In support of the German Ambassador to Ireland
UPDATE: A redacted version of the letter below was published in the “letters to the editor” section of the Irish Times on September 20th 2007.
There has been some recent controversy regarding critical remarks made by the German ambassador to Ireland. The Irish Times summary is: “The Department of Foreign Affairs has reprimanded the German ambassador over a highly critical speech in which he described Ireland as a “coarse place” where junior ministers earn more than the German Chancellor and “chaotic” hospital waiting lists were tolerated.” - full story here (hopefully link will continue to work).
Personally I think he makes some very valid points. I wrote the following letter of support to the German ambassador:
Dear Ambassador, I would like to offer you my support as an Irish citizen living abroad. I see first hand the coarseness you describe and that there are indeed many aspects of Ireland and Irish society worthy of criticism. I have always felt that Irish government could learn a great deal from countries such as Germany and France - nations which have done much to avoid squandering their wealth and prosperity. In any case, the reaction of Gay Mitchell - a humourless and most uninspiring man - to your comments shows the worst side of Ireland, an overblown self-importance and a failure to constructively deal with criticism. Ireland should listen to the criticisms of her ambassadors and address the problems, instead of pretending they do not exist and sweeping them under the carpet. It seems the government is more interested in its own salaries than any long term planning for the country. Yours Sincerely, Niall O’Higgins
Tags: gay-mitchell, german-ambassador, ireland
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