What exactly is it about Enda Kenny that makes us see him as a poor potential leader?

deleriumtremens

Like, we all know that politicains in this country are all just working to keep their own fat pay checks..but what are the characteristics of Enda Kenny that make us believe he would make an especially bad leader for this country?

/gets popcorn

brianthebard

None, he's a decent guy, works hard for his constituency and would do a good job in power. Certainly couldn't be worse than Brian "jowls" Cowan.

Or, theory no.2; He's a culchie and the people that hate him are townies. This is backed up by every townie who's ever spoken about him saying they don't like him.

abi2007

I think enda kenny is great. reckon he'd do a good job of it

MJOR

he is a ginger

Mark200

I'd prefer someone with a bit more life

thetyreman

Because he is a polition:)

stovelid

Enda is basically a girl's name.

The_Minister

His past is uninspiring, he gives off a feeling of weakness/impotence, and whenever he makes a speech you can just tell someone else wrote it for him (obviously thats true for many politicians, but most hide it).

And everyone knows that he got the job only because there was no-one else.

admiralofthefleet

Mark200 wrote: »

I'd prefer someone with a bit more life

i would prefer someone who was alive, tbh

galwayrush

I expect he is a nice guy, but i feel that any party leader who is there for a good few years and looses an election should move aside to help rebuild the party.

abi2007

Mark200 wrote: »

I'd prefer someone with a bit more life

someone that talks alot usually talks alot of ****e
eg. bertie
cowan

Earthhorse

The_Minister wrote: »

And everyone knows that he got the job only because there was no-one else.

Just like Cowen!

Professey Chin

Crabs

mikemac

Talk about a loaded title!:rolleyes:
You've already made up your mind OP and you're looking for others to agree with you.

Enda Kenny would do an excellant job as Taoiseach and FG have some good candidates to become ministers. Richard Bruton as Min of Finance for example.

IronMan

Whilst he is not the most exciting of people to have ever faced a camera, he does seem to have an inherent decency, a virtue that seems to have become "old fashioned" in the "new" Ireland. Some of the other FG front bench impress me, especially Richard Bruton, who has long been a bastion of common sense. Brian Hayes, James Reilly etc also seem to know their arse from their elbow, which cannot be said for some of our ministers, who appear to have gone into hiding.

Its his hair and his redneck accent

WoollyRedHat

The_Minister wrote: »

His past is uninspiring, he gives off a feeling of weakness/impotence, and whenever he makes a speech you can just tell someone else wrote it for him (obviously thats true for many politicians, but most hide it).

And everyone knows that he got the job only because there was no-one else.

True, a re-building the party and changing their fortunes, getting a bigger share of seats, reads for pretty uninspiring headlines in the papers. We want to read about the scandals, the dirty stuff you know.

norwegianwood

he looks like a country and western singer.

galwayrush

I hope he replaces Cowen soon though.

Fizman

He has about as much charisma as a wet packet of waffles.

PrivateEye

An absolute failure when it comes to the media, he always comes across very wooden and like a complete gobsh!te. If Cowen proposed free ice-cream for everyone, Enda would give out about it. The reason the Tories (:rolleyes: ) are looking so set for victory in the next U.K elections is the strategy of "While Labour may be right on X, they're wrong on A,B,C" or "The following things need to be changed" etc.

Kenny moans. About everything. All the time.

He always comes across badly in photoshoots. See the one of him standing next to FGs 'How will you vote on Lisbon?' machine in Jervis Shopping Centre? Father Dougal stuff. They also reset the machine when the Níls went a bit high for their liking, which was hilarious in itself :pac:

**The above post about waffles is spot on.

tubedude

The people who think enda kenny would be a poor leader are probably the same dopes who think brian cowen is a good leader.

Brian Cowen is an embarrassment.

Fizman

norwegianwood wrote: »

he looks like a country and western singer.

Whatever about a western singer, but exactly what country do you think he resembles?

:pac:

deleriumtremens

mikemac wrote: »

Talk about a loaded title!:rolleyes:
You've already made up your mind OP and you're looking for others to agree with you.

Haha, supose you're right! It just seems to me that nobody ever makes Enda Kenny out to be a great potential leader. The best they ever say of him is that he'd be better than that fish we have in there at the minute. Then again, that wouldnt be too difficult!

WoollyRedHat

Fizman wrote: »

He has about as much charisma as a wet packet of waffles.

Bertie Ahern was pretty charismatic and look where that got us?


It's not the be all and all. It's important to a degree, but the taoiseach shouldn't be some kind of bledding celebrity.

LowOdour

I know he is the opposition, but he has done nothing productive since the recession has kicked in. He just complains about what the current government has/is doing, but he could start been more positive. Isnt it a time all parties started pulling together.

