"I was like a lamb to the slaughter": George Lee opens up on life in the Dail
!["I was like a lamb to the slaughter": George Lee opens up on life in the Dail](/cms_media/module_img/1242/621128_1_articlesmall_bn-785648_7b0485d0d4d04d9ebadd7e0bdb8859b2.jpg ""I was like a lamb to the slaughter": George Lee opens up on life in the Dail")
George Lee has spoken openly and candidly about his brief period in politics and has likened his entry to the Dail as that of a lamb being lead to the slaughter.
Speaking on RTE’s ’Today Show with Maura and Daithi’ the RTE farming and agriculture correspondent said that in hindsight he was probably not cut out for politics.
"The same boiling water that will soften a potato will also harden an egg. So it depends on what your made of so when I went in to the Dail what I was made of reacted in a particular fashion to the environment of the Dail.
Speaking to the show hosts, Daithi O’Se and Maura Derrane, he went on: "Some people might say I was naive .. but ultimately I was not cut out for politics because I was too idealistic"
Mr Lee - who rose to public prominence with his insightful analysis of Ireland’s economic situation in the years before and after the financial collapse in 2007 - went on to describe politics as a ’tough and hard business".
He suggested the larger parties were not probably the right home for people who are idealistic.
"What I learned, the hard way, is that politics is about power ... but the way I see it is that if you have a gun in your hand you have a powerful instrument in your hand but the whole issue about you having that power in your hand is not that you have that power ... but the responsibility with which you hold that gun and how you use it.
"I think that politics for me was about the sense of responsibility to do something for those people who are going to be unemployed and not about holding on to power."
Asked whether he was treated fairly Mr Lee said he was perplexed as to why it took three months after his election for him to be given an office.
"To some extent from the beginning it wasn’t set up to encourage me ... It was about the seat and while that is fine for the party for me it was more personal."
Reflecting on the experience in its entirety Mr Lee said in the long run he was sure he would be glad he entered politics.
"The things you often regret most are the things you didn’t do ... I learned a lot about myself."
Reflecting on why he ultimately left the RTE viewer favourite said he did not want to be ’entangled’ by the monetary rewards on offer in the Dail - particularly the pensions on offer - and the fact that he realised he was starting to take credit for things he did not do.
