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BEHIND EVERY GREAT man is a great woman.
But who stands behind the world’s dictators?
In good times and in bad, the ladies of the Dictators’ Wives Club sure put up with a lot: corruption, political uprisings, and often other wives.
Some, including Rwandan First Lady Jeannette Kagame, use their position to advocate for important charitable causes in their nations. Others, such as the president of Syria’s wife, Asma al-Assad, are pros at ‘looking the other way’ and smiling for official photos.
For this list, Business Insider defined a dictator as a near-absolute ruler known for human rights abuses, restrictions on freedom of the press, and oppression of opposition.
Ana Paula dos Santos, wife of Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos
First Ladies of countries throughout Africa pose for a photo in 2009. Ana Paula Dos Santos of Angola is seated in the front row, third from left, in the pink coat. (Nick Ut/AP/Press Association Images)
A former fashion model, Ana Paula dos Santos knew her husband from her time as a flight attendant on the Angolan version of Air Force One. She now has a degree in teaching and law, and is a member of the International Steering Committee.
A diplomat once described the president and first lady as “a handsome couple, elegantly and expensively dressed, looking for all the world as though they’re living in southern California.” The first lady received a lot of flack from the public when she announced that her son would be attending the Portuguese school in Luanda because of the “bad quality” of state education — something for which many people hold her husband responsible.
The husband: During President dos Santos’ 34 years in office, he has consolidated all political power under his control. Countless atrocities, including torture and mass murders, occurred under his watch during a 27-year-long civil war. There are still reports of torture and repression of ethnic minorities going on in Angola today.
Sabika bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, wife of Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall arrives for a ladies-only dinner with Sheikha Sabika, wife of the King of Bahrain, at her Palace in Manama, Bahrain on February 25, 2007. (Anwar Hussein/Anwar Hussein/EMPICS Entertainment)
Sabika bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa is the first wife of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. Aside from being a devoted mother to their four children — one of whom is the crown prince — Ibrahim Al Khalifa is an outspoken activist for women’s and children’s rights, both in Bahrain and around the world, having addressed the UN General Assembly about these issues.
She serves as the head of the Supreme Council for Women in Bahrain, encouraging women to vote in the country, and is also the chief patron of the Society for Women and Children in Bahrain.
Her husband: The country has been run by the Al Khalifa dynasty since 1783. Hamad declared himself king in 2002, previously holding the title of Emir, meaning “commander.” After an uprising against him in 2011, Amnesty International condemned the failure of the Bahraini government amidst “spiraling repression”, including banning all public gatherings and rallies, revoking citizenship of those who speak out, and torturing both adults and children.
Chantal Biya, wife of Cameroonian President Paul Biya
Pope Francis talks with Cameroon President Paul Biya’s wife Chantal during a private audience at the Vatican, Friday, Oct. 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, Pool)
Known as a trendsetter (there’s a Tumblr devoted to her famously tall hair-do), the first lady of Cameroon is very social and has met Michelle Obama, Paris Hilton, and, just this past September, the Pope. Biya has been quoted as saying that her favorite European designers are Dior and Chanel, and many of the pieces in her wardrobe are custom made.
Thirty-eight years her husband’s junior, Biya is also a member of African Synergy, a club that comprises the wives of 22 of the continent’s heads of state.
Her husband: President Biya has been in office for more than 30 years, and in 2008 removed restrictions on term limits so that he could run for office indefinitely. His state security forces have been accused of executing protesters and using other means of violence and oppression to prevent political opposition.
Hinda Déby, wife of Chadian President Idriss Déby Itno
Chad’s President Idriss Deby and his wife Hinda Deby in 2006. (Image: KAREL PRINSLOO/AP/Press Association Images)
Hinda Déby is considered the “new first lady,” or “fourth lady” of Chad (or thirteenth, depending on whom you ask), as her husband has been married many times. She is, however, well-loved, renowned for her beauty, and perhaps the best-known of the president’s wives.
The fashionable and highly-educated Déby serves as her husband’s stenographer and “helps advise me with every single decision I make,” President Déby Itno is quoted as saying.
Her husband: President Déby Itno, whose government is US-backed, came into power when he led a military coup that overthrew his predecessor in 1990 and has largely run unchallenged in subsequent elections since he took office. He played a key role in escalating a bloody proxy war between Chad and Sudan throughout the 2000s and is known for using child soldiers in his army.