Dont think he would make a blind bit of difference to the current crisis

Enda Kenny

And

Victor Garber

Eerie or what?

(Since when can we not put pics up on After Hours?)

tubedude

Fizman wrote: »

He has about as much charisma as a wet packet of waffles.

Yeah and Brian Cowen is going to be starring alongside brad pitt in the new oceans eleven movie...

deleriumtremens

tubedude wrote: »

Yeah and Brian Cowen is going to be starring alongside brad pitt in the new oceans eleven movie...

I laughed out loud!

Fizman

tubedude wrote: »

Yeah and Brian Cowen is going to be starring alongside brad pitt in the new oceans eleven movie...

As the ocean?

And that would be oceans 14 then?

tubedude

Fizman wrote: »

And that would be oceans 14 then?

Yeah I guess you're right...

Biggins

* He comes across the media as a tame poodle without any bite.

* He rambles on about issues where he disagrees with FF (which is fair enough) but does not give equivalent oppositional strategic proposals in confrontation of a given situation.
(His reasons for this might be that he does not want to give too much away before he might get into power however this is NOT the time to be playing party politics)

* He is quick to give soundbites but disappears rapid if you ask him for something in detail or exactness.

* He got the job at the time I suspect because no one wanted to step up then to stand in the firing line.

* His ability to evoke the public into some form of united opposition is floundering uselessly like a piece of paper bouncing from place to place in the wind - going where ever the direction of the wind is blowing from minute to minute - he going with it!

* His credentials are generally unknown. What are his exact qualifications? (this should apply to all leaders - What qualifies skills-wise them to be placed in government office?)

* He never effectively faces down Cowan & Co in the Dail but backs off every time.

* He nit picks over semantics when in fact he should be sticking to the principles, causes and solutions of any one single problem.

* He should pick a direction, a policy, an idea and stick with it

* He offers no clear clarification as to what, where and when he is different from what has gone before and what is possibly coming next - which still looks the same...

and that's just for starters!

smellslikeshoes

Think its generally just how stiff he is as a person, say what you like about Bertie and even Cowen but they just have more animated characters compared to Enda Kenny.
After saying that though I'll still be voting Fine Gael.

OPENROAD

brianthebard wrote: »

None, he's a decent guy, works hard for his constituency and would do a good job in power. Certainly couldn't be worse than Brian "jowls" Cowan.

Or, theory no.2; He's a culchie and the people that hate him are townies. This is backed up by every townie who's ever spoken about him saying they don't like him.

Sadly, like it or not, image/chamisma plays an important role and he is sadly lacking, I believe FG are trying to play up a team approach strategy thus taking the attention away from Kenny and onto FG as a whole which will do them some good. Richard Bruton has come across extremely well in recent months and will do FG no harm come an election, many would like to see him as leader though the drawback is that he would not be in Finance.

flanzer

3 words ........

Sign the contract

Muppet. Tried to go all hip with a new messy hairdo to attract the younger voters in the last election. Doesn't articulate himself as well as Richard Bruton

banshee_bones

brianthebard wrote: »

None, he's a decent guy, works hard for his constituency and would do a good job in power. Certainly couldn't be worse than Brian "jowls" Cowan.

Or, theory no.2; He's a culchie and the people that hate him are townies. This is backed up by every townie who's ever spoken about him saying they don't like him.

+1

brianthebard

Biggins wrote: »

* He comes across the media as a tame poodle without any bite.

* He rambles on about issues where he disagrees with FF (which is fair enough) but does not give equivalent oppositional strategic proposals in confrontation of a given situation.
(His reasons for this might be that he does not want to give too much away before he might get into power however this is NOT the time to be playing party politics)

You must be watching different news stations, and not the one's where he makes good sound points in debates, and is capable of having a verbal tussle with anyone on the other side of the dail. He also provides plenty of alternatives, look at the stuff he's said about qangos. There's a plan in place ready to be started on day one. FF still don't have a plan, for anything.

* He is quick to give soundbites but disappears rapid if you ask him for something in detail or exactness.

* He got the job at the time I suspect because no one wanted to step up then to stand in the firing line.

And he managed to bring the party back from failure to win 20 extra seats and did very very well in the european and locals. Just because there was no other clear contender doesn't mean he hasn't done a good job.

* His credentials are generally unknown. What are his exact qualifications? (this should apply to all leaders - What qualifies skills-wise them to be placed in government office?)

WTF? here now this is fox news anti obama nonsense now. What exactly do you need to know? He's been leader for long enough, if you don't know what his previous job before politics was or what role he had in the last FG coalition government then its your own fault and you shouldn't be spouting off on something you don't know about.

