Most Europeans hate Prime Minister Netanyahu. But at least he puts the interests of Israelis above everyone else. In contrast, the Irish government puts the interests of everyone else above those of Irish voters.
We can see this with their continued hesitation over pausing the carbon tax increase set for April, even as energy prices climb as the result of the US – Israel war on Iran.
The Taoiseach is adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach aka the Hail Mary approach. This is where the Taoiseach and his intrepid colleagues get a prayin’ that the Orange man will get bored and end this conflict sooner rather than later. President Trump has hinted that this conflict might be wrapped up soonish. Let’s see.
But let me repeat the point: If only the Irish government would care about the interests of the Irish voters half as much as Netanyahu does about Israelis.
This war is, to use very technical terms, a pain in the ass for the Europeans. The British were caught on the hop and are still taking the dust sheets off HMS Dragon. They left not just British bases but Crown territory exposed to drone attacks in Cyprus. It has taken the French to step in – a UK national embarrassment and disgrace – and it looks like it is the French that are willing to protect tankers coming through the Strait of Hormuz.
President Trump himself does not enjoy public support for this war, his numbers are going south in the polls. One poll, which closed before the president had suggested the conflict could be close to ending, found just 29% of Americans approve of the strikes. With the midterm elections just around the corner there is a good chance the Republicans will be punished by the voters for this war. Not so Netanyahu.
You don’t have to believe in the all-powerful Jewish international lobby of genius masterminds and strategic puppeteers (readers should know that I don’t) to understand the genius of Netanyahu. Evil genius, some might argue, but genius nonetheless. Nor am I naïve enough to think there were no other motivating factors behind this war, such as avoiding criminal trials. Netanyahu is a politician and most politicians are self-serving. But a number of things can be true at the same time.
Critically, the difference between Netanyahu and the Irish government is that Prime Minister Netanyahu puts the interests of Israelis first. That’s why this war enjoys overwhelming support across the otherwise fractious political divide in Israel. He doesn’t care about the NGO set, he doesn’t care about Big Gay, he doesn’t care about the Carbon Gods. Netanyahu cares about Israel.
For thirty long years Netanyahu has viewed Iran as an existential threat. He made it his life’s work to prevent them from getting a nuclear missile. Now with President Trump in the Oval Office – mad or not – his time has come. Netanyahu views himself, perhaps, as a man walking with destiny.
It would be nice if Irish political leaders had the same dedication to Irish interests. Does that mean I think they should run around breaking international law and undermining international institutions? No it does not. In fact I agree with the Taoiseach when he says Ireland’s interests depend on the respect for international law and its institutions.
But that does not mean that the Irish government must put the interests of every single international group, NGO, ‘international protection applicant’ and the rest ahead of Irish interests. For the last week opposition politicians, the hauliers and the voters have demanded action on energy prices. The government continues to play for time. They still intend on increasing the carbon tax this April. As we have said repeatedly – that’s a choice.
Ireland has long had some of the highest energy prices in Europe. It should not be necessary to even rely on a war to say these carbon taxes – punishment taxes – should be abolished. They should never have been imposed. The government is hedging, hoping that Trump will wrap up the war before the price rise continues.
Europeans are no longer used to seeing a leader who is so ruthlessly focussed on promoting the interests of his own country. European leaders instead flood their countries with immigrants from very different cultures and if anyone objects you have the likes of Sir Keir Starmer and Leo Varadkar lecturing you on the wonders of international law. Then they set to work on wrecking their economy in the name of climate change, even as China shows no sign of joining them.
The Irish government seems intent on bending to the whims of various unrepresentative NGOs, whether by running a ridiculous campaign to remove the word mother from the constitution or funding organisations to sue the Irish tax paper to establish that asylum seekers (if not housed in IPAS centres) must then be compensated. The Irish government capitulates to Big Gay, still standing over the Gender Recognition Act that is extreme compared to other countries and now intending on re-writing the historical record. Who voted for this?
So sure, Prime Minister Netanyahu has perfected the ‘f&ck around and find out’ school of politics. And the Europeans aren’t used to it.