Constancia Mangue, wife of the President of Equatorial Guinean, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
(Embassy of Equatorial Guinea/Flickr)
Constancia Mangue, the first lady of Equatorial Guinea, has been awarded for her advocacy of women’s and children’s rights through the NGO she founded, the Equatorial Guinean Child Aid Committee.
Mangue is the mother of Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, the president’s oldest son, who has been named successor.
Her husband: President Mbasogo took power in a coup, after he served as head of the National Guard under the previous dictator’s bloody reign. He has been accused of cannibalism – eating parts of his opponents – to gain “power”. Serving almost 35 years in office, he is Africa’s longest-serving leader, though rumours have been circulating that he has terminal prostate cancer.
The official website disputes the claims, stating, “Despite rumours that emerge once in a while from outside Guinea … he has enviable health and practices sports daily.”
Zineb Yahya Jammeh, wife of Gambian President Yahya Jammeh
(AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Most reports about Zeinab Suma, the “official” first lady of Gambia, are shockingly negative. Many call her a “gold digger” and a “hustler” and, in one report, a “devil” who “enjoys seeing Gambians suffer”.
Her husband took a younger, second wife in 2010, which led Suma to protest by moving to the US and threatening divorce until he divorced the new wife. Suma is the mother of the president’s two children.
Her husband: President Jammeh managed to bring stability to Gambia but only at the cost of human rights and freedom of the press. According to Reuters, his rule has been characterised by paranoia and superstition, and he has reportedly jailed a number of people in his inner circle for allegedly plotting to overthrow him.
President Jammeh earned negative attention when he claimed he could cure HIV/AIDS with herbs. Some sources report he is being treated for bipolar disorder.
Rania Al Abdullah, wife of Jordanian King Abdullah II ibn Al-Hussein
(Image: Chris Jackson/PA Archive/Press Association Images)
Queen Rania was born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents. She is highly educated and worked briefly in marketing for Citibank, followed by a job with Apple in Amman.
Since her marriage, Queen Rania has used her position to advocate for various sectors of society in Jordan and beyond. She was ranked the most beautiful queen, consort or first lady by Harper and Queen magazine in 2011.
Her husband: King Abdullah II assumed control from his father. Though he’s been hailed as a progressive Middle Eastern leader, he controls nearly all of his country’s political power. Many cases of arbitrary arrests, torture, and government interference in the media have been reported in Jordan.
Sara Nazarbayeva, wife of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev
(AP Photo/Nikita Bassov)
A trained economics engineer, Sara Nazarbayeva is the founder and chair of Bobek, an international children’s charity fund, which won her the Ihsan Doğramacı Family Health Foundation Prize from the World Health Organisation in 1997.
Despite her work in children’s welfare, Nazarbayeva recently revealed that she is not in favour of people from other countries adopting Kazakh children.
“We must take care of our own children and not give them away abroad,” she said.
Her husband: The president of 21 years has been accused of widespread human rights abuses, including limits on political and speech freedoms, pervasive corruption and violence against women.
Through all this, a New York Times article reported in 2011 that President Nazarbayev’s regime had paid DC think tanks to issue glowing reports on the country and ignore the negative.
(North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency/AP)
Called “the Kate Middleton of North Korea” by the Global Post, Ri Sol-ju was only last year “outed” as the supreme leader’s wife, having previously stood, unidentified, in photos with him.
Little is known about her other than she’s about 30 years old and comes from a well-to-do North Korean family.
However, the rumour mill has been churning out stories that she may have shot a homemade porn film, and that she once led a promiscuous lifestyle; unproven reports claim that her husband ordered nine musicians who were supposedly perpetuating these rumours executed, says NBC World News.
There were also rumours that Kim Jong-un had his wife killed following accusations of his uncle’s treason, until photos of her were published at later dates, quashing these speculations.
Her husband: Kim Jong-un took over the role of Supreme Leader when the country was already in trouble, with skyrocketing poverty and starvation rates. Still, the supreme leader himself lives a “seven-star party lifestyle”.
Since taking power, he has replaced more than 40 per cent of the nation’s military leaders and other officials who served under his father in order to, according to analysts, show that he is a secure enough leader that he can shed his closest support, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Jeannette Kagame, wife of Rwandan President Paul Kagame
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II receives the President of Rwanda, Mr. Paul Kagame and his wife Jeannette at Buckingham Palace, London in 2006. (Stefan Rousseau/PA Archive/Press Association Images)
Jeannette Kagame returned to her native Rwanda after the genocide of 1994 and has since championed issues related to women’s rights and children.
