Should Brian Cowen Step Down

The Raven.

nesf wrote: »

Quite the opposite for me, she's gone from being someone who mildly annoyed me to someone who actually annoys me which is impressive for a politician. Bruton comes across well but I worry how much of that sheen will fade once the realities of being in office take hold. Though if I had to pick between the two for Minister of Finance Bruton would win it easily.

She doesn't actually bother me, but I would prefer Bruton. He comes across as genuine and knowledgeable in his field. Whether he would be capable of making the most of it is another matter. There is always the possibility with any of them that their sparkle might vanish once they get their foot in the door.

Gilmore on the other hand is growing in the crisis and coming across very well I think, even though I'm very far from a Labour voter. Kenny still fails to instil any confidence in me of his ability to handle a Government. I think Labour have gotten the better deal with a leader to suit the times at the moment.

Gilmore definitely has great presence, says the right things, and has the right image for the job as Taoiseach. I would have had no difficulty with the Labour Party in the past, but in recent times some have shown themselves to be just as bad as Fianna Fail as regards the unscrupulous rezoning of vast acres of valuable agricultural and amenity lands in favour of lining the pockets of ruthless, self-serving developers.

I would love to see Cowan disappear from the job and take that hypocritical excuse for a Tanaiste with him. He has always come across as a bad mannered, incompetent bully, and totally unsuited for the job as leader. Coughlan has some nerve bragging about the Back to Education scheme, having severely cut the allowance from mature students, and removed it completely from post-graduates.

Hillel

nesf wrote: »

Gilmore on the other hand is growing in the crisis and coming across very well I think, even though I'm very far from a Labour voter. Kenny still fails to instil any confidence in me of his ability to handle a Government. I think Labour have gotten the better deal with a leader to suit the times at the moment.

Gilmore, comes across very well and many of the points he makes are valid. My one criticism is that he is very strong when pointing out what's wrong, but not so good at giving viable alternatives. Still, he goes a long way towards making Labour a credible coalition partner.

nesf wrote: »

Cowen step down? I think it's too early yet and we'll have to see how he handles the next backlash (by the public servants) before pulling the plug on him. That said after his bungling of the last Budget I think his days are numbered unless he suddenly improves his game which doesn't look like happening at the moment.

I'm not so sure, giving tax relief on the pension levy was the final straw as far as I am concerned. He's hopeless! Having said that, I wonder if his problem is that he's getting minimal support from the FF Parliamentary Party. It's very hard to dole out the pain when its clear that all the TD's, and miscellaneous "Hanger On'ers" refuse to accept any meaningful reductions in pay or perks. Either way, the situation continues to deteriorate and only a minimal government response.

All things being equal, I'd dearly want FF to stay on and take responsibility for cleaning up the mess. A mess Brian Cowen at least contributed to in his previous role. If they did this I'd have no trouble supporting FF in the subsequent election! Instead, Brian and his cohorts keep backing away from any difficult decisions and the country goes further down the drain. Leadership, how are you!

thebman

Yeah he has to go. We all know it and yet it doesn't change.

Don't know how to force an election or even if we should.

We can't afford an election time wise (and probably financially too).

nesf

Hillel wrote: »

I'm not so sure, giving tax relief on the pension levy was the final straw as far as I am concerned.

He didn't grant tax relief on it, it's more that because it's deducted from gross pay, people will end up paying less tax and their take home pay won't be as effected as much. I agree though, it's a bit pointless to declare 1.2 billion in savings when in reality it'll be something closer to 900 million in real savings.

Scuba_Scoper

Clowen should not step down. Neither should Lenny and especially not Massey Mary Cocklan.

These muppets are providing the flames that will light the sheeple into protest and eventually mass public disobediance.

The longer they stay in power now means the more those incompetents will screw up - eventually leading to the long awaited political exile of Zanu-FF.

It will be our responsibility then to educate future generations, not unlike the Isrealis.


FF - never let it happen again


Viva la revolution