Enda Kenny Avoiding a TV debate on The Fiscal Treaty

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Enda Kenny has got criticized for avoiding a television debate on The Fiscal Treaty. I don’t know why he has taken this approach. But there is one reason why I would do the same thing if I were him.

I think that the quality of the “political shows” on Irish TV is very poor. By that I mean that the hosts are poor and that the debates too often descend into undignified arguments. And I understand why no self respecting statesman would want to attend such debacles.

One example is the Vincent Brown Tonight show last night. It descended, as it always does, into one person talking over another.

The Frontline show with the presidential debate, the infamous twitter, the Sean Gallagher fiasco cheapened the role of the president of Ireland in my view. I am not saying that particular show was not entertaining, I am just saying that it was not the most dignified means of interviewing presidential candidates in front of the Irish public.

Primetime have let themselves very badly down with the Fr. Kevin Reynolds programme.

I don’t have a lot of respect for the Irish media anymore.
 
I find Irish media in general very poor. Perhaps it’s the smaller research budgets and production teams or maybe it’s the journalists, presenters and politicians (or maybe a combination of all of the above).
RTE are poor and often biased. TV3 in general and Vincent Browne in particular are very poor. Browns is completely biased and is often the one who starts the shouting match. I’m not a big fan of Enda Kenny but I support his stance that he doesn’t appear on TV3’s tonight show.
Irish newspapers are also very poor. It is when you know the background and/or details of a story already that this becomes very clear. The Independent is full of opinion pieces and stories from the Daily Telegraph. The Irish Times is a vehicle for its own political and social agenda and has a generally poor standard of journalism. No Irish newspaper practices proper investigative journalism.
I’ve taken to reading the online versions of the New York Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Observer, CNN and Aljazeera for international news. Each one is vastly superior in content and prose to anything on offer from an Irish media outlet.
 
I would lose respect for him ,if he went on the Vincent Browne show.
And perhaps lose even more,should he debate with the "Shouters"..

There are some presenters who only push for an answer from those they disagree with,and while pushing for an answer is always good,when the presenter is so selective about whom he lets away it,then they lose all credibility..
 
In a debate with the Shinners, he would probably lose.
SF are highly adept at making a position of no value or sense, sound highly plausible to those unable to critically think for themselves.

So before the debate, it's 60:40 to the Yes side.
After such a debate, a poll is ran which shows Enda losing and the split down to 55:45
The momentum has switched to the 'no' side and those waiting for someone to tell them what to do, go with the flow and suddenly, 49.9:50.1 is very possible.
 
Indeed..
I heard Mary Lou McDonald speak on some show, she said that Sinn Fein have had a lot of experience in negotiations..
Although in my opinion, the type of negotiations would greatly differ to the ones we now see /hear on radio and TV!
 
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adams would 'wipe the floor' with kenny in a head to head debate! thats why kenny wont go on tv.
 
Mary Lou's assertion that SF have lots of experience in negotiations is worrying. Is she suggesting that she or Gerry will go to Brussels or Bonn with with a "ballot box in one hand and an Armalite in the other"?

As for our Taoiseach going on TV to debate the Treaty, is that to satisfy Vincent Brownes's ego, Gerry Adams ego, Declan Ganley' s ego, or Joe Higgins' ego ? Just because some self opinionated journalist or even more self opionated and unelected "businessman" wants such a show is no reason for our elected Taoiseach to feel under pressure to have to secumb.

It must be clear by now, that SF's opposition to the Treaty (and everything done to try and balance our national books) is purely party political. SF will adopt any stance, tell any lie if it increases their poll ratings, even at the expense of the country. SF would have us vote No so that they could claim victory, even if it left the country at the mercy of the Bond markets ( markets which they continually decry).
 
i would imagine SF are quite pleased with their poll ratings........ unlike some! by not debating kenny just looks likes a weak second rate leader.
 