* He never effectively faces down Cowan & Co in the Dail but backs off every time.

* He nit picks over semantics when in fact he should be sticking to the principles, causes and solutions of any one single problem.

* He should pick a direction, a policy, an idea and stick with it

* He offers no clear clarification as to what, where and when he is different from what has gone before and what is possibly coming next - which still looks the same...

and that's just for starters!

Baseless assertions that are in no way provable all of them! Tell the truth, you just plain don't like FG. That's not a bad thing, I don't like or vote for them either. But I'm at least balanced in saying so.

Biggins

I'm not second guessing the original OP, but if they are looking for a lovefest for Enda, he won't find it here.

Honest to god - if I was Enda and I wanted to the leader of this country, there is a number of things I would do first.

1. Fire - right now - his PR man. and if he hasn't got one - GET ONE!

2. Take some lessons from the PR people that get the likes of Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush, ect, elected.

3. Stay on subject. Hammer, hammer, hammer on one subject days on end into Cowans face daily till the bloated garbage has nothing to do but give proper answers if only to shut him up!

4. He should stop changing the latest attack on the opposition to what ever is blowing in the wind that day or just before - then do number 3.

5. Get a wardrobe that actually makes him look powerful. Not go around in light suits that make him look like its been handed to him from his father in the 1960's

6. Get himself continuously photographed with world leaders discussing world problems. I don't mean a quick across EEC speed trip. Sitting down at lenght with those in REAL power, the bankers (lenders, the money owners, the movers and shakers).

7. Fire who ever is cutting his hair. SERIOUSLY.

8. Take speech lessons. (I'm not saying this to belittle him). He HAS to come across as powerful, strong and charismatic. Also he has to adopt on the Irish and world stage an attitude of "DON'T FCUK WITH ME!!!" and make that attitude come across by backing it up by word and action.

9. Fire his soundbite speech writers. He sounds god damn awful.

10. Get his groundbase of local party workers out on the doorsteps right now and start talking to the people. FG should be chasing us - not us chasing everyone one else (if we are lucky to even see them!) for answers.

He would be the nicest person in the world but bloody hell - nice is not what we want or is need in the Dail - its the equivalent of a pitbull threatening to spring into action every time the frak-ups mess up. It will at the least, keep them all on their toes!

I as a voter want to see a genuine nice guy getting in - I'd vote for Enda if he came across as an effective strong change but in that he clearly fails so far.

...he managed to bring the party back from failure to win 20 extra seats and did very very well in the european and locals. Just because there was no other clear contender doesn't mean he hasn't done a good job.

He didn't do it, people voted for FG last time because they were peed off with FF. As FG was the only other viable choice, they dumped their votes on him.

WTF? here now this is fox news anti obama nonsense now. What exactly do you need to know? He's been leader for long enough, if you don't know what his previous job before politics was or what role he had in the last FG coalition government then its your own fault and you shouldn't be spouting off on something you don't know about.

I might know his credential but who else out there does, are they in the majority enough to give him the votes to power???

...Tell the truth, you just plain don't like FG. That's not a bad thing, I don't like or vote for them either. But I'm at least balanced in saying so.

The OP asked a question - I gave an answer - am I biased? Feck no. I'll give my (probably) useless thoughts on any of the other crappy **** out there. That includes Fianna Fail, SF and The Greens...

OPENROAD

brianthebard wrote: »

You must be watching different news stations, and not the one's where he makes good sound points in debates, and is capable of having a verbal tussle with anyone on the other side of the dail. He also provides plenty of alternatives, look at the stuff he's said about qangos. There's a plan in place ready to be started on day one. FF still don't have a plan, for anything.


And he managed to bring the party back from failure to win 20 extra seats and did very very well in the european and locals. Just because there was no other clear contender doesn't mean he hasn't done a good job.

WTF? here now this is fox news anti obama nonsense now. What exactly do you need to know? He's been leader for long enough, if you don't know what his previous job before politics was or what role he had in the last FG coalition government then its your own fault and you shouldn't be spouting off on something you don't know about.



Baseless assertions that are in no way provable all of them! Tell the truth, you just plain don't like FG. That's not a bad thing, I don't like or vote for them either. But I'm at least balanced in saying so.

Do you have a FG connection?

thelordofcheese

So, while most of us are in agreement that FF time in power should be up, we're also going to shit on the only alternative because the current leader..... isn't aesthetically pleasing?

AH never ceases to astound me.

brianthebard

OPENROAD wrote: »

Do you have a FG connection?

I'm a socialist.

legendal

That is all.

Biggins

thelordofcheese wrote: »

So, while most of us are in agreement that FF time in power should be up, we're also going to **** on the only alternative because the current leader..... isn't aesthetically pleasing?

