Enda Kenny - Right man for Taoiseach?

Marshy

This has come up in other threads so thought I'd see what the general consensus on Enda is.

Heard on Vincent Brown earlier that Enda's satisfaction rating is at 33%, which is shocking in my mind(if not surprising) considering FG as a whole were 19 points ahead of FF in the latest poll.

I think a fresh face is needed in FG to drive home their advantage.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2009/0515/1224246568699.html

Belfast

Time for more than a change of face in fine geal.

holly1

Enda Kenny doesnot instil confidence,he is to weak.

brianthebard

Party leaders aren't important.

mick_ser

definetly time for a new face..enda kenny just comes across so bad!

nuttz

Personally, I'll be seriously considering emigration if he becomes taoiseach.
He doesn't instill confidence.

holly1

brianthebard wrote: »

Party leaders aren't important.

I think its very important to have a strong leader,and he doesnot come across as strong.Richard Bruton would make a very good Finance Minister.

teednab-el

mick_ser wrote: »

definetly time for a new face..enda kenny just comes across so bad!

nonsense, he is doing fine. We dont need to change him yet. Changing him may only cause FG's advantage to backfire. When is the last time FG were at 38% in the polls. Keep it going Enda.

InFront

I think he's the typical good statesman that Fine Gael traditionally go for. Fianna Fail tend to like their leaders to be rogues they'd want to go down the pub with. Personally, I don't care much for the latter, I would rather to see a strong team leader with some decency and honesty about him running this country. On the other hand, I can see that floating voters or those switching allegiances may not be so won over, and in that sense Enda's stifled reputation may be damaging to a small extent.

Anyway, I don't see it being as much of an issue in this election when the issues are far more serious than they were in the more blithely frivolous elections of 2002 and 2007. Back then personae were afforded a greater importance than some of the policies, but this has changed.

holly1

teednab-el wrote: »

nonsense, he is doing fine. We dont need to change him yet. Changing him may only cause FG's advantage to backfire. When is the last time FG were at 38% in the polls. Keep it going Enda.

Its not Enda Kenny who has them there,its the dislike of FF thats causing the 38% rise in the poll.People are just looking for change.

Sully

As I said in the topic covering the poll..

Sully wrote: »

Gilmore is a better speaker then Kenny and speaks much more freely. What he says warms with the peoples hearts and minds, which I think is starting to wear off. People were looking for someone for ages and Labour and Gilmore were there. Jumping on anything that would get them support. Gilmore was down here recently speaking about Waterford Crystal - which will score him points as its an issue that is so close to peoples hearts and there is a lot of anger with FFs lack of support about it. Gilmore is a much better communicator which is what the people see. Kenny doesn't have that spark but offers a very strong leadership skill set and presents an excellent party, picking the best squad. Gilmore is an instant hit with the people, while Kenny is slower to grow on people who don't actually see the man for what he really can offer and do for the country if he was elected. I guess you cant have everything!

Labour knock the government on everything. There never happy. There problem is; they offer nothing in return. There polices, compared to FG, are not great. There team overall is not as strong as FG. FG have the new support because not only are they hitting the government on issues that matter, there offering alternative plans on what they knock. There not jumping on everything and they will happily give the government a thumbs up on anything they consider good - no matter how small. Some of what FF are doing is based on FG plans. This explains why the party is doing better then Labour. I haven't covered the fact Labour still, to this day, wont rule out going into government with FF. Gilmore knows this is their weak point, but wants to be in power so will take the hit.

In short: Gilmore is a better speaker and presenter, knows what will make people happy and targets that. Not a strong leader, offers a poor team and will do anything to get into government. Kenny is a good speaker, but not as good as Gilmore. Very strong leadership and offers an excellent party and troops to pull this country together.

Iv left out Gerry Adams & Co. as there smaller party's who, at the moment, are not worth talking about in depth.

nesf

I think honestly it's the depth of the "bench" that matters more than the man at the front to a large extent, however; our system gives an untoward amount of power into the hands of the Taoiseach and this is problematic.

FG have a better "bench" than Labour do. Their Finance spokesperson and Health spokesperson are driving the debate in both areas at the moment, Labour's people in those areas are lagging badly behind.

You end up with our current situation, Gilmore is by far more popular than Kenny will ever be but the depth of FG's bench is what has them 18% ahead of Labour in the polls.

