Mattie McGrath criticises selective outrage and bondholder priorities
Mattie McGrath spoke in DCF on 22 Mar 2023, criticising what he called selective international outrage over conflicts and foreign leaders. He argued for stronger protections for depositors and criticised prioritising bondholders amid financial turbulence.
Key arguments
McGrath argued that responses to international crises are selective, pointing to RCC warrants against President Putin, the war in Ukraine, treatment of minorities, and past conflicts such as Iraq and issues in Israel. He warned against ignoring past conduct and said certain narratives are being suppressed.
Criticism of Mr Arbourn
He challenged attacks on Mr Arbourn, noting Mr Arbourn has been elected multiple times and questioning whether critics are lecturing other democracies rather than respecting electoral outcomes. McGrath said he had met Mr Arbourn and described criticism of his government as disproportionate.
Financial sector concerns
McGrath criticised the European Central Bank's recent interest-rate rises and compared current financial turbulence to the 2008 crisis. He warned that past responses prioritised bondholders and insurers and said citizens need "proper, meaningful support" for deposits rather than protection for major bondholders.
Calls for consistency and accountability
He accused domestic and European institutions of wanting to be "cheerleaders for Europe" instead of learning lessons from past crises. McGrath questioned whether lessons from 2008 had been learned, referenced the role of bondholders and insurance policies, and suggested a stronger focus on protecting ordinary depositors was required.
References and institutions mentioned
During the speech McGrath referred to the RCC warrants, the ICCL, the European Central Bank, and the role of senior bondholders and insurers in past crises. His remarks linked foreign policy selectivity with domestic and European financial-policy choices.
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I too want to speak in DCF today and it's amazing how we can wander all over the world and think we're a powerful superpower that we can welcome the RCC warrants against President Putin and indeed there are horrible things going on there and it's a horrible war but we must also look at the Ukrainian president and the other regime's actions with minority populations over the past but we don't want to see that at all that can't be mentioned as a narrative at all we want to ignore it in Israel what goes on there and we ignore the Iraq war and what happened there and everything else so we're very selective here and then we hear people here going up standing up and attacking President Arbourn our Prime Minister Arbourn I've met Mr Arbourn and his regime and he's been elected I think now four times so are we democracy or do we want to dictate to other democracies that are out there and we're attacking him here because of his policies because we want to run headlong with policies here just to be ahead of everybody else and to be great people and we want to attack him for his policies he's a duly elected government government government over the government government have failed to do so I think it's uh it it's it's a bit rich of us lecturing over there as you guys the and the European central bank and the way the the finance turbulence at the moment the fact that they have put up uh put up the interest rates uh several times now in the last six months I haven't given any certainty that they won't do it anymore to combat inflation they tell us it's the fact that they are playing mind games with people and we're back to way we were, or near enough to where we were in 2008, and the crisis, and we started helping them get us there. I am not too sure that they are willing and able to help, as the American Bank did, to support, to look after the creditors in the bank, to look after the people with money invested in the bank. We, and European colleagues, forced us to look after the bondholders, the senior bondholders, and those people had insurance policies as well. So, have we learned any lessons? Are we making our point known, widely, loudly and clear? No, we are not, because we want to be the cheerleaders for Europe, the best bison in the class. We want proper, meaningful support for people's finances, that deposits, not the bondholders, and not the major bondholders especially. So, we are the best bison in the class, and we want to criticise people as if we were something, a major superpower, and we are welcome to the ICCL. As I said, we are ignoring everything else, and ignore the past that has gone on in Ukraine since 2010, and since gone unabated. Thank you.
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