Workers Solidarity Movement

Bertie's 'testimony' to the banking enquiry could hardly have provided a better example of the way politicians in this country understand they are protected from any consequences of their wrongdoing. Apparently we are to believe that he hardly knew any developers. Even the Mail is outraged, but what will be done about it?

The answer is nothing. Politicians in Ireland are part of an establishment that sees the mass of the population as simple prey to be fed off and kept under control. The entire system is ran in the interests of a tiny fragment of the population, the super rich and the global corporations. Below them a layer of politicians, journalists, judges, top cops and lawyers serve to keep us in check through press vilification, the baton, the injunction and the jail cell. For this they are rewarded not only with high pay and generous pensions but very often by being given plush jobs on boards as soon as they move on from their state role.

Witness the ex journalists and cops whose beat included Rossport and who later worked for Shell. Or the politicians who ended up on the boards of companies whose business they had once legislated for. It's not corruption, its how capitalism has to work if a very very tiny minority are going to keep almost all the wealth for themselves which large numbers live in poverty.

What would you do with Bertie? Do you think he should still get his 136,000 pension from us every year?

Bertie Ahern was Taoiseach of Ireland during the build up to the crash and infamously as Minister of Finance didn't have a bank account in his own name.  The banking enquiry was set up to investigate the causes of the banking crash in Ireland.

WORDS: Andrew Flood (Follow Andrew on Twitter )