Brian Lenihan RIP

[rrhf]

I don't think there's too many on any political bench who would have tried as hard as brian did in his circumstances.  He had every opportunity to abandon ship but stayed at the wheel because I believe he was a committed patriot and was promoted to the position too late for the country and for himself also. Rip and deepest sympathies
   

[seafoid]

The next few days are going to feature an orgy of FF spin. It is already quite bad

Here is Stephen Collins with the establishment line in the Irish Times 

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2011/0611/1224298736288.html

Interestingly, economists like Brendan Walsh, Colm McCarthy and John O'Hagan, who had been around in the 1980s, showed a far keener appreciation than some of their younger professional colleagues of the kind of economic and political choices Lenihan faced.

For instance, we will never know what the consequences would have been if the bank guarantee had not been introduced on September 30th, 2008. It is certainly arguable that we might be better off now if a different course had been followed but, then again, we could also be in a far worse position. Only the passage of time will allow a reasonable judgment to be made on that by fair-minded people.


Of course he would never attack the bond markets. They have already made up their minds .  What is the 10 year yielding today? 11% or so. Junk territory.

It is instructive to look at the share prices of the banks. ILPM 9 cent.
AIB some way short of 20 Euros. Same for BoI.

Poor BL was the only one in FF who took responsibility for the choices he made.

[ross matt]

The next few days are going to feature an orgy of FF spin. It is already quite bad

Here is Stephen Collins with the establishment line in the Irish Times 

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2011/0611/1224298736288.html

Interestingly, economists like Brendan Walsh, Colm McCarthy and John O'Hagan, who had been around in the 1980s, showed a far keener appreciation than some of their younger professional colleagues of the kind of economic and political choices Lenihan faced.

For instance, we will never know what the consequences would have been if the bank guarantee had not been introduced on September 30th, 2008. It is certainly arguable that we might be better off now if a different course had been followed but, then again, we could also be in a far worse position. Only the passage of time will allow a reasonable judgment to be made on that by fair-minded people.


Of course he would never attack the bond markets. They have already made up their minds .  What is the 10 year yielding today? 11% or so. Junk territory.

It is instructive to look at the share prices of the banks. ILPM 9 cent.
AIB some way short of 20 Euros. Same for BoI.

Poor BL was the only one in FF who took responsibility for the choices he made.

Ok you made your point (several times) that you hate FF. So do alot of people. But it's a Brian Lenihan RIP thread so quit hijacking it (and the cause of his death) for sly political point scoring. Its not taunting the Mayos or Rossie you're at now so cop on and have a bit of f**kin respect.

[Armamike]

I met him at the end of last year at a function he was invited to speak at. He stayed around a fair bit after, gave of his time freely, was in good form. Just seemed like a lovely man. Very sad to think that a few months later he would be gone. RIP 

[magpie seanie]

I didn't know the man personally but I do believe that he was a decent and compassionate individual who took his public ad private duties seriously. I got this impression from talking to a good number f his friends and constituents.
I've been told that he was very shocked when he took over the reins in Finance and found out that the situation was far worse than he had been led to believe.
It's very probable that he did not step down when his medical condition was diagnosed because he felt it was his duty to persevere with the task he had undertaken.

I understand that the reason Ahern was reluctant to promote him was he was an independent thinker and was very unhappy with the policies the government were pursuing. 
I don't think he was an effective Minister for Finance but the situation was out of control by the time he took over and his deteriorating health must have been a big factor as well. Like his father before him with his infamous 'mature reflection' statement, BL's judgement was clouded by his personal health condition.

It's noteworthy that he was the only TD of the FF/ Green coalition who managed to retain his seat in the Dublin region. It's even more remarkable given that he was the one in charge of Finance and therefore most closely associated with the developing economic crisis.
I give him credit where it's due and I extend my condolences to  his family and friends.

Ar dhéis Dé go raibh a anam uasal.

Great post Lar.