GalwayGunner

I don't think Fine Gael bench is particularly strong but that may just be due to the fact that they have been in opposition for so long that in general the irish public just aren't as familiar with them as they are with the shower on the Fianna Fail bench.

As for Kenny - really don't see him as a leader. When they are inevitably (and quite rightly) voted in I see real issues for him trying to keep all voices in his party/coalition in line once he has to start making the tough decisions.

latenia

From wikipedia:

The third child in a family of five, he was educated locally at St. Patrick's national school in Cornanool and St. Gerald's College (De La Salle) in Castlebar. Kenny later attended St Patrick's Teacher Training College in Dublin and University College Galway. He later worked as a primary school teacher.

There you have it. He worked as a primary school teacher for a couple of years until he was 24 and inherited his old man's seat. He has been a member of the Dáil for 34 years now-could someone point out just one significant thing he has done in all that time? Grossly unsuitable for high office.

teednab-el

holly1 wrote: »

Its not Enda Kenny who has them there,its the dislike of FF thats causing the 38% rise in the poll.People are just looking for change.

And If you want the FF party out of government then there is no other alternative to FF only FG. Labour and SF would join FF tomorrow if there was an agreement amongst the two.

And How do you know that Kenny wouldnt make a good taoiseach? Did you think Cowen would be a good taoiseach? Im sure you did.

nesf

GalwayGunner wrote: »

I don't think Fine Gael bench is particularly strong but that may just be due to the fact that they have been in opposition for so long that in general the irish public just aren't as familiar with them as they are with the shower on the Fianna Fail bench.

They don't have to be strong in absolute terms, they just need to be stronger than Labour's. The general public is actively looking for an alternative to FF at the moment with the current economic conditions. FG just need to look better than Lab to capture a large proportion of this surge.

holly1

teednab-el wrote: »

And If you want the FF party out of government then there is no other alternative to FF only FG. Labour and SF would join FF tomorrow if there was an agreement amongst the two.

And How do you know that Kenny wouldnt make a good taoiseach? Did you think Cowen would be a good taoiseach? Im sure you did.

No i did not nor did I vote for FF.

meglome

Kenny doesn't come across great, maybe that shouldn't matter but it does. I heard many people at the last election saying 'No way I'm voting for Kenny' kinda stuff. At the same time it seemed okay for Bertie to have bags of money he couldn't explain, which makes you wonder about the electorate in this country but anyway.

I'll be voting for his party but it would be a very good thing for someone like Richard Bruton to take over instead.

GalwayGunner

nesf wrote: »

They don't have to be strong in absolute terms, they just need to be stronger than Labour's. The general public is actively looking for an alternative to FF at the moment with the current economic conditions. FG just need to look better than Lab to capture a large proportion of this surge.

I agree with you. But honestly at the moment this isn't exactly a hard task for Fine Gael. Realistically Labour will never break into the Fianna Fail/Fine Gael level of support so now all FG have to do is:

1. Don't f up on a HUGE scale
2. Don't be Fianna Fail

But is this good enough for our country?? We should be voting for a real solution/alternative that will help us out of this mess - not just as a way of sticking 2 fingers up at FF.

teednab-el

meglome wrote: »

Kenny doesn't come across great, maybe that shouldn't matter but it does. I heard many people at the last election saying 'No way I'm voting for Kenny' kinda stuff. At the same time it seemed okay for Bertie to have bags of money he couldn't explain, which makes you wonder about the electorate in this country but anyway.

I'll be voting for his party but it would be a very good thing for someone like Richard Bruton to take over instead.

Enda Kenny has never been corrupt in his time in the dail. Why dont people judge him on that. If its one thing that this country needs in politics its honesty. I would be happy to vote for him as taoiseach on that alone. At least he would have the interests of the country at heart.

Many people were delighted to vote for Bertie and his corrupt politics. Its easy to fool so many people unfortuntely.

holly1

meglome wrote: »

Kenny doesn't come across great, maybe that shouldn't matter but it does. I heard many people at the last election saying 'No way I'm voting for Kenny' kinda stuff. At the same time it seemed okay for Bertie to have bags of money he couldn't explain, which makes you wonder about the electorate in this country but anyway.

I'll be voting for his party but it would be a very good thing for someone like Richard Bruton to take over instead.

