LOOK out! There’s a New Year coming fast!

But if I were to wish you a Happy New Year, there’s a chance you’d think I was having a laugh, because the odds against New Year happiness this coming year are stacked. For several reasons.

1. In the United States, Donald Trump has been elected. And as if that weren’t enough, his new best buddy is the richest man in the world, Elon Musk ($440 billion at last count). Trump is planning to Make America Great Again by lowering taxes for the very rich and making life harder for the poor. Musk is far from shy about shouting his views about what laws should be passed and which shouldn’t. One cartoon shows Trump on a lead held by Musk, with the caption 'President Musk goes for a walk.'  

2.   In Britain, the Labour Party defeated the Tories in a landslide. This might be seen as an occasion for whooping loudly and punching the air. Resist any such temptation. Starmer has been in office for only a few months and his popularity ratings have tanked. He came into office promising no raising of taxes, and whaddyaknow?, he promptly presided over just that. He has gone to the US to tell Trump how much he admires him. Starmer started as centre-right and already he’s kicking at the door marked ‘Far Right’.  

3. In the south of Ireland there was an election and Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael came first and third respectively. Sinn Féin,  after suffering a blitzkrieg of charges from the mainstream media, came second. But even if  they’d come first, FF and FG would have found reasons for locking the gate of government against them. Why? Because the Shinners would upset a satisfactory little arrangement FF and FG have been running for some 100 years.

4. In the Middle East, Israel goes on killing as many children, women and civilians as it can. Only last Friday it came within inches of killing the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO). When asked about it, the Israelis said they were attacking a Hamas group in the airport. Are you shocked and horrified by the Israeli slaughter? Me too. But maybe it’s like with sexual abuse: People who’ve been abused as children very often grow up and start indulging in the same vile stuff themselves. Likewise Israel – its population appears to have learnt nothing from the Holocaust but has developed an insatiable appetite for slaughtering the innocent.

5. Meanwhile, back in Ukraine, Russia continues to kill Ukrainians and Ukrainians continue to kill Russians. The simple view is to see Ukraine as a sovereign state invaded by its neighbour which claims it needs to invade to preserve its own security. We in Ireland have been hearing the same tune from the Big Neighbour next door for centuries. It didn’t convince many Irish people (apart from Jim Allister maybe) and it hasn’t convinced Ukrainians. The authorities have been keeping schtum on how many have been killed on both sides. But finally there are noises which suggest there might be a negotiated settlement. What can I say? I’m an incorrigible optimist.

I’d end by shouting 'Ring out the old, ring in the new!',  but I’d be afraid the future would too closely resemble the ghastly past that was 2024.

Villain of the Year? A close-run affair between Benjamin Netenyahu and Trump. But  let's try to think positively: At least we’re not locked in a lift with those two psychopaths.

Bliain úr faoi mhaise daoibh ar chor ar bith. Happy New Year anyway.