So who'll be the new leader of Fianna Fail...

DFS UTD

So who'll be the new leader of Fianna Fail... and Taoiseach?

kenco

Looks like it will be Cowan but I personally would brefer Lenihan

I would expect FF to nail down the decision rapidly and there may not even be a contest just a coronation.

token56

More than likely it will be Cowan.

Whats also interesting is who will be the new finance minister should this happen?

kizzyr

Brian Cowan. Bertie said he'd go on May 6th to allow Brian and the wife get new clothes to wear for the photo op. Bet you Brian is down in Louis Copelands getting measured up for his new suit.

Sherifu

Brian Cowan. Can't see anyone else getting it.

Cowen looks a shoo in.

Brian Lenihan would be very popular, and could give him a fright, but has ruled himself out. His time will come.

Apart from that Dermot Ahern would be popular, but perhaps not enough to really challenge.

ballooba

Lenihan has already effectively discounted himself and installed himself as Cowen's deputy.

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

davej

Rumours are that Mary Hanafin might take a shot...

davej

Elmo

I would like to see Mary Hannifan take the job.

Sherifu

No thanks to Hannifan. Cowan will get it. Wouldn't mind O'Cuiv.

Breezer

Cowen. I think Enda Kenny has a point when he says that since Bertie is effectively admitting guilt, and since the entire Cabinet supported him, they should now seek a new mandate from the people in an election. According to Bertie though, his resignation had nothing to do with 'recent events.' Won't happen anyway.

As I said, Cowen.

mickd

davej wrote: »

Rumours are that Mary Hanafin might take a shot...

davej

Would be a disaster given the was she has handled the Kids with Special Needs issue

Elmo

Maybe they should just let Enda Kenny be Leader of a new super party called FFFG

Mr.Micro

How about Dustin the Turkey and FF wont notice a turkey from a dead duck.

TomTom

Cowen with Lenihan as deputy.

Dessiemc27

Heard Cowen speaking at a Letterkenny Chamber of Commerse Dinner in October last. Great speaker with a thunder in his speeches. Would be a great Taoiseach, the perfect candidate to lift Ireland out of the end of the Celtic Tiger era..

Dessiemc27

Cowen Dosent fit the profile of previous Taoiseachs but I get the feeling he is the natural choice as a leader of a country

purple'n'gold

Dessiemc27 wrote: »

Cowen Dosent fit the profile of previous Taoiseachs but I get the feeling he is the natural choice as a leader of a country

He is not the natural choice; he will be the choice of the people who matter in Fianna Fail. The rest of us do not get a say in the matter.

Riddle101

kizzyr wrote: »

Brian Cowan. Bertie said he'd go on May 6th to allow Brian and the wife get new clothes to wear for the photo op. Bet you Brian is down in Louis Copelands getting measured up for his new suit.

I'd say he already had his suit made last year, but yeah i think Cowan will get it, all the finace minsters are usually the one to get in power because they're the most important of all the minsters, well the departments are

AckwelFoley

davej wrote: »

Rumours are that Mary Hanafin might take a shot...

davej

Ive a greater chance of getting the job of President of the USA as she has becomming Leader of FF.

Cowen is a "shoe in" if he wants it

guinnessdrinker

snyper wrote: »

Cowen is a "shoe in" if he wants it

Why would he not want it though?

AckwelFoley

Im not saying he doesnt, but you can never tell.

Sometimes for personal reasons. But hes head and shoulders above the rest with the possible exceptions of Dermot Ahern.

guinnessdrinker

snyper wrote: »

Im not saying he doesnt, but you can never tell.

Sometimes for personal reasons. But hes head and shoulders above the rest with the possible exceptions of Dermot Ahern.

Possibly true enough about Cowen and Dermot Ahern but there is not too much competition within the rest of the FF parliamentary party in fairness.

gordon_gekko

the opposition will be praying that cowen gets it for the simple reason that an election with brian cowen as taosieach will be better for the opposition

brian cowen wont play well in urban areas and especially dublin , he,s about as polished and urbane as an old massy ferguson , hes got an offaly accent , hes no oil painting and hes not from dublin which never plays well in dublin
immage is vital in the world of politics today , just look at barrack obama in the usa
dermot aherne would be a good taoiseach , hes very urbane , well spoken and would be brilliant on the international stage having been in foreign affairs
immage aside , i dont like cowan anyhow , he messed up stamp duty reform which was the begining of the end for the property boom
hes not a reformer in that hes very conservative and cautious for all his bluster
mc dowell was a reformer, haughey was a reformer
cowan is just a grumpy surly man from the midlands
he,ll get the gig though , FF are all about loyalty to there own kind so he,l get it

slumped

Personally I would prefer to see Dermot Ahern in there, but Cowen looks more likely.

