How do you measure a politician’s life? By the standards of the political (or any other) breed Dr Garret FitzGerald, who died this morning, was an uncommonly decent, humane, kind individual. Partly because of that his two terms as Taoiseach were less than wholly successful. Yet their legacy has been immense and FitzGerald should be remembered as a transformational figure whose lasting impact on Irish life and society was, in many ways, greater than that of his great rival Charlie Haughey.
Though each came from political families and could boast the necessary nationalist credentials, they were opposites in so many ways. Haughey the brilliant plotter and manipulator, FitzGerald the donnish intellectual. While Haughey sparkled, FitzGerald plodded. But Charlie died in disgrace and Garret is today remembered as the Grand Old Man of recent Irish political history.
Twice called upon to rescue the Republic from the consequences of Fianna Fail’s spendthrift ways, to say nothing of the disgraces and calamities of Haughey’s GUBU government, FitzGerald’s first task was to restore sanity and credibility to the public finances.
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