Dan O’Brien: Our national inferiority complex fuels the move towards angry populism
Ireland is a reasonably well-functioning country by European standards, but you wouldn’t think it to listen to the rising number of ‘failed staters’
The phrase “getting to Denmark” is shorthand among scholars for political perfection, or as near as it is possible to be to that utopian state. The Scandinavian country has long been known for its efficiency, prosperity, accountability, lack of corruption and equality. Emulating Denmark is what those who seek the magic formula of good government advocate.
Ireland, by contrast, and according to some, is a “failed state” and a “corrupt kip”. Everything is in crisis. ...