fine gael – Page 2 – Slugger O'Toole

Let’s welcome Leo Varadkar. He’ll play a big part in our futures

Brian Walker on June 3, 2017, 8:43 am

| Readers 2624

The emergence of Leo Varadakar as Taoiseach is the latest sign of dramatic change of in the Republic. It is a bit unsettling that although we are learning who he is we haven’t a clue what he is in traditional Irish terms. Since starting out as a Fine Gael party nerd in his youth, he has risen without much trace, picking his causes with increasing care but making his mark with signature comments. Thankfully none of them was about our …

Varadkar v Coveney for the Fine Gael Leadership

David McCann on May 20, 2017, 5:49 pm

| Readers 1828

The deadline for nominations have passed and there are two confirmed candidates for the job with Minister’s Simon Coveney & Leo Varadkar in the race to replace Enda Kenny as Fine Gael Leader. How does the process work? Each of the candidates has been nominated by at least 10% of the Parliamentary Party (PP), comprised of TDs, Senators and MEPs. The process for electing the next Leader of Fine Gael is defined in Rule 49 of the Fine Gael Constitution …

“I no longer have confidence in the ability of Enda Kenny TD to lead Fine Gael”

David McCann on February 17, 2017, 1:38 pm

| Readers 782

Fine Gael TD, Alan Farrell is the latest to declare no confidence in Enda Kenny; Unfortunately, I no longer have confidence in the ability of Enda Kenny TD to lead Fine Gael and I believe his position is now untenable. Fine Gael, as a party in Government, requires a leader who can manage the party in a manner which inspires faith amongst the Parliamentary Party, our local representatives and the wider membership. I wish the acknowledge Enda Kenny’s unwavering commitment to public service …

Even after Enda, the Republic has enough elected politicians with an appetite to get on with their work

Mick Fealty on February 17, 2017, 9:57 am

| Readers 575

After the big confidence debate in the Dail passed with the abstention of Fianna Fail, it does seem that we have a result. It’s looking like the Taoiseach’s ‘false memory’ of a conversation with one of his independent minister has done for him. In reality, it exposes the extent to which Enda Kenny has been reliant on his advisors that he misremembered him having a conversation which in reality happened only between his advisors and those of Katherine Zappone. The …

Fine Gael on Sinn Féin: “We couldn’t work with them”

Pete Baker on January 29, 2017, 5:13 pm

| Readers 865

Something to keep in mind when criticising others… There was a bit of a kerfuffle following Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s mid-term non-answer to a question on the potential for any future coalition involving Sinn Féin. The Irish Examiner records Enda Kenny saying While strongly ruling out doing any deal with Fianna Fáil, Enda Kenny said “depending on the result you gave as a member of the electorate, politicians have to work with the result, so, Sinn Féin seem to be converted …

Is it coming to the end of the line for Enda?

David McCann on September 26, 2016, 12:55 pm

| Readers 787

Interesting report in today’s Irish Times about the rumblings within Fine Gael The intermittent rumblings about Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s leadership are preparing Fine Gael for the choice it will have to make. “It’s now the time to start getting organised,” said one of those who will be centrally involved in preparing a leadership hopeful. The three main contenders are Varadkar, Simon Coveney and Frances Fitzgerald.Varadkar is seen as streets ahead of his rivals in terms of parliamentary party support. As …

Kenny tells EU to prepare for prospect of a Border Poll

David McCann on July 18, 2016, 8:02 pm

| Readers 3438

Just in from the Irish Independent; #BREAKING Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said the Government and the EU must prepare seriously for the prospect of a border poll. More to follow — Independent.ie (@Independent_ie) July 18, 2016 Quotes from Enda; The discussion and negotiations that take place over the next period should take into account the possibility, however far out it might be, that the clause in the Good Friday Agreement might be triggered and that if there is a clear …

Two polls show good news for Fianna Fail

David McCann on July 16, 2016, 6:53 pm

| Readers 1141

Two polls out tonight from RedC and the Sunday Times/Behaviour and Attitudes survey show good news for Fianna Fail NEW SBP/Red C Poll: FG 26 (-) FF 29 (+3) SF 13 (-2) Lab 6 (-) IA 5 (+1) Ind 7 (-4) AAA/PBP 5 (-) SD 4 (-) GP 4 (+2) Ren 1 (-) Other 1 (-) — Hugh O’Connell (@oconnellhugh) July 16, 2016 POLL STimes/B&A (Jul 1-11, ±3.3%) FF 30(+5 4wks) FG 25(-1) SF 14(-3) Lab 6(+1) AAAPBP 5(+1) Inds …

New Dail will be all about who can tag whom with legislative responsibility…

Mick Fealty on April 18, 2016, 10:03 am

| Readers 429

Brilliant from Jason O’Mahony, on the awkward situation Fine Gael now find themselves in. If you still struggle with understanding the difference between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail (and despite all guff being written recently there definitely is one: it’s just not ideological), read this: Someone once said to me that the problem with Fine Gael is that they’re that lethal mixture of being both arrogant and stupid. You can survive by being arrogant but clever, or by being dim but …

