I really enjoyed listening to Bart opining on the absolute turmoil on world stock exchanges earlier.

Speaking to reporters in Dublin, Mr Ahern admitted he was “concerned” about the current volatility. He said he and the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Brian Cowen had spoken “a number of times” in recent days.

I wish I was reassured, but unfortunately circumstances have intervened, and we the plain people of Ireland may suffer. Bart would surely have had a lot of sage advice to offer Cowen if only he hadn’t suffered the tragic bout of amnesia which has erased all his memories of the period when he was Minister for Finance. If this hadn’t happened, the country would surely be safe and impervious to any external economic upheavals.

“Our economic policies are well thought out and are very sound, our budgetary policies are very sound.”

The Irish Times fails to point out that Bart is obviously referring to the European Central Bank when he says ‘our’. After all, it is the ECB which dictates our economic policies.

“But from our point of view, it’s important that we realise that economic developments in both the European Union and the rest of the world aren’t as open to America.”

…

“We have flexible markets which allow us to respond flexibly to adverse developments when they happen.”

Anyone any idea what this means? I don’t. I do know that Bart’s definition of flexible seems to be as flexible as a flexy thing though. In 2006

“Being a small, open economy gives us an inherent flexibility”

Seems that flexibility is the thing to aspire to, whether your economy is open, closed or grapefruit.