Her work as first lady has focused on ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic and improving the lives of its victims. Thanks to the collective efforts of Kagame and global leaders, new HIV infections have been cut in half and testing among young women has increased sixfold in the last decade.
Her husband: President Kagame is credited with leading Rwanda’s remarkable recovery from war and genocide, reducing corruption, expanding women’s rights, and jump-starting the economy. But his government has made these gains through tight restrictions on freedom of expression and association. In the most recent general election, authorities barred most opposing political parties from registering to vote, closed many independent newspapers, and were accused of killing journalists and exiled officials — efforts that helped Kagame garner a suspicious 93 per cent of the vote.
The 30+ wives of Saudi Arabian King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, Pool)
King Abdullah has had more than 30 wives during his lifetime, though very little is known about any of them individually.
Marriage, and more importantly its resulting offspring, is used to cement alliances. His father, King Abd al-Aziz, wed a daughter of every tribal chief in his realm. King Abdullah has fathered at least 35 children and, according to a 2008 WikiLeaks cable, he “regularly receives hormone injections and ‘uses Viagra excessively,’” procreating into his 70s.
Historically, the women of the House of Saud play a major role in politics. Behind palace walls, they hold regular meetings with the king so he can explain his views and listen to their thoughts.
Their husband: The House of Saud has ruled the nascent kingdom since its inception in 1932, with King Abdullah inheriting the throne from his brother in 2005. Citizens lack the legal means to change their government, transparency in the judiciary is almost nonexistent and there are severe punishment like chopping off hands for minor offences.
Inkhosikati LaMbikiza, wife of Swazi King Mswati III
King Mswati lll of Swaziland and Inkhosikati Lambikiza attend a dinner for foreign Sovereigns hosted by The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall to commemorate The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee at Buckingham Palace on May 18, 2012. (Image: Anwar Hussein/Anwar Hussein/EMPICS Entertainment)
Queen Inkhosikati LaMbikiza stands out as the “senior wife” among King Mswati III’s 15 brides. She dropped out of school at age 16 to marry him, becoming the first wife he chose for himself (the first two were ceremonial brides picked by the royal family).
Queen LaMbikiza defied Swazi tradition by earning a law degree after her marriage, though she’s not allowed to practice as it could create pressure on judges to rule in her favour. She influences culture in other ways — becoming the first Swazi queen to record a gospel album, and earning American press for her bold fashion choices.
Per Swazi law, King Mswati III is permitted to take a new bride each year. During this year’s annual Reed Dance festival, he added an 18-year-old beauty pageant contestant to his ‘collection’.
Her husband: The 45-year-old king is said to use as much as £31.7 million of Swaziland’s annual budget to sustain his family. As many as four wives have abandoned the king’s harem, citing physical and emotional abuse, according to The Daily Mail.
He enjoys total power over his one million subjects in one of the world’s last absolute monarchies. The system of government bans political parties from involvement in elections.
Asma al-Assad, wife of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
(AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
British beauty Asma al-Assad has stood by President Assad as his fortune rocketed past $1 billion and a civil war rages on in Syria.
The Assads met in London, where she worked as an investment banker at JPMorgan and Assad was studying to be an eye surgeon. They married shortly after he assumed the presidency from his dictator-father in 2000, and have since gained recognition for projecting a secular, modern image.
The mother of three has become controversial, however, for extravagant shopping sprees, disingenuous photos of her charitable work on the president’s official Instagram account, and an overly-praiseworthy profile in Vogue.
Her husband: Western governments have accused Assad’s administration of imprisoning dissidents, censoring the media and Internet, and using chemical weapons against its people — which prompted President Obama to seek congressional approval for military action earlier this year. No proof that Assad was behind the chemical attacks has been produced. More than 126,000 civilians have died since the civil war began in 2011.
Tatyana Karimova, wife of Uzbek President Islam Karimov
Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov, his wife Tatyana, and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, right. (MANISH SWARUP/AP/Press Association Images)
There’s trouble in paradise for Tatyana Karimova and President Karimov. The pair has reportedly separated, according to Uzbek dissident websites, and caught in a feud with their fiery heiress.
In November, the eldest first daughter picked fights with Karimova on Twitter, claiming that her mother practices witchcraft and has threatened to “destroy” her for interfering in the first lady’s allegedly shady business affairs.
