Ireland and its Toxic Nostalgia.
By Seán Birch.
It’s 2020, yet we’ve never been so blind. As the General Election looms, contentious debates which could be mistaken for shouting matches are taking place around the country. I, for one, lost my voice for two days yelling at my father, and I know for certain that others are in the same boat. The only thing that we can agree on is that Fine Gael’s turn in the limelight has come to a close. The available options are where World War Three (or debatably, Four) is declared. My father, being a staunch Fianna Fáiler, believes Michéal Martin and his band of merry men are the ones to restore calm to the chaos that was Fine Gael’s doing. He, however, neglects to remember who was in fact in power when things went ‘belly-up’.
For those of you who may have been living under a rock for almost two decades, or indeed those who are too young to remember, here’s a rundown of Ireland’s economic history. Starting from the mid-90s, Ireland enjoyed a prosperous period known as the Celtic Tiger. A time where people went through houses like they were Kleenex and when savings accounts were barren. This era of Irish affluence was remarked upon around the world, as not long before, we were considered a nation of the third world. Fianna Fáil was at the helm of our Titanic economy and were eager to encourage people’s spending. The economy, though, would have the same fate as the legendary ship, but with the obvious omission of a door which clearly could have held two people, but that’s a topic for another time. Suffice it to say our financial paradise came crashing down in 2008.
Unemployment rates soared, with the CSO calculating it stood at 12% in 2009, reaching a peak of 14% in 2014. The property bubble which had been swelling since the 90s had well and truly burst, and people were left with dwellings that they neither wanted nor afford. All eyes turned to Fianna Fáil. The country laid blame on the government and its reckless mission of keeping the boom going.
The country took to the polls in 2011, and the torch of confidence passed to Fine Gael. Through harsh and largely unpopular measures, they gave some sense of stability back to the economy. Some rejoiced that ‘The Boom is Back’, and for a time, the country thought they could see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, the state of the health system was rapidly deteriorating, while the property sphere and its climbing rent prices were approaching a crisis, and the very wrath felt by Fianna Fáil would soon face Fine Gael.
Brexit threw another spanner in the works, and all these issues supplied increasing pressure on Leo Varadkar’s government.
This brings us to 2020, where Varadkar called a snap election, to maximise stability in the uncertain times created by Brexit. As I said, many people (my dad and I included) are happy to see the back of Fine Gael. The question arises of its replacement, and here is where it gets complicated. Just judging from conversations I’ve had with different people from all age groups, and depending on the person, the answer to this question tends to manifest in 3 different ways: 1) People like my dad who are confident in Fianna Fáil’s ability to make Ireland great again (yes, I hate myself too for doing that); 2) People like my mam who believes that neither of the terrible two is the way to go, but isn’t quite sure what to make of the other parties; 3) People like me, who can see Ireland needs a radical change of system, and the two dominant parties aren’t prepared to do the work.
What’s most intriguing about this campaign season is the notion that somehow my generation and I seem to remember the recession years more clearly and poignantly than that of our parents.
As a passing comment one day, I said to my friend that “I’m 21 years old, and I cannot remember a time where I haven’t been stressed about money”, and for some reason, I was shocked when she said she felt the same.
And every student I’ve said it to since has had the same reaction. We know it’s because Fianna Fáil bolstered the unstable economy, followed by Fine Gael’s policies of fleecing the poorest to save the economy after it crashed. We know this toxic political cycle is the root of the financial anxiety of our generation. But why are these facts, which seem permanently etched in our minds, so easily forgotten by the adults that endured the financial hardship only a mere decade ago?
The only thing that I can put it to is nostalgia, and its ability to make you look back on hard times with a distorted view. For example, I hated school with a passion, but I sometimes catch myself thinking longing thoughts of my time there. Your brain shuts out school itself and replaces it with memories of rent-free living, mammy making your food and a somewhat easier financial state. Your brain doesn’t want you to think of why you hated it, so it puts a nostalgically infused version of that time.
As a society, we tend to ignore problems if we can. ‘Out of sight, out of mind’ seems to be our mantra. Why would we focus on the bust that broke us, when the preceding boom is rich with memories of our financial triumphs. These memories are what our nostalgia-craving minds yearn for. It just so happens the party which bears the closest association with the tiger era, is the very one that many of our parent’s generation are edging towards on the coming ballot. I can’t speak for my dad, never mind his entire generation, but in my need for answers, this is the only logical explanation I can find.
This nostalgia is the bane of Irish society. We’ve always been a proud nation, especially regarding our history. We seem, however, unable to acknowledge the recent history of our economic failures. This historical neglect may well be the sole cause of the political cycle of economic corruption which we are trapped in.
