The daunting challenge facing democratic political leaders in this turbulent age was illustrated once gain in recent days when doing the right thing on a major issue of global importance turned into a political disaster for French president Emmanuel Macron. The traditional tolerance in France for street violence has made this all the more difficult for Macron. Dealing with an immediate threat to a society can sometimes be easier than facing up to a long-term one such as climate change. There was, though, a massive political price and the Fianna Fáil government which implemented the cutbacks was trounced in 2011. In politics there is often no reward for doing the right thing.

Source: The Irish Times December 06, 2018 04:52 UTC