Why it's time for business and politics to get back together

Ryanair's Michael O'Leary took a typically abusive verbal swipe at transport minister Noel Dempsey last week. Nothing new in that, of course, but it does draw attention to an ever widening gulf between business and politics which would have been inconceivable 20 years ago.
It is something that concerns some of Backroom's more reflective colleagues. There was a time when businesspeople were willing to be active in politics and seen as such. Not surprisingly, most of these were involved in Fianna Fail, Fine Gael or the PDs.
While some were out to further their own interests through schmoozing in places like the famous Galway Races tent, many more were engaged through a form of civic duty and belief that, if they talked to politicians, more business-informed government policies and a stronger economy might result. This applied to parties whether they were in government or opposition and was a benefit to all.
It's not as if our politicians don't need advice from the coalface of enterprise .Not a single Fianna Fail member of the government has mainstream business experience, although, to his credit, Eamon Ryan from the Greens ran a successful cycling tourism venture in the past.
Those whispering in the ears of our ministers are hardly any better. While every public service reform scheme since the mid-1990s has proposed greater movement between senior civil servants and the private sector so that our mandarins can get 'real world' experience, in fact there has been almost none. The civil service remains gloriously insulated from cold winds.
The retreat of business from politics has also weakened the representative nature of the Dail. There are fewer members with the experience and insight of running a business coming into politics. John McGuinness of Fianna Fail was a rare exception, but his relatively brief junior ministerial career in the Department of Enterprise crashed in flames earlier this year and he made his views clearly known on how government and business could work better.
Since so many of our elected politicians do not come from business, then a business input to them becomes more important.
Close dialogue between the enterprise sector and politics brings benefits to both. For business, it is ensuring that politics understands what is needed to create wealth. For politics it is the knowledge that discussions and decisions are informed by the expertise of those active in the front line of the economy.
But businesspeople have become afraid of politics and politicians. Tribunal revelations of political corruption have led many of them to stand back, out of fear of taint by association.
Now, when they need to interface with politicians, they use intermediaries from PR and public affairs companies.