Karimova is an economist by trade and keeps busy by engaging in charity work and accompanying the president on trips.
Her husband: Referendums stacked on referendums have kept Karimov in power since 1989, when he rose to be Communist Party leader in then-Soviet Uzbekistan. The resistance claims the authoritarian leader uses the threat of Islamic militancy to justify ruthless repression that reinforces poor living standards.
Cilia Flores, wife of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
Venezuela’s First Lady Cilia Flores, right, walks with Haiti’s First Lady Sophia Martelly through the international airport Toussaint Louverture in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)
Flores and Maduro met 19 years ago through a mutual friend: Hugo Chavez. Maduro was his bodyguard and Flores, a feisty lawyer who rose up from poverty, was a member of Chavez’s defence team that won his freedom after a failed coup attempt.
Flores, nicknamed the “First Fighter” by her husband, succeeded him as the first female president of the National Assembly, and last year was appointed attorney general of the Republic. She has denied accusations of nepotism, despite putting roughly 40 family members in positions of public administration.
Her husband: President Maduro, who came into power in April, has fanned the flames of Venezuela’s economic crisis through price-gouging, hoarding consumer goods, ordering mass arrests of “bourgeois” businessmen, and perpetuating conspiracy theories that seek to bring down opponents of his socialist regime. In February, the country’s legislator approved a bill giving him the ability to rule by decree without the need for legislative approval, a power once held by Chavez.
Grace Mugabe, wife of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe kisses his wife Grace during the countrys 33rd Independence celebrations in Harare last April. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)
Grace Mugabe, 41 years his junior, was President Mugabe’s secretary when they began having an affair in the ’80s. Two of their three children were born while the president was still married to his late wife, and the lovers tied the knot in an extravagant Catholic mass a few years after she died.
Reports of the first lady’s lavish lifestyle and international shopping sprees have prompted the president’s opponents to call her “Disgrace.” She prefers the moniker “mother of the nation.”
In a 2008 WikiLeaks cable, a former U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe accused Mugabe of reaping tremendous benefits from corruption and violence-plagued diamond fields in the eastern part of the country. She filed a $15 million suit against an independent newspaper that cited the cable.
Her husband: President Robert Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since the end of white domination in 1980 and retains an iron grip on the country’s feared security apparatus. He has been accused of vote rigging and setting up “torture camps” where opposition activists are beaten and intimidated into silence.
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58% is tax and then vat on that what joke,it cost €95 to fill my car and the government get €60
That’s after they have taxed your pay. If you were to add up all your taxes, income, VAT, excise, DIRT, property, water and Capital Gains, the government take most of your income and it is for this reason that some people can not actually afford to work.
Not to mention how much of that money is then wasted by the government!
Bondholders don’t come cheap – the Irish ones in suits at any rate !
Petrol and diesel are still cheaper here than the UK I think?
Not to mention inheritance tax (if you’re lucky!) The tax free amount for parents to children has managed to slide from 480k to 225k in very very few years… Since 2008 I think. Compare that with our UK counterparts of just over 650k sterling… It’s scary to think everything I may work for throughout my life will then also be pillaged after death at 33% after some sh*tty tax free band. Ridiculous country… But let’s keep accommodating the Americans with low CT, not that this old reliable will work for much longer as it continues to fall into the spotlight.
@Andrew: More than made up for though with the extortionate motor tax rates, especially if you can’t afford a post-08 car – although those went up in the last budgets too (so much for saving the planet!)
They are cheaper here but motor tax is a lot cheaper in the UK
Vehicles are a lot cheaper in the uk cause there not subject to a ridiculous VRT charge
God I love the whining about inheritance tax.
I cannot think of a more just tax than inheritance tax. Transfers from wealthy parents to their offspring perpetuate social inequalities and destroy social mobility.
Lets not worry about building social housing or housing market problems, the bank of mum and dad can help with that.
VRT’s a sham! In substance it’s an import duty, hope someone takes the case to Europe! Surprised the manufactures haven’t though!
Also on the point of ridiculous taxation in this country, I honestly can’t see how they could extract more from the economy, it’s beyond sustainable at this stage! Government is massive in this country now, and it seems to be just self serving & grossly inefficient, with very little end user value!
Get rid of CAR TAX and put it into the cost of petrol/diesel at the pump. its being mentioned 100s of times before. NCT is just another scam, people who cant efford a brand new car will pay much more in NCT and tax, than people driving around in 2014 cars!
