MEDIA:IF THERE was a common thread in international coverage of Ireland's decision to accept a rescue package, it was one of relief. There was much talk of humiliating U-turns and climbdowns.
The admonishing tone of the Wall Street Journal's coverage was typical. "Ireland finally sought tens of billions in bailout money . . . after weeks of bickering." It continued: "Ireland – reluctant to give up control of its tax and spending policies – caught other EU nations off guard by fiercely resisting help."
The International Herald Tribuneran the headline "Threat of chaos forces Irish hand". The Washington Postnoted the Government was in "for the roughest ride".
The Financial Timesnoted that "[Ireland's] battered Government and bust banks never had a prayer once euro zone partners decided that its insolvency, real or perceived, was jeopardising other members of the euro and therefore the future of the single currency itself."
There was much discussion in UK media outlets over the British exchequer's contribution to the rescue package. The Daily Maildubbed Sunday a "day of infamy for Ireland" and tutted that "every family in Britain will have to pay £300 to bail out the Irish".
On the BBC Radio 4 show Start the Week, US satirist PJ O'Rourke painted a grim scenario of Ireland's predicament spreading "everywhere". In the New York Post, under the headline "Beggared by euro", British historian Andrew Roberts wrote: "The Celtic Tiger has caught mange and is scratching itself raw" before advocating that Ireland quit the euro.
A New York Timesop-ed mused on Ireland becoming "the green thread that unravels the European quilt". Listing the excesses of the boom, the writer then offered this conclusion: "When the story of the Great Recession is remembered, Ireland will offer the most potent cautionary tale. Nowhere did the imaginations of utopians run so rampant and nowhere did they receive a more stinging rebuke."