail is in the doldrums in the opinion polls and Fine Gael has been the main beneficiary of the anti-Fianna Fail backlash, but they are scared shitless of actually holding power. Their policies are just as unoriginal as Fianna Fail; and the latter’s hair-shirt right-wing economic projects are nothing more than unreconstructed blueshirt policies of the type that General O’Duffy would have been proud. The average Fine Gael supporter and politician is just as avid at grabbing from the public purse for himself, his family and friends as his or her Fianna Fail colleague. Historically, they just haven’t had the same access to power – at national level. At local level it is a different story, and spotting the difference between a greedy and corrupt Fianna Fail and Fine Gael councillor would outsmart the most seasoned “Spot-the-Ball” player. Fine Gael is afraid of gaining power far more than Fianna Fail is afraid of losing They might lose the cars, some might even lose their seats, but there’s always the senate, and it’s not as if any of them are likely to end up on the labour.
But what need was there for Monkey-man Cowen to get in on the act, saying that the life of a politician was tough? This was really implying that George Lee might be a nice guy but when it came to being a politician he just couldn’t hack it; that you need balls and no conscience to stick it out. George Lee has numerous talents, unlike so many members of the Dail, unlike indeed Brian Cowen is of no use to society. He qualified as a solicitor, and the life of a small-town legal big shot with family connections, getting people off drink driving charges, is a perfect job for him and for so many others