You’re dead right, because the results of their extortionate pillaging of the graves is so clear to see currently ;)
What a stupid comment to make when there’s already been a ridiculous amount of tax paid on assets/cash reserves accumulated.
@David Burke
So rather than pass your money to your children you would prefer to give to the government to squander, you must not like your family much
Don’t give that bs about social mobility in this country, if you have the drive you can make it! Some of our best entrepreneurs and academics are from disadvantaged backgrounds! Also trades are still very well paid in Ireland, and the works coming back!
If someone’s parents have worked their bollox off for their entire life paying back a mortgage, they have to give the state 33% of anything over the miserable three hundred k threshold, it’s communist in my opinion!
He’s expecting his offspring to be perpetuate social inequalities.
Don’t forget the taxes on luxuries like being able to take money out of an ATM or having a credit card. Also levies on health insurance, pensions…It’s a great little country. At least all the money is well spent.
Who cares what the price is in the UK
It’s a completely different country with a different currency.
In fairness, while it’s hard to be sympathetic about a €225k inheritance, the people who left the property / inheritance earned it, payed tax on it, and probably held it to leave something for their kids, the government already got their cut from the parents why should they get it again? If I have a home when I die, having paid income tax, USC, levies, property tax, home insurance & life assurance and a mortgage at ridiculous interest rates my whole life why should my kids have to pay the government anything on it, I will want to leave all that I have for the benefit of my children and their children not for the government to take another piece of it! I’m not rich or anything that can be described as being remotely close to it, in fact I struggle financially like most which is all the more reason that when I’m finished paying for what I have I should be able to give it to who I like without them being penalised for getting it!
@Glen I’m just demonstrating how we’re getting screwed to the wall. I think you’ll find, and correct me if I’m wrong, a comparison is a key tool in backing up a statement made for or against something. & if you’re having trouble with the currency let me know I’ll convert it back to Euro for you ;)
Andy
Petrol in Ireland has gone up by 30 cent a litre in the last 4 years in Ireland …. Are them stats clear enough of how we are getting screwed.
I could never understand why that was never done, car tax is done on engine size and now emissions, basically the same laws apply the bigger the car the more fuel it burns, plus while not everyone taxes their car, everyone puts fuel in it, so that way it’s a win for government coffers, the new tax system was purely a boost for the motor industry, I envy the lower tax rates of my neighbours 2012 octavia compared to my 2005, but I don’t owe a penny on mine and the engine is bulletproof, so the tax saving for me to upgrade isn’t worth the cost,
Who inherits petrol/diesel for this to be a problem ☺
To be more precise
The highest it has hit was 1.70 a litre which would of been an increase of .38 cent at its highest in the last 4 years.
Hope this helps !!!
Also, just wondering on ppls opinion here, over the last number of years cars have gotten far more efficient, hence sales per litre has dropped, and excise tax is per liter, not a percent of cost. Will the govt increase the excise duty because it’s such a big revenue earner for them? Are they planning for this or will it be another poor reactive response as usual when the time comes?
Why should my children pay inheritance tax when I have already paid tax accumulating the wealth in the first place. This is double taxation
Ireland still has the 4th most expensive fuel on planet earth.
Still proud of your reduction❓
Neither does the dept of social welfare.
@glen do you not think it’s fair that we compare ourselves tomour nearest neighbours
… bigger cars do not burn more fuel. My 3.6l petrol users no more than a more modest engine (say 2.0t). It’s about efficiency, not size. Same goes for diesels.
What a ridiculous statement to make, maybe you would like to make the accumulation of wealth illegal as well,only a socialist control freak or a communist could come up with that.
they are a little cheaper here but road tax and MOT are massively cheaper in UK.
No doubt the government will take the bulk of any saving to the motorist in increased fuel tax.
“Let’s call it carbon tax”
What did he say that for, nothing more certain than a few cent tax on fuel in the budget so.
I recently got a fuel card that promised me 2c per litre of the pump price. The particular station I have to use however is 6c per litre more expensive than every other one in the area. Maybe work on certain providers lowering their take too. The tax take is ridiculous though. When the tax on something means the government gets more than you there is something very wrong.
another lesson in nothing is free, especially when it says ‘Free’
Come on Rob…dont be shy. Name the station.I am shure the Journal won’t sensor your comment if it is factual..
