Video – State of the Nation: Enda Kenny v Charlie Haughey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HnrEeBKJuA

Last night, Enda Kenny delivered the first State of the Nation address since 1986. But how did it compare with one of the most famous addresses – that of Charlie Haughey in 1980?

When Enda Kenny delivered what is widely regarded as an underwhelming State of the Nation speech last night, Irish people of an older generation may have cast their minds back nearly 32 years to when the late Charlie Haughey addressed the nation at a time when the economy faced similar crippling difficulties to the ones it does today.

In contrast with Enda, who was flanked by both the European and Irish flags and sat against a grand wood-panelled background, Haughey sat in front of a plain blue screen (times were even tougher in those days) and with a near-despairing look on his face, began his address to the people with the line: "I wish to talk to you this evening about the state of the nation's affairs and the picture I have to paint is not, unfortunately, a very cheerful one.”

As with Kenny’s speech, Haughey’s oration was a stark revelation of the precarious state of the country’s finances and at a time when strikes, industrial disputes and public anger and apathy was quite high, the preaching of the need for frugality was crystal clear, a message summed up by the notorious line: “As a community, we are living away beyond our means."

While Charlie elaborated upon the need for a tightening of the purse strings, anyone with even a vague recollection of his life and his lavish lifestyle will recall that he didn’t exactly practice what he preached.

So what of Enda’s address? Was he merely stating the obvious and attempting to serve the needs of his own party while attempting to deflect the inevitable flak that will come the way of the government following the budget?

Or should he be lauded for having the balls to put himself out there in the first place, to put himself at the mercy of the Irish people at such a trying time for the country?

Feel free to have your say in the comment box below.