Charlie (RTE1 Charlie Haughey Drama)

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I can see the appeal in him by the Irish people.

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

1979 was a memorable year for the world and for Ireland. Here are some of the major political events:

3 strong leaders came to power that year: Saddam Hussein, Margaret Thatcher and Charles J Haughey.
1 weak leader also came to power that year: Shah Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
1 weak leader (according to Haughey) also lost power that year: Jack Lynch.
1 formerly strong/latterly weak leader lost power that year too: Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.

All of these events played havoc on the world economy. The beginnings of our Middle East problems were sowed: Iran had a weak government that needed a war to survive. Iraq had a strong leader determined to take over his weak neighbour but giving its more sinister background forces in its regime exactly what it needed. Recessions caused by this and other events dogged most of Europe and the US. Thatcher transformed how things were done in the UK and began a divisive figure who many considered was for the rich while against the poor. Her government's solution to the UK's recession was privatisation and this was copied by many others later incl. Fianna Fail! Haughey came to power and wanted to modernise his country: just like Iranian moderates considered overemphasis on religion and hardliner religious politicians as keeping their country back and from reaching its full potential, CJH considered Ireland's lack of technology and the staid nature of overly cautious politicians as stopping it reaching its full potential.

Haughey had a vision for both himself and Ireland. He intended to live the high life akin to a king. He was however also aware of being a strong leader when it came to Northern Ireland. He played the republican card and he also showed he was a moderate for the UK and that he was willing to talk. Few politicians have been able to be able to do this and he set up a unique relationship with Thatcher that was frayed many times but worked other times.

Haughey never quite got the power he desired. He had to wait until 1987 before he would enjoy any significant time in power again post 1981. He would oversee cutbacks similar to those of recent years and he saw the country's tide rising for the better when he left office in 1992. He inspired all the Bertie-era developer culture that ultimately lead to our problems. But he had outlasted all his contemporaries mentioned above who were either dead or out of politics by 1992. Thatcher preceded his leave from office in 1990 for instance.

So, the good Haughey did v the bad. The bad is he certainly inspired corruption and also his attitude bordered on dictatorship especially when he took over first. As can be seen from last night. This is precisely why the actors who played Love/Hate's John Boy and Nidge were perfect to portray Haughey and his sidekick Mara (yes, there is a feel of early Love/Hate here with Nidge working with John Boy!). Love/Hate in suits? Yes. And while we may not see anyone get interrogated in the back of a van or get brought out to the mountains to get shot, we have many of the other elements present worthy of a Nidge or John Boy: paranoia, fear, colourful relations with the IRA, etc.

But we tend to ignore the good. He did help get Ireland out of the recession it was in and avoided the IMF who were about to come in in 1980 and 1987. He set up the social partnership and was able to negotiate. He listened to European leaders and took onboard their successful ideas. He also helped settle the Northern Ireland conflicts and he provided many great books and great dramas like this.

1979-81 was a bleak period. It saw once progressive countries like Iran turned into ruination overnight, it saw the start of revolution in Eastern Europe with riots in Poland, it saw the ongoing troubles in Northern Ireland reach boiling point with the hunger strikers, Ireland/UK relations were very poor, it saw the escalation of other conflicts like Afghanistan and Lebanon, and it saw disasters like Stardust. Not a good period for the world or for Ireland. Arguably, Haughey was the antidote to all this and had a vision and I can do it attitude that inspired. He was progressive, business friendly and innovative. I'm sure Afghans, Iranians and others who suffered from weak governments would have loved a Haughey to save them in 1981. Flawed definitely, but had there been no Haughey would we have ended up similarly as a washed up IMF dependency? Indeed, what if Haughey had been around in 2010? Would we have ended up the same. Flawed and all as Haughey was, I think he would have seen us through. The survivor, the loveable rogue, the boss, the chief, the leader: these are all things Haughey has been called. Rather like JR Ewing from Dallas: he did despicable things often and was ruthless in his dealings but somehow what he did bettered things for not only himself but for Ireland in the longrun.