Does anyone see any resemblances with Gordon Brown and Brian Cowen??

I think they look alike.....

S

gordon_gekko

slumped wrote: »

Personally I would prefer to see Dermot Ahern in there, but Cowen looks more likely.

Does anyone see any resemblances with Gordon Brown and Brian Cowen??

I think they look alike.....

S

they not only look alike , they are alike , there both dour grumpy surly sulks , at least gordon brown has the excuse of being scottish

whats amusing about this is blair and bertie were so alike aswell

oscarBravo

gordon_gekko wrote: »

immage is vital in the world of politics today , just look at barrack obama in the usa
dermot aherne would be a good taoiseach , hes very urbane , well spoken and would be brilliant on the international stage having been in foreign affairs

And yet, Bertie (urbane? I don't think so) is very popular on the international circuit.

Perhaps image isn't everything.

slumped

I think it's funny how Brian Cowen has aged:



and now



urghh

Liam Byrne

The Examiner had a page covering the possible successors, including...

1) Mary Hanafin - the woman who refuses to listen to parents groups
2) Noel Dempsey - the guy who screwed up Broadband and cost us a fortune in eVoting machines

God Help Us! It's enough to make you want to bring back Bertie!!!

gordon_gekko

gordon_gekko wrote: »

brian cowen wont play well in urban areas and especially dublin , he,s about as polished and urbane as an old massy ferguson , hes got an offaly accent , hes no oil painting and hes not from dublin which never plays well in dublin
immage is vital in the world of politics today , just look at barrack obama in the usa
dermot aherne would be a good taoiseach , hes very urbane , well spoken and would be brilliant on the international stage having been in foreign affairs
immage aside , i dont like cowan anyhow , he messed up stamp duty reform which was the begining of the end for the property boom
hes not a reformer in that hes very conservative and cautious for all his bluster
mc dowell was a reformer, haughey was a reformer
cowan is just a grumpy surly man from the midlands

Agree with that. There's something appealing about Dermot Ahern, and Brian just hasn't got it. I hope Dermot runs, but would be pleasantly surprised if he got it.

purple'n'gold

A prominent (local) politician from my part of the world recently was part of a delegation that went to see Minister Hanafin about funding for a school. I won’t elaborate as I do not want to compromise anyone. We all realise that what you want (from ministers etc.) is not necessarily what you will get, but I was reliably informed that the arrogance and rudeness of minister Hanafin in dismissing them (the delegation) was breathtaking.

El Stuntman

this is my favourite Cowen pic, taken after being, ahem, 'sociable' at an Ogra FF bash

slumped

El Stuntman wrote: »

this is my favourite Cowen pic, taken after being, ahem, 'sociable' at an Ogra FF bash

He's sweating like a pig in heat there.......

Don't think Dermot Ahern would be pictured like that!

Agent Smith

Vote early! Vote Often!

CerebralCortex

slumped wrote: »

I think it's funny how Brian Cowen has aged:

What made people think those glasses were acceptable lol!!!

Hellm0

Is it just me or does Irish politics without Bertie just seem...stagnant? Don't get me wrong, I'm no fan of Bertie(though I do believe I'll remember him with nostalgia due to the time of my life he ruled in) however there seems to be no viable candidate to replace him. I don't see why ANYONE should be a "shoe in" for the job of leading Ireland out of the economic/social mire it is facing, especially not a uncouthed sack of fat like Cowan.

Personally I think it's time for a little change in the way government is done in Ireland and I really don't think Cowan is up to the job. Alot of very important issues need to be tackled(Improving rather than replacing our public heath care service, effective implementation of infrastructure development rather than crony ism based cash cow's, the list continues) and these people simply won't do anything about the problems other than continue along the well trodden path towards increasing national debt and decreasing national wealth for their own benefit.

greatgoal

ok cowan is in the running...not really acceptable,but ok its a thought...but this f***in dempsey, keep this sh*t away at all costs..he used to teach me in st josephs in drogheda in the early 70s and he was a conniving dictator..if people thought bertie was a gangster...dont even attempt to vote this f***er in...anyone who runs up a bill of 75,000euros for a paddys day trip to oz..is either totaly mad or an apprentice mathematicion....excuse the spelling,but the thought of this is mind boggling...this **** charged us for using plastic bags...what will happen if this s**t gets in...he is a total wa***r.

greatgoal

sorry peeps,this is a heartfelt rant,didnt mean to offend any pro dempsey people but to me he is a tota s**t...bad memories even though it was from the early 70s:mad:

Very obviously Cowen

Tullamore could use an international airport....

