No doubt Fianna Fáilers in Galway are pondering the lyrics of Elton John’s 1976 hit ‘Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word’, and finding them apt to their current situation.
“It’s a sad, sad situation//And it’s getting more and more absurd//It’s sad, so sad//Why can’t we talk it over?” pleaded the Watford FC president on the song. As Fianna Fáilers were being roasted alive by angry pensioners and irate students, they no doubt had these lyrics going through their heads.
“We’re out canvassing every night,” one activist told the Galway Advertiser. “I won’t say the reaction on the doorstep is brilliant, but it’s not bad...”
Privately though Fianna Fáilers all over Galway are conceding that they made “a dog’s dinner” (to quote one ) of the Budget and the medical cards for the over 70s.
However if there is one thing politicians hate doing it is apologising and admitting they were wrong. As such, a strange sight greeted the eyes of householders in various parts of Galway city recently.
A number of Fianna Fáil councillors and prospective candidates did a leaflet drop this week. It contained an explanation of who is eligible for medical cards, and what the changes in the Budget mean, and most surprising of all, an apology for the bad handling of the issue!
An apology from a political party is quite an event, although many feel Fianna Fáil should apologise for thinking of introducing the abolition of the cards in the first place, never mind the “handling” of the issue - but as Elton John has pointed out, “sorry seems to be the hardest word”.