Sinn Fein, are insulting our intelligence by claiming if the treaty is passed it will be because we have been bullied/scared etc by the government.
A clever ploy,that will see them claim a victory regardless of the outcome.
I could insult back ,by saying dont worry people ,we will save you from yourselves!
 
blueband said:
adams would 'wipe the floor' with kenny in a head to head debate! thats why kenny wont go on tv.
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IMHO my 8 year old would wipe the floor with Kenny in a head to head, like most of our elected teachers he's so far out of touch with the real world and is running the country in such a fashion that almost guarantees SF will be in the next govt.
 
Sunny said:
Easy to do well in any tv debate when you don't have to worry about facts.
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Exactly. This is what some of the real crux of the problem is. I think that to have a proper debate the host should be so well informed and educated about the facts being debated that he can immediately intervene when inaccurate research or wild speculation is being presented as fact. We are lacking the presence of that type of intellect on Irish TV programmes at the moment.
 
conan said:
as for our taoiseach going on tv to debate the treaty, is that to satisfy vincent brownes's ego, gerry adams ego, declan ganley' s ego, or joe higgins' ego ? Just because some self opinionated journalist or even more self opionated and unelected "businessman" wants such a show is no reason for our elected taoiseach to feel under pressure to have to secumb.
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+1.
 
Conan said:
It must be clear by now, that SF's opposition to the Treaty (and everything done to try and balance our national books) is purely party political. SF will adopt any stance, tell any lie if it increases their poll ratings, even at the expense of the country. SF would have us vote No so that they could claim victory, even if it left the country at the mercy of the Bond markets ( markets which they continually decry).
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I always get the impression that Sinn Fein have no real respect for democracy, that they manipulate the democratic process in order to further their own ends and that they do not respect the right of the people to create the society that the majority of the people of this country want.
I fear Sinn Fein in the same way that I fear any group that would threaten and undermine my democratic rights and freedoms. I believe that they are still umbilically connected to criminality and that they see no problem with that because for them means, any means, justify the ends in their goal of creating the Ireland that they want.
Sinn Fein are the enemy of every other party and politician, including FF, FG and Labour as well as all the fringe far left groups. The reason for that is all of the others are democrats and respect the democratic process.
I have formed these views based on contact with SF activists, reading about and observing their actions in Northern Ireland over the last 40 years and the lies and disinformation that they put out in order to distort the public’s view of topics and events.
The current disgraceful high court action by their very own arch propagandist Peirce Doherty is a case in point. It’s a bit like accusing a politician of child abuse just so he has to deny it.
 
How many other referrendums have had TV debates? Besides, VB as a host was deliberately selected by SF because they knew Enda would decline because of his issues with the host. They couldn't lose. They never suggested a general debate on any network, just VB.

I actually think (and I may need a deep clense in a hot acid bath for saying this) that M Martin's debate with D Ganley on Newstalk yesterday was exactly how the Yes side should have handled this all along. Every single point DG made, Martin agreed with and said was a very valid point but suffixed the with the statement, "but that's not what this referrendum is about" and kept bringing it back to the book balancing side. It really left DG with little room to move and would have been a very effective strategy from day one if used.

But then that formula couldn't have worked in a TV debate and couldn't have worked with SF. It would have just been a podium to appeal to the lowest common denominator, it would have been for VB to get in bardbed sarcasm at both sides, it would have also meant illegible comments and questions submitted by Twitter.

For his stance on VB, Enda had to refuse, for the waste and debacle it would have been, Enda was right to refuse. We shouldn't lower democracy to a reality show level just for people to put forward an irrelevant agenda.
 
you forget he was also asked by RTE to debate the treaty but declined, so its noting to do with vincent brown'. kenny's just useless under pressure and he knows it!
 
blueband said:
you forget he was also asked by RTE to debate the treaty but declined, so its noting to do with vincent brown'. kenny's just useless under pressure and he knows it!
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The original SF proposition was a debate with VB as moderator, they were graciously flexible on which channel hosted the debate. But they were very specific in asking for a debate with VB as moderator.
 
VB offered to stand down and let someone else host the debate,... but kenny still ran scared!
 
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