I’m guessing Esso, possibly topaz! They’re the most common fuel cards, although topaz is usually competitive, so I’ll blame Esso
Conor Faughnan has no idea, firstly when òil prices went down our govt increased taxes on petrol , so what he is saying in reality is when oil continues to drop we will get fleeced aģain, good old rip off Ireland…….
The world is awash with oil and gas thanks to fracking for shale gas in the USA and better recovery methods making older wells more productive.
Trolling like a boss. Idiot.
The USA is heading towards self sufficiency by 2020 and by then Barak Hussein Soetoro will have been sent packing and the Canadian oil sands output will be piped south to add to the bonanza or have the Chinese got the rights to that?
Trolling?
How?
Oil & gas production are only going in one direction…. Up.
If you don’t fall in line with the Anti-American or Capitalism crowd, you are an idiot troll or a paid shill. Didn’t you know that?
Fracking is killing people. But I suppose f@ck them because we need the oil right?
Rob, I would be interested to see some figures of deaths directly related to fracking if you have them?
So no fossil fuels then Rob?
Not if the process makes water flammable and people sick and die no. There are other ways to get oil.
Great fire up the range rover
It should be €1 a litre
If they decide to lower the price of fuel even by 5cent i would stand on my head singing “We are the Champions” while dressed in Drag then i shall proceed to do back flips down the length of O’Connel street
I remember when petrol used to be 99c
In 2007 I could fill my car for 50 euros, I filled it last week and it was 90 euros.
All most doubled in price in 7 years.
Hell will freeze over before our government reduce the price of a liter of diesel.
I remember it was €0.68! I used to fill my first car, granted a micra, for €30 or so! Although then I was usually only getting €5! Tough times when you’re 17 and trying to pay insurance! My lawnmower petrol container takes €10 now…. Used to be about €3! God I’m ancient
I’m (my current location) paying the equivalent of €12.65, give or take, for a full tank, 1.8 Kia Sportage. 365km, again, plus or minus (10kmish). We are fkning being fleeced. And it’s only when I got here, that it dawned on me. We’re only pawns.
People complain about petrol prices and then complain when Cork is underwater.
Pick one.
I for one would not complain if cork was underwater
Topaz is still dearest greedy f#ckers out there even with cost dropping.
Hey look on the bright side. There’s going to be some good news at the pumps later this year!!
So
Prsi we have to pay
USC must have its day
I heard that the latest eruptions of Mount Etna were definitely due to a combination of fracking and climate change and an increase in fuel tax is needed to clean up the emissions. A well-known American faux-environmentalist is organising a Carbon Credits sale.
Next up will be a big increase in tax of diesel fuel as it now known to be really bad for particulate emissions, (which is hardly news, but now being shouted about). Too many people have bought diesel vehicles to reduce CO2 and get better MPG and the tax-take is dropping so a new “Environmental” levy is required. EU will probably mandate this in the near future. Government will reduce tax by 5c just as EU increase it by 10c.
Where does the money from carbon tax go?
I would have thought it should go towards promoting wind and solar energy but suspect it goes straight into the exchequer.
Does anyone know?
It goes to governments who then either pay it to bigger governments when they get fined for producing too much carbon dioxide or pay it to climate researchers who’s only aim is to prove how bad man made global warming is going to get. Its a great money spinner, even Telsla cars now make more money by selling carbon credits than they do by selling electric cars. On top of all this though we have yet to reduce the amount of carbon we’re pumping into the atmosphere.
Drink 10 less pints a yr and you save on the same difference yo
Sit in the cold and die from hypothermia and you will save even more!
How logical is that
Far too many elderly people have to make the choice between heating and eating, how logical is that? The next few weeks are looking bleak and for some the heating season will start early this year.
Already there !
Extra clothes is the sensible way to go. Layers.
You’re obviously a royal piss head noel.
Wow. What an educated and informed comment.
Did you think of that all by yourself?
FAUGHNAN TALKS SHITE HE BLEETS ABOUT THE MOTORIST AND DOES NOTHING TO MAKE THE GOVERMENT REDUCE THEIR 90 CENT ON EVERY LITRE. ALWAYS BLEETING ABOUT ROAD SAFETY WHEN HE KNOWS THAT THE CAMERA VANS ARE JUST ANOTHER WAY FOR THE SPASTICS IN DAIL EIREANN TO SCREW MORE MONEY FROM US.
have your say