I think people think he’s not the worst. He’s quite likeable. People like empathetic Corkness. People also like people who have been around a long time. I don’t really remember a time when Micheal Martin wasn’t around in Irish politics. About a year or three back a switch flicked in me. I realised I really, really like Des Cahill. I couldn’t remember a time when Des Cahill wasn’t around on RTE. I realised I don’t want there to be be a time when Des Cahill is not around on RTE. He makes me feel reassured and at ease. He’s the broadcasting equivalent of a hot water bottle and a nice cup of tea. Micheal Martin evokes the same things in people.
Politics isn’t about policy. It’s about whether you’d be happy with a politician to be your next door neighbour. You wouldn’t mind Micheal Martin as your next door neighbour. You’d be alright with that.
Even in their most obnoxious days FF always had a few people that most FF haters thought were “alright”. Martin was one of those. Seamus Brennan was another. Tom Kitt. David Andrews was quite well liked even if his father wasn’t. My granny was a diehard Fine Gaeler but always liked Gerry Collins. Even Bertie was quite well liked, for a long time actually, and now people are beginning to forget they hated him for a decade or more. And they’re beginning to forget they hated Fianna Fail.
Let’s get into a long EXPERT debate about the setting up of the HSE. What exactly was wrong with the concept of the HSE? Why should Ireland have a decentralised system of health boards compared to one centralised authority?
A lot of people did a lot of things in the years leading up to the crash. What did Martin do to cause the crash? Should he be CANCELLED merely because he was in cabinet? The voters clearly don’t think so.
No matter how much the howlers on social media try, Micheal Martin is the sort of figure who it’s just hard to whip up much genuine anger against.