While many people will be disappointed with the acquittal of Sean Fitzpatrick in the courts today, this acquittal raises a much more fundamental issue. What happened during the property bubble in this state wasn’t the work of just a handful of rogue bankers. It’s not just individuals but also the political and legal system that allowed banks and speculators engage in unbridled profiteering on homes and property that should be in the dock. The fact is that the orgy of greed that was allowed to flourish was legislated for and cheered on by the political and business establishment.
While Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats were the legislators, you will search the records of the Dail in vain between 1997 and 2007 for any serious criticism by Fine Gael in opposition, while the Labour Party was also muted.
The capitalist media which now pretends to be outraged at bankers and bondholders were the principal cheerleaders of the bubble, glorifying the developers and bankers and lionising their ability to make massive speculative profits at the expense of working people who saw the price of a home increase fourfold and were forced to take out forty year mortgages for the basic right to a home.
Because of this it’s quite clear that the establishment in this country never had any stomach to hold those in Anglo responsible.
Hard pressed low and middle income workers, pensioners and the unemployed who have been angrily listening all day to news about the new water tax to be foisted on them, will want to know, who will be held accountable for Anglo and the crash now? So far they are the only ones who have paid any price in relation to Anglo, having their debts foisted upon their shoulders.