Breezer

greatgoal wrote: »

ok cowan is in the running...not really acceptable,but ok its a thought...but this f***in dempsey, keep this sh*t away at all costs..he used to teach me in st josephs in drogheda in the early 70s and he was a conniving dictator..if people thought bertie was a gangster...dont even attempt to vote this f***er in...anyone who runs up a bill of 75,000euros for a paddys day trip to oz..is either totaly mad or an apprentice mathematicion....excuse the spelling,but the thought of this is mind boggling...this **** charged us for using plastic bags...what will happen if this s**t gets in...he is a total wa***r.

A truely awe-inspiring post :rolleyes: The plastic bag levy was a great idea. But no, I do not want Dempsey as Taoiseach. In fact I think I'd emigrate. I won't have to though, Cowen is a shoe in now Dermot Ahern, Martin and Hanafin have all ruled themselves out.

Liam Byrne

Regardless of who it is they've been tainted, not getting Bertie to "tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth" from the earliest opportunity......

He might tell it yet, but it'll be too little, too late.....

SarahMc

purplengold wrote: »

A prominent (local) politician from my part of the world recently was part of a delegation that went to see Minister Hanafin about funding for a school. I won’t elaborate as I do not want to compromise anyone. We all realise that what you want (from ministers etc.) is not necessarily what you will get, but I was reliably informed that the arrogance and rudeness of minister Hanafin in dismissing them (the delegation) was breathtaking.

Really? I have always found her to be incredibly personable.

Perhaps it will be Cowan, until rattle rattle, then we will have Lenihan waiting in the wings.

redspider

So, the annointed one, Brian 'piggy' Cowen, aka biffo, is being appointed, the chosen one, the mantle passed on from the 'great' Bertie Ahern.

Its ironic - when we looked on at countries such as North Korea when leadership was passed from father to son without a valid contest, or at Russia where Putin annointed and passed on control to Medvedev (sp?), huge questions were raised about the validity of the democrarcy of those countries. Now we have a situation whereby the people voted very recently in a general election with Ahern as leader of FF, and now the government leader is changed, with a shoe-in based on a similar annointing. Is this democratic? Not very, in my book. It re-affirms a pyramid stucture that exists in our political system, where its 'jobs for the boys' or 'lasses' all the way to the top. That makes ar.se licking and other kow-towing and cringeing methods endemic, and built-in to the political system, and the civil service. It also can lead to corruption opportunities as vested interests are protected and exploited.

Btw, when you look along the line of the cabinet, there is not much quality there that you would earmark as leader/Taoiseach material. An older Brian Lenihan has potential perhaps. Dermot Ahern would seem reasonable. I'm not a fan of Biffo as he has a 'right-wing' type of attitude when it comes to implementing policy and basically avoids the truth and is pig-headed about it, eg: the housing slowdown, the economic slowdown.

I think that the other parties will be happy to contest against Cowen. He has a number of disadvantages, including being form the midlands which will not garner much support in areas such as Dublin, or indeed Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford, etc. The selection of Tanaiste and Minister for Finance will be important for FF in terms of their 'sellability', etc, as well as for the careers of the people involved.

Bertie was used as a goafer yet went to the top hanging on the coat-tails of Haughey as he was seen as not being 'smart enough' to do any wrong. On the grand scale of things, he probably just dabbled. Although, as Haughey said and others who work with him behind closed doors will confirm, he is more cunning than he lets on. A typical 'cute hoor'.

By the way, one of my earlier posts was deleted on another thread, but its worth re-stating: I enjoyed watching Bertie Ahern squirm when he made his resignation announcement, and enjoyed listening to his voice quiver and break up and hear him sound tearful. Its good to see someone like this get their come-uppance.

> arrogance and rudeness of minister Hanafin

I have heard similar anecdotal evidence and have some direct evidence myself. She is sort of always a teacher and dismisses the 'common' people as if they are children in school that dont know any better. She can hold her own in debates usually, and is a 24 hr politician. She'd make an ideal headmistress.

Re-admittance of Beverly Cooper-Flynn
And its business as usual at FF. Ahern cant see what he has done as being wrong, Cooper-Flynn likewise and FF readily admit her back into the fold. Jeez.

When will the voting public ever learn? It is up to us collectively to be the police of morals and corruption. If anyone in Mayo has even half an inkling of a backbone or any moral fibre, they would have campaigned vigorously NOT to vote for Cooper-Flynn. Likewise people in Tipp with Lowry. But what do we get? Corrupted people coming back in on very popular votes. It was the same with Bertie.

If you want to change the culture of politics in Ireland, look to your fellow voter, most of whom seem to be 'unwashed' and clueless. We get what we deserve.

Redspider