Without the energy and charisma of a storyteller - Boris Johnson, Bertie Ahern - a country has nothing to believe in
British prime minister Keir Starmer and Taoiseach Simon Harris: There is an opportunity for Harris to sell socioeconomic progress back to the country. He first needs to look at Starmer and learn his mistakes. Photograph: ©INPHO/James Crombie
The political equivalent is the managerial type: a policy wonk, across and deep into the detail, interested in things like ring binders and briefing documents, unmoved by fits of passion and stress. The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, might be the platonic form of this man – forged in the years he spent advising the police service in Northern Ireland, where he had to operate with a cool head and emotional detachment.
This matters now more than it may have ever done in recent Irish history. The populist tide sweeping western Europe has been building up for some time now. Immigration – legal and illegal – and a housing crisis has left an economically disenfranchised white working class increasingly dissatisfied with the status quo.
Take the UK Labour government’s early days in office: it is a party warning the nation that there is a hard winter coming, that the looming budget is full of “tough choices”, that people will have to make sacrifices to make up for years of Tory economic mismanagement .
Keir-Starmer Simon-Harris Uk-Politics
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Finn McRedmond: Jeremy Kyle Show has been exonerated, but what about the rest of us?Circus of ritual public humiliation that gripped TV 20 years ago hasn’t gone away - it has moved on to other platforms
Read more »
Finn McRedmond: Huw Edwards’ staggering fall from grace leaves the BBC with serious questions to answerThe downfall of a newsreader – once beamed into the homes of millions during era-defining events – is also a story about the BBC’s shortcomings
Read more »
Finn McRedmond: Being Irish isn’t what made Oasis great, but being the sons of emigrants helpedThe factors that pushed Ireland into being a nation of mass emigration have often been tragic but the result is a nation better off for it
Read more »
Ronan Finn has been impressed by Bohs' recent revival under Reynolds.Booed off the pitch in July - Bohs are now playing teams off the park.
Read more »
Northern Ireland’s future course must be set by its people, not by its politiciansNorthern Ireland's politicians see the views of the people 'as a hindrance', says academic, Graham Spencer
Read more »
Ciara Kelly on dynamic pricing: ‘Not politicians' job to come between wealthy fools and their money’Fianna Fáil members are set to try and ban dynamic pricing – but Ciara Kelly said it would be better if people just didn’t buy tickets.
Read more »