It has been a busy eight days for Micheál Martin. The Taoiseach first welcomed Keir Starmer to Cork for their annual summit, an occasion that seemed to cement the warm relationship that has developed between the two leaders, with both stressing the shared interests and values binding Ireland and Britain in an uncertain world.
By Monday he was in Philadelphia, spearheading Ireland’s St Patrick’s Day charm offensive. The next day he emerged from his Oval Office encounter with Donald Trump not just unscathed but widely praised for his defence of the British prime minister and measured refusal to accept the US president’s attack on European immigration policy. Later that evening, at the shamrock ceremony in the White House, he delivered a more forthright and expansive defence of the principles of multilateralism and the rules-based international order. By Thursday he was in Brussels for a crucial EU summit addressing the twin challenges of the war in Ukraine and the economic fallout of the US-Israeli war with Iran.
Throughout, Martin demonstrated an impressively measured and assured presence. After more than three decades in frontline politics, he has perfected a low-key but authoritative manner that conveys competence, conviction and unflappability.
All of this is welcome. But it does give rise to an inevitable question. Why does the Government that Martin leads seem so lacking in domestic purpose and direction? Fourteen months into its term, it has yet to convey any coherent sense of what it is actually for.
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There is a recurring pattern in politics where leaders in the later stages of their careers turn away from intractable domestic problems and towards the more immediate satisfactions of international affairs. Part of what makes this option attractive is that diplomacy is by its nature reactive and event-driven. No one can be blamed for responding to a world that does not stand still.
But Micheál Martin is not a president in the French or American mould. He commands a comfortable majority in the Dáil and his position within Fianna Fáil is secure. That combination should give him the freedom to implement a long-term vision for the country. That has been conspicuously absent.
Concerns have already been raised that when Ireland assumes the presidency of the EU Council in July whatever domestic focus currently exists will be further diluted. If that proves to be the case, it will represent a serious dereliction. In an era when so many political systems are paralysed by division, Ireland’s stable political centre ought to provide the platform for genuine long-term reform. This is, in all likelihood, Martin’s final term as Taoiseach. To squander it would be a costly missed opportunity.
