Lenihan Apologises ... Cowen does not

From this article in the Irish Times April 16th, 2010.

Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan yesterday apologised for any role which he or the Government had in the lead up to the recession.

“First of all I was a member of the party throughout that era and I’m certainly sorry for what happened . . . but in so far as I was a member of the governing party; as a Deputy supporting it or a Minister of State supporting it, I have to take responsibility,” he told George Hook on Newstalk radio.

“I apologise to the extent to which the Government played a part in this. But I don’t accept that the Government was the only party responsible,” he said.

In contrast, our Taoiseach Brian Cowen refuses to apologise. He has repeatedly refused to accept any responsibility for the banking meltdown. He prefers to keep pointing to the international nature of the crisis.

"The idea that Ireland would've been immune to what has happened in relation to the fall of Lehman and the total meltdown of the international financial system, it's time we actually recognised that this country couldn't be immune from those developments."

Maybe Elton John was right after all. Sorry does indeed seem to be the hardest word ...