Bertie's benign indifference to principles, ethics, or even the basic decencies has been demonstrated once again for the slow of learning - the lame-brained Irish electorate. To accept a €38K annual increase at a time when the health service has a hiring freeze, the economy is in decline, tax rises are imminent and the unions are getting restless suggests his contempt for the Irish people is total. He knows that 40% of them will continue to vote for FF no matter how much shit he makes them eat. And by the way, the notion that in any way our politicians' salaries can be compared to those in the private sector is just a joke. The private sector don't have bullet-proof pensions - and they work considerably longer hours.
On top of this brutish money grubbing, Bertie and the boys have passed a law specifically to enable Michael Woods get hold of a substantial back pension payment. This brings to mind a special law passed by Bertie to benefit the property developer Ken Rohan back in the Nineties - while he was in the middle of some bother with the Revenue Commissioners about the value of his art collection. Forget the common good. Here in our tawdry tinpot republic we look after our own, the rest of you can rot in hell.
Now that he's not going for election again he can remove the mask. And what's revealed is a face no different than that of his old boss.
