In those heady days, now all of 16 months ago, when the current Coalition took office, the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, had this to say about the need for a fresh start after the events that had led to the abrupt ending of the previous Government: "Renewal is not a facile word. It signifies our pledge to restore the essential, the damaged trust between the people of Ireland and their political system." Trust could only be renewed over time through a demonstrably different style: "Whenever we complete our task, the people of this, nation must know one thing for sure: this was a Government they could trust".
In December 1994, after the absurd antics that dissolved the Fianna Fail/Labour alliance, that was an important pledge, along with. Mr Bruton's commitment to conducting government "behind a pane of glass". Yet, if the people of this nation were asked to make an interim report on the performance of the Troika Coalition, it is unlikely Mr Bruton would get a resounding vote of confidence for trust restored. There is a perception of sleaziness in the way the constituent parties of the Government conduct their business whose main characteristic is an apparent disregard for public opinion or concern.
This is particularly the case with recent revelations about the fund raising activities of the Labour Party. Neither Mr Higgins, an energetic and engaging Minister, nor Mr Niall Stokes, a hardworking and, intelligent part-time chairman of the Independent. Radio and Television Commission, lacks integrity or honour. Yet when Mr Higgins appoints Mr Stokes to his part time position, and Mr Stokes joins a committee to raise electoral funds for Mr Higgins, something happens that ought not to happen. There is a crossing over of the line of separation that must exist between the holder of political power and the wielder of executive authority. The distinction is fully understood by every barrister appointed to the bench and every civil servant who rises to the highest Departmental ranks.
No doubt, with the growing trend of appointing men and women from business and other activities to publicly paid jobs, the line has been blurred. Mr Higgins is certainly in no doubt that he has acted quite properly, and so is Mr Stokes. Mr Michael McDowell of the PDs has accused Mr Higgins of "naivete and misjudgment", which is the most likely of a number of possible explanations. What is difficult to understand is how the prevailing culture which condemned cliques and inner circles 16 months ago now seems to justify them. The public is tired of such self serving games of words.
Whether Mr Higgins and Mr Stokes continue in office is not the central issue, though it will be an important test of this Government's strength of purpose. The case is only one of a number of recent examples of questionable activities by parties in the Coalition, including Ms Eithne Fitzgerald's £100 lunch to hear the Minister for Finance cancelled on the orders of her party leader, Mr Spring and a similar function organised on behalf of the Minister for Health, Mr Noonan, which he unashamedly defended. The wholesale growth of extravagant private armies for Ministers and junior Ministers, which led to Mr De Rossa's public discomfiture in the Dail when his team of party advisers paid for by the State was criticised, fit the same category of indulgent excess. It is time for Mr Bruton to show that his fine opening words were not the usual empty promises.