Last week during the confidence debate on Willie O'Dea Dermot Ahern did a bit of heckling. That is lively debate and adds to the occassion. However, Minister Ahern made one comment which annoys me. He referred to "guttersnipe politics" in a demeaning way.
"Guttersnipe" is an interesting phrase. It refers to a snipe which is a common bird but the gutter element refers to the economically unfortunate children who had to gather rubbish on the sides of the street to get by in daily life.
If there is such thing as guttersnipe politics, it would refer to the outlook that young people who have very little material means have on how government should work.
This view would give a clear firsthand analysis of our world and cant be ignored. Today more and more families are on the edge of economic doom, more and more children are feeling the pinch of recession. Youth unemployment is out of control across Ireland and definitely in Dermot Ahern's town of Dundalk. I believe that these real people should be listened to more and not demeaned in a heckling match to save a failing Minister ODea's hide.
In using this remark, I fear that Dermot Ahern is demonstrating his air of privelege over the rest of us. He took a pay cut in the thousands but probably wont have to turn the thermostat on his heating to make ends meet - at worst the holiday home will wait longer for new furniture.
There will be a lot of debate this week about various Minister's suitability. That debate will take it's course. Nobody need guess as to my preferred result. To me, this week, where more people are laid off, more families with be cutting back on essentials, I wish that the term guttersnipe not carry demeaning tones but actually focus our minds on how governments regard the economic victims of misgovernment.
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