AH never ceases to astound me.

So what, by that reasoning, we just vote in the (supposed!) second best just because its there in the queue!
Somethings never change!

brianthebard

Biggins wrote: »

6. Get himself continuously photographed with world leaders discussing world problems. I don't mean a quick across EEC speed trip. Sitting down at lenght with those in REAL power, the bankers (lenders, the money owners, the movers and shakers).

He's already been doing that, again you aren't watching.

He didn't do it, people voted for FG last time because they were peed off with FF. As FG was the only other viable choice, they dumped their votes on him.

So he is in no way to be praised for remaking the party, earning seats in the GE, LE and EE? Get outta it! The votes FG won didn't come from FF seats for the most part, you're spouting again.

I might know his credential but who else out there does, are they in the majority enough to give him the votes to power???

The OP asked a question - I gave an answer - am I biased? Feck no. I'll give my (probably) useless thoughts on any of the other crappy **** out there.

Um, yes? What sort of question is that? The information is there to be had, if you don't think the meeja have told the poor people of Ireland (and clearly you don't think they can inform themselves :rolleyes: ) then its not his fault. Why don't you do your bit for the spread of information by telling the good people of boards what he did previously, and thus prove your original point that he is unknown to be nonsense?

Davidius

brianthebard wrote: »

I'm a socialist.

Seeing as socialism is exactly the same as terrorism and communism I'm going to assume you're here to bring down democracy, steal our freedoms from us and possibly eat our children?

Biggins

legendal wrote: »

[IMG][/img]http://www.icecreamireland.com/images/Caughtwic/Enda-sm.jpg

This alone from a PR perspective is dire. Sorry but it is.
PR photo mentality of maybe kissing babies, holding ice creams and grinning constantly for the camera does not do well for the man.

I might WANT him to take over, we need someone to take over but that someone needs to get their act together in todays more media awareness population.

brianthebard: I'm sorry if you don't like my answers - a question was posed - I like the rest, answered.
I don't hate the man, I don't like the man, on him alone I am truly neutral.
I list where his possible PR faults lie.

He should be able to get himself elected at the next election.
Anyone should IF they get their act together effectively.

OPENROAD

thelordofcheese wrote: »

So, while most of us are in agreement that FF time in power should be up, we're also going to **** on the only alternative because the current leader..... isn't aesthetically pleasing?

AH never ceases to astound me.

Don't you mean the country as opposed to just AH. As a whole not just in Ireland image,charisma, call it what you want plays an important part in elections,how leaders come across and put across policies is crucial in winning votes, sad but true. Richard Bruton has been excellent in the last few months, speaks well,comes across very well. Have seen very little of Kenny on the media in the last few months, is their a reason for this?

thelordofcheese

Biggins wrote: »

So what, by that reasoning, we just vote in the (supposed!) second best just because its there in the queue!
Somethings never change!

You're constantly complaining about the current government. If FF are as bad as you say then surely any change would be an improvement.
*sigh*
Sometimes i'm convinced that Ireland deserves Fianna Fáil.

brianthebard

Davidius wrote: »

Seeing as socialism is exactly the same as terrorism and communism I'm going to assume you're here to bring down democracy, steal our freedoms from us and possibly eat our children?

Hmm, well seeing as this is AH....
Yes socialism is abolutely the same as terrorism. Actually socialists are 200% more terrorist than terrorists. FACT.

Biggins; if you don't want to like him fair enough. Just make your points real. I've shown you the flaws and you have no rebuttal.

Muggy Dev

Events a number of weeks ago involving Enda were very telling.

Despite having the luxury of not being under any significant pressure at this time,Enda denounced a FF TD´s suggestion,on national radio, that all members of the Oireachtas should take a pay cut as "populist nonsence".Two days later he stood up at a FG press conference and declared that he himself was going to take a voluntary cut in salary.All this in front of his senior colleagues, none of whom were aware of his intentions in advance.

To be honest,I don´t think there is anything of substance there.

Blush_01

I'm still sickened over the political tit-for-tat that went on in the lead up to the last GE.

Enda could do with taking a leaf out of Bertie's book and manufacturing some roguish charm for himself. He doesn't have to sacrifice his integrity (if he has any) and become Bertie, but he's like my old secondary school principal at the moment - and the most interesting thing about him was the mole on his cheek. Enda could be carved out of bog oak, he's so rigid. He doesn't instil any confidence in his abilities as a politician because he appears disconnected from himself, never mind everyone else. Regardless of anything else, he comes across like Pat Kenny on a bad day - wooden and inanimate.

Yes, it's pathetic that politics can be reduced down to a popularity contest, but that's effectively what happens.