Sunday and other stupid statements this week…

All examples welcome – but the regulars just keep cropping up.

Does this sound even slightly plausible?

While the nature and scale of the abuse [against politicians] has been fanned by the rise of social media, politicians and the mainstream media need to look at their own behaviour and reflect on how the tone of political debate feeds into the wider public attitudes, encouraging not only cynicism but even violent behaviour towards our public representatives.

‘We’ are at fault again. Finn McRedmond thinks that possible labelling of wine for health concerns is:

a joyless policy… When did we become such puritans? It is right to mount some pushback to the public health hall-monitors seemingly hell bent on creeping into every crevice of society. And this remains true irrespective of the rage levels of Italian farmers (although, as a rule, it’s not a fight I would be confident of winning).

It appears to have escaped her attention that there’s already labelling on many wine bottles about similar concerns. In any case interesting definition of puritanism. 

Someone in the SBP thinks that the following is a feasible route for the Coalition to be re-elected:

There will undoubtedly be very compelling messages to deliver at that time, with a government that can claim credit for steering the ship through the Covid pandemic, dealing with the challenging global environment arising from war in Ukraine, delivering full employment and maintaining growth as our trading partners have entered recession.

The flip side of this messaging will, of course, be the continued chaos in our failing health system and the ongoing housing crisis. Since neither problem is likely to be solved by 2025, the outgoing government will choose to focus on its positive economic achievements.

All of this points to an early winter 2024 election, in which government TDs will hope voters are happy enough with some extra cash in their pocket not think too deeply about the lack of housing and hospital beds.