The End of the Party: How Fianna Fáil Finally Lost Its Grip on Power… a view from inside the orthodoxy, or one part of it… December 22, 2011
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Economy, Irish Politics.trackback
Jason O’Toole’s interviews are no stranger to this site, and he recently co-wrote a book with Bruce Arnold, The End of the Party: How Fianna Fáil Finally Lost Its Grip on Power. Given Arnold’s involvement, and O’Toole’s previous book on Cowen this is an overview definitely positioned from within the orthodoxy, albeit a strongly Eurosceptical part of that orthodoxy, but as this review here suggests, it’ll bring back some memories many of us will have tried to suppress over the past few years…
One point from the review by Sean Farrell, the reviewer, that may well seem to have a particularly contemporary resonance is the following:
Then and thereafter, the book suggests it was a case of holding on in the hope that something would turn up. There was too much respect for the ECB and not enough cognisance that most of Ireland’s trade was with countries outside the eurozone.
Though Farrell, who is a retired diplomat, should think again about the latter point he makes. Strictly speaking he’s correct, but the actual breakdown is as follows: of exports 43 per cent to the EU, 24 per cent to the US and 15 per cent to the UK. So, yes, overall the eurozone comprises less than that 43 per cent, but it’s still a big slice of our exports [David McWilliams made a similar mistake the week before last in the SBP].
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