Why a Grand Coalition would be a Grand Mistake for Fianna Fail

David McCann on April 7, 2016, 11:01 am

| Readers 1497

There is a lot of talk about coalitions and minority governments going on these days since the Irish electorate gave a collective “huh?” to the main parties. As I noted earlier there have now been the first talks between the Taoiseach and Fianna Fail leader about possibly forming some sort of grand coalition. It has to happen some commentators say and it has surely been a long time coming, but I want to give a different perspective as to why …

Kenny makes his first serious move towards forming a grand coalition

David McCann on April 7, 2016, 10:09 am

| Readers 338

In the first meeting between the Micheal Martin & Kenny, the Fine Gael Press Office told us about this offer; This evening the Taoiseach Enda Kenny and the Leader of Fianna Fáil Micheal Martin had a positive and constructive meeting during which they discussed the current political situation and options for the formation of a stable and lasting Government. The Taoiseach made a formal offer for the formation of a full partnership Government including Fine Gael, Independents and Fianna Fail …

Government Formation: Reconciling Irreconcilables?

Soapbox on March 9, 2016, 9:06 am

| Readers 655

The noise that has emanated from politicians – past and present – and pundits about what the next government might look like has been difficult to make sense of in recent days. Equally trenchant arguments have been made, on the one hand, that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael will form a coalition and, on the other, that such a grand coalition is impossible. Some have advocated for a minority Fine Gael government, supported from the opposition benches by Fianna Fáil. …

Final words from John Bowman on #ge16

David McCann on February 29, 2016, 11:40 pm

| Readers 1519

A tradition in Irish election broadcasts is the final thoughts of broadcaster, John Bowman. Since there will be a lot of speculation over the coming days, here is his final analysis of Election 2016; To say this election is unique goes without saying. It’s historic, it’s seismic, it’s awesome in its consequences and as the deluge subsides what does one see? Is the integrity of the quarrel between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael intact or will it melt? Is the …

After #GE16… Can Fine Gael grab power out of this political equinox?

Mick Fealty on February 29, 2016, 1:58 pm

| Readers 758

SPRING OR AUTUMN: The recovery is real which makes government office well worth hanging on to for as long as possible as far as the party is concerned. But it remains to be seen whether this equinoctial moment marks a spring or autumn for Fine Gael’s longer term ambitions.

Post #GE16 realignment: The more things change, the more they stay the same…

Mick Fealty on February 28, 2016, 7:21 pm

| Readers 1778

Pollsters do their best with a good product that is often granted a status of political reality it was never intended to carry. Polls are useful, as Janan Ganesh put it, “as contextual information, not the story itself”. The press’s polls obsession made it difficult for either Fine Gael or Fianna Fail to get past questions about vote share (historically their lowest combined total in the history of the state) with the implication they were lying if they suggested they …

#GE16 Exit Polls show Government parties set for a beating

David McCann on February 27, 2016, 8:49 am

| Readers 969

Well it’s all over and we are just waiting for the vote to be counted but two exit polls make terrible reading for the government and should make Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein happy. RTE Irish Times/MRBI Some takeaways If true this is Enda Kenny’s worst ever General Election performance as leader, he scored 27.1% in 2007 and 36.1% in 2011. Fianna Fail are back in business; in places like Munster and parts of Dublin, the party will increase its …

Coalitions; How to keep one crowd honest & the other crowd out

David McCann on February 23, 2016, 7:50 pm

| Readers 1170

Coalitions are the talk of the town at the moment in the Irish general election. It’s little wonder seeing as the current government is certain to lose the massive 53 seat majority that it won at the 2011 general election. According to Professor Michael Marsh’s poll of polls the current state of play in terms of seats is this; This pretty much means all bets are off in terms of forming a government as only Fianna Fail and Fine …

Without a credible alternative Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil’s “political Jedward” moment may have to wait…

Mick Fealty on February 23, 2016, 2:08 pm

| Readers 573

With a touch of Ganesh’s “discriminating regard for fundamentals” in mind, here’s the most intelligent comment on the likely outcomes of an indecisive election result on Friday since Derek Mooney’s piece for Slugger. This time it’s from Eoin O’Malley. Firstly, political instability is not against any constitutional law that I’ve ever heard of… …the events of 1981/82 show that while governments tend to be formed the ones formed will not always be the most stable option available. Why did we not then …

Ranking the Party Election Broadcasts

David McCann on February 18, 2016, 9:47 pm

| Readers 910

As most of our regular readers know, I typically get a group of people together to review the party election broadcasts from the various parties in Northern Ireland. However, with the twists and turns in the current Irish general election, I thought it would be interesting do something similar for the party election broadcasts in the South. In that spirit, I took myself down to Dublin to review each of the main parties election broadcasts Hugh O’Connell, Political Editor of …

What do the Southern parties have planned for Northern Ireland?

David McCann on February 15, 2016, 7:07 pm

| Readers 3031

There’s an election on in the South in case you hadn’t noticed. Whilst yes, the North plays a little role in determining the outcome of an Irish election and the interest from Northern Ireland has hardly been great, I thought that since we now have the manifestos of the main parties out there now, it would be interesting to see what plans each of them have for the North. You will be relieved to know that in all of the …