I think Richard would make a great Finance Minister.;)

nkay1985

As I said in a thread in the Waterford Forum:

nkay1985 wrote:

I don't know will Enda ever score high enough to show that people want him as Taoiseach. I think he's done an amazing job with Fine Gael, bridging rifts and getting them moving in a better direction. But the man has got zero charisma and is completely unpersonable. I believe that Fine Gael will form the next government and we'll effectively be stuck with him as Taoiseach, even though the majority of people won't want him!

I heard the point raised a few days ago that people seem to forget how truly awful he was in the debate with Bertie (hardly a formidable opponent). This is the man who will next lead our country and I'm saddened by that fact.

Then:

nkay1985 wrote: »

Well I'll leave you off with it this time. You're right to say the others aren't worth talking about at the moment. But I would extend that to Gilmore; I don't think that there are any circumstances that can transpire in the next (insert how long you think it'll be until the next General Election here) that would make Labour the biggest party in the country and Gilmore the Taoiseach.

FG will win the next election. They will be in government short of some serious sly dealing on the part of the other parties. And Enda Kenny will be Taoiseach by consequence, not due to any brilliance (or any anything IMO) on his part.

I went to see him speak in UL before the last Generals to give him a chance. I lived with the Vice President for YFG at the time and had given him such a hard time about Kenny that he told me to go see him in person and see what I thought. I have never been so underwhelmed by any individual in my entire life. The man had no presence in a room of 50 20-year-old students for God's sake! And he got his ass handed to him in a debate by Bertie Ahern!

If we have to have FG in government, I would prefer that it wasn't he who leads them there. I would be more confident in the likes of Richard Bruton in the job. (How about George Lee becomes Minister for Finance, Bruton becomes Leader and Kenny is asked to move shoved sideways under pretence of family issues or some sort of thing! Solve the problem straight away.

teednab-el

holly1 wrote: »

No i did not nor did I vote for FF.

Well, at least you had sense.

nesf

GalwayGunner wrote: »

But is this good enough for our country?? We should be voting for a real solution/alternative that will help us out of this mess - not just as a way of sticking 2 fingers up at FF.

Welcome to Irish politics. We hope you enjoy your stay. Please divest yourself of any original political thinking or national concerns at the door and help yourself to one of our many brochures on hot local issues to concern yourself with.

meglome

teednab-el wrote: »

Enda Kenny has never been corrupt in his time in the dail. Why dont people judge him on that. If its one thing that this country needs in politics its honesty. I would be happy to vote for him as taoiseach on that alone. At least he would have the interests of the country at heart.

Many people were delighted to vote for Bertie and his corrupt politics. Its easy to fool so many people unfortuntely.

Look I agree with you. But see what happened to Labour in the UK when Blair left, people just don't like Brown as much. Having a charismatic or even a charming leader is very helpful, look at what Bertie got away with.

teednab-el

meglome wrote: »

Look I agree with you. But see what happened to Labour in the UK when Blair left, people just don't like Brown as much. Having a charismatic or even a charming leader is very helpful, look at what Bertie got away with.

THere is that side of the argument as well which I accept. But the way I see it, I believe Bruton would be far more effective in his present position. You couldnt just put Lee into Finance on the first attempt. Eventhough Lee is a smart and highly respected economist, he is an inexperienced politician. He needs to learn a few tricks of the trade before moving over to the role of finance.

meglome

teednab-el wrote: »

THere is that side of the argument as well which I accept. But the way I see it, I believe Bruton would be far more effective in his present position. You couldnt just put Lee into Finance on the first attempt. Eventhough Lee is a smart and highly respected economist, he is an inexperienced politician. He needs to learn a few tricks of the trade before moving over to the role of finance.

I hear ya but I'd still be for Bruton as leader and Lee at finance. We'd have two top finance guys in top positions right when we need it.

Dalfiatach

I used to think he was just a lightweight eejit. I still thinks he comes across very poor on de telly. And losing that debate to Bertie - a man who can't string a coherent sentence together - was damn poor form. Last election I was an ABFF floater and ended up going for the Greens by default then transferring to Lab and FG and SF, largely because of that debate. Look where that got me LOL.

But he's growing on me. The last 2 years we've seen him put a decent front bench team together, he got them churning out the policy proposals (and very good some of them are too), they're all working well together, the FG party is obviously united, coherent and all fired up, they've basically doubled their support in the last few years and are now within shouting distance of an overall majority. FG on 38%, jaysus if you'd told me that at any time in the last 10 years I'd have called the men in white coats.

