FEW of Europe’s economies have had a more miserable decade than Ireland. Since being hit hard by the financial crisis, it has endured nearly ten years of austerity. But on August 30th there was what, at first, looked like good news: the European Commission ordered Ireland to collect €13 billion ($ 14.7 billion), a sum almost equal to 6% of annual GDP, in unpaid taxes from Apple, an American tech giant.
Yet instead of dreaming of ways to spend the money, most senior Irish politicians were apoplectic with rage when the ruling was debated in parliament on September 7th. “We will fight it at home and abroad and in the courts,” thundered Ireland’s finance minister. “This is not a commission finding that stands by a small country,” said the taoiseach (prime minister). “It cannot be allowed to stand.”
Such anti-Brussels views have suddenly become surprisingly common across the Irish establishment. Fianna Fail and Labour unanimously supported the government, led by Fine Gael, in its decision to appeal. “They should write a letter to Europe and tell them to fuck off,” advised Michael O’Leary, the forthright boss of Ryanair, Ireland’s largest…
