PR, What a Show?

Nobody in Ireland is going to like what I have to say if they are in any way politically biased.

If you like An Taoiseach, then you will think I am being unfair for criticing him when he is doing a good job. If on the other hand, you don't think he has done a good job than you might even call me a Blueshirt for supporting him but love him or loathe him, he is at least starting to act like a doctor.

I want to attack and defend the acting Prime Minister where it is deserved because I have mixed feelings about the job he has done and the job he is doing.

Firstly, shaking hands with Donald Trump while the US was banning flights from Europe was dumb.

Yes, his advisors and predessors would have said, "You have to meet with the American President for Saint Patrick's Day, our economy depends on it, it is tradition" and turning down Donald Trump is a dangerous thing for a small economy to do but it was the right thing to do.

The way to do it is to sell the idea to Donald Trump as his idea. We could have a MAGA rally with Donald Trump addressing the streets of Dublin or Monygal or wherever. He could apologize to the ducks in the Liffey that he couldn't have the Prime Minister over for "Patty's Day" via a big screen.

The event cancelled or postponed, the Irish leader and his team wouldn't have to travel during the travel restrictions and everyone could have pretended to have acted appropriately.

In the end, Saint Patrick's Day was cancelled in Ireland and rightfully so.

Maybe the acting Taoiseach wanted one last trip Stateside to cement his diplomatic credentials as the Irish leader but shaking hands with people while telling people not to shake hands was unforgivable.

Once he got back to Ireland he should have self-isolated for 14 days or been tested as it was clear that America was not doing enough to stop the spread of stupidity but in fairness, his performance as a leader on Saint Patrick's Day was fantastic. (Disclaimer, I watched it after a few drinks.)

Some friends have suggested that it was just a performance but I thought it was great and addressed different groups within Irish society. The young and the old alike.

It was a well-written script and was delivered well.

The Irish Prime Minister has since said that he would return to medicine and work one shift a week.

I have no doubt that this is just PR but damn if it isn't good PR and if this was a political or medical drama, I would watch it.

Even if An Taoiseach just scrubs his hands or takes a single person's temperature or reads their chart, it is far more than we have seen from the UK or America.

By putting on gloves or wearing a mask, children could at least see a leader practicing what he speaks.

As news networks announced that Boris Johnson was in Intensive Care but without a ventilator. I knew his PR team was lying as there was no picture of the PM shown.

BoJo was probably using two ventilators with his feet up on a third for all we know.

The British people would not have liked to have known that he was using a ventilator when there is a shortage of the lifesaving machines but maybe I am being too cynical about a politician known to lie to the Queen.

Maybe Boris Johnson wasn't using a ventilator as they claimed but perhaps they rightly knew that the British public wasn't ready for the image of their Prime Minister in his Incredible Hulk pajamas, dreaming of "Smashing" the EU.

Well done Dr Varadkar, your spin doctors could just save the day.

Now stick with the Doctors and Nurses and forget the people shaking hands with Coronavirus patients and those claiming that Covid-19 is a hoax designed to stop them from getting re-elected.

PR might be the greatest show on Earth with "better ratings" than The Bachelor and Tiger King but people are sick of these medical dramas and are happy to see an actual doctor rolling up his sleeves and acting the part.