Article from Saturday’s Irish Independent
The world of politics is far from dull. But, this week, it turned into a full-blown roller coaster when the Government decided to ram through new legislation to nationalise Anglo Irish Bank.
Predictably, the Opposition was making the most of its chance to shine.
And, in the case of Labour Finance spokeswoman Joan Burton, this meant lashing out at former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern for the nation’s banking ills.
“‘Ansbacher man’ seems to have had a son called ‘Anglo man’, and the principal and first son of ‘Anglo man’ is Mr ‘Seánie’ FitzPatrick,” she told the Dail. “It is interesting that the former Taoiseach never talked about Mr FitzPatrick, but he used that personal name that we read in the writings of people like Padraig Pearse — not just ‘Seán’ but ‘Seánie’,” she added.
“It is cultural,” she said. “It indicates the closeness and togetherness of the family — the family of party, of business, of country.”