Politicians step up to the plate, media step back!

Hubristic incompetence has been the hallmark of the Governments, bankers, regulators and developers who have brought us to our present dilemma.

Now, when a light at the end of the tunnel is urgently needed, the fatalistic populism in our media gives rise to a real danger of creating the environment where “the man who thinks he can’t succeed is usually right”.

Ireland, through its people, is capable of getting through the current crisis, despite the hard choices, at national and household levels, which must be endured in the coming years.

A universally negative attitude will only delay the economic recovery and add to our general depression. Without resorting to unrealistically optimistic panaceas, we need to inject some positivity into the national discourse, put our heads down and get on with saving ourselves. We can do it and no-one else will do it for us.

We need the political system to step up to the plate and, perhaps, the media to step back from it.