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FORMER FIANNA FÁIL TD Conor Lenihan isn’t ruling out a return to politics.
Speaking this morning to the Marian Finucane Show on RTÉ Radio 1, brother of the late Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said he might consider a return in future.
“I never say never, of course,” he said, “I did enjoy my 14 years, it was a great honour.”
I’d never rule it out, but I’m living abroad, and it’s just not practical for me to be involved in politics.
The former Dublin South-West TD who served as a junior minister in several departments is currently working for the Sholkovo Foundation in Russia, after losing his seat in the 2011 General Election.
Also on the programme, he said that “ordinary Russians are very nervous about what’s going on” in Ukraine.
“For a lot of Russians, they don’t see Ukraine as being different, they see it as Russia,” Lenihan said.
It’s not in a sovereignty sense, but culturally, for so long, it has been connected to Russia. There’s a very strong perception that this is part of Russia… they would be very nervous about having Ukraine detached.
Lenihan also defended his brother’s implementation of the bank guarantee.
“It wasn’t a terrible policy,” he said.
“The proof of the efficiency and effectiveness of the guarantee is the fact taht the following government, who had previously promised that they would get rid of it or do it differently, renewed it.”
He described the economic crisis as a “extraordinary period”, and that some banks may have been attempting to minimise that apparent extend of their problems, or that some simply didn’t know the extent of their exposures.
Literally, people didn’t want the system to collapse.
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I think the police and other authorities are more concerned about protecting tourism that facing facts. The parents say this girl never went anywhere alone. why won’t they listen to the parents who say its an abduction.
@Daithi Ó Raghallaigh: they’ve hundreds of people searching, sniffer dogs, divers, drones, helicopters, thermal imaging, they’ve interviewed everyone working at the resort and searched their homes and computers, they haven’t ruled out ‘criminal’ activity. What else would you suggest they do?
@EillieEs: exactly. They’re doing everything they can.
@Ronan McDermott: Malaysia’s culture is very different to Ireland and attitudes on the ground reflect that.
The downplaying of the abduction scenario is similar to what happened with MH370 (another incident that has gone unsolved). It’s very clearly Malaysia’s jurisdiction so outsiders have to respect international protocols but in western societies, multiple angles would be pursued with a view of covering all the possible scenarios. This doesn’t appear to be happening here. The narrative that Malaysian officials want out there is the one that she wandered off…
I actually see parallels of Irish history where locals would exclaim “oh! nothing like that could happen around here…” only for decades later, the proof to be laid bare by brave individuals.
@EillieEs: I imagine instead of insisting of wandering round the jungle near the hotel, they’d done what they’re doing now and looking at paedophile rings and actually treating it as an abduction instead of, as has been said, protecting tourism interests by denying that such a thing could happen and letting any trail that might have been there go cold. The horse has bolted.
I hope they find her soon safe and well
All of a sudden everyone became detective and scrutinising the search and rescue process! Hope she will reunite with her family soon!
@Jiho: I listened to the parents. She wouldn’t have wandered. There is zero reason not to believe them and accept she was abducted and go to the likely culprits in the city rather than waste a week searching the jungle.
People are heartbroken and distressed, alarmed at the frustrating process of the investigation and terrified that it has ruled out any hope of a return of Nora to her family – and we are wishing for what seems like an impossible happy ending to this awful, awful thing. We have not ‘suddenly become detectives’.
Poor girls. How long will it take to look at the fingerprints? Hopefully, they have searched properly through the resort itself. Being special needs means she could be hiding somewhere in the hotel itself. Aren’t there CCTV cams around the resort? Isn’t that like a standard thing now? Hoping she is found soonest.
@Arya: CCTV in a jungle lodge in Malaysia, unfortunately it would be unlikely.
Can’t understand why a reward wasn’t offered early on in the investigation just in case it was an abduction. Hope for all concerned she’s found safe and well. Any parent’s nightmare.
@nora boyle: absolutely sick and disgusting comment to make. Reported.
@nora boyle: Disgusting pig. I feel so sorry for anyone that has anything what so ever got to do with you
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