I think now maybe Kenny is more than he appears. He's reminding me of a manager I had years ago. Quiet fella, we didn't think much of him when he arrived, but the thing was - he thought slow, but deep. When he found his voice and spoke at meetings, people learned to listen. He thought things through before speaking, didn't just shoot his mouth off. When he came up with a plan, it was a bloody good one. And because he was a decent chap (dull, but fair, and at the same time took no nonsense either from us or from the higher-ups) and we had confidence he would make the right call, we worked like demons.

I think Kenny is the same kind of lad. He has a strong team and he's happy to let them get on with their areas of expertise. It's not "me me me pay attention to me" with him, it's "who is best in which job, and how can I best encourage and organise my team to get the best results".

And that'll do me, that's probably just what the country needs after the disasters Bertie and Cowen. A good strong team organised by a calm sensible coach, focused on getting results not acting the big man.

hallelujajordan

brianthebard wrote: »

Party leaders aren't important.

I think that's wrong. . You will remember in the last GE nearly all the FF posters in every constituency had pictures of Bertie on them . . Had Cowen taken over FF before the last election I think you would have seen a vastly different result. .

And I think it is telling that Enda's personal rating is lagging so far below the overall FG rating and only looks good because of Cowens poor result. . with the shift in support to FG that we are seeing Kenny should be seeing personal approval ratings in the 50's or higher. .

That said, I think FG have missed the boat in terms of changing a leader before the next GE . . If you assume it is going to happen this year then it would be crazy to change anything now !

jmayo

nuttz wrote: »

Personally, I'll be seriously considering emigration if he becomes taoiseach.
He doesn't instill confidence.

Good I'll be roudn to help you pack.
We need less FF voters and apologists in this country.

BTW do you think the two brians and mary instill confidence ?

GalwayGunner wrote: »

I don't think Fine Gael bench is particularly strong but that may just be due to the fact that they have been in opposition for so long that in general the irish public just aren't as familiar with them as they are with the shower on the Fianna Fail bench.

As for Kenny - really don't see him as a leader. When they are inevitably (and quite rightly) voted in I see real issues for him trying to keep all voices in his party/coalition in line once he has to start making the tough decisions.

Weren't you in another thread a few weeks ago asking if the government were really that bad and that you wre out of the country in Oz for the last year ?
The FG front bench is ten times stronger than FG/GP.
Dear Good look at the Lenihans, Coughlan, Cullen, Dempsey, Harney.

So far he has managed to keep most of the eejits in check, see his dealings with Creighton and the ultimate spanner Deasy.

Kenny comes across as cr** on TV and he is much better on a one to one basis. Of course half the country want someone they can go drinking with it seems :rolleyes:
We are following the US model, which ok has thrown up the ultimate chasimatic leader Obama but remember it also gavre them Bush

But he must have done something right within his own party, FG were almost heading the way of the PDs after 2002. He glavanised the party, travelled the country and look who put on the front bench, people who actually seem to know what they are talking about. George Lee will probably be another high profile addition.

I don't want a leader of the country that I can see singing on a table top or co-presenting the Premiership.
It is those great f***ing charismatic leaders that have us in the sh** we are in.
I want someone that is honest, hardworking, takes responsibility, fires people,
takes decisions and isn't in the pocket of the CIF, the unions and the bankers.

brianthebard

hallelujajordan wrote: »

I think that's wrong. . You will remember in the last GE nearly all the FF posters in every constituency had pictures of Bertie on them . . Had Cowen taken over FF before the last election I think you would have seen a vastly different result. .

And I think it is telling that Enda's personal rating is lagging so far below the overall FG rating and only looks good because of Cowens poor result. . with the shift in support to FG that we are seeing Kenny should be seeing personal approval ratings in the 50's or higher. .

That said, I think FG have missed the boat in terms of changing a leader before the next GE . . If you assume it is going to happen this year then it would be crazy to change anything now !

Sorry what I meant was that party leaders aren't important to the actual running of a government. If people are foolish enough to vote for a party based on who the leader is then there's really not much I can say there. But I do die a bit inside every time I hear people say they won't vote for a party because their leader isn't a massive slab of charisma. I think its a hangover from JFK or something that people think politicians should be full of charisma, cause I can certainly think of more political leaders who weren't impressive in that way than were. And even people like Blair and Ahern who people sometimes say were charismatic never did anything for me, quite the opposite they are slimebags, but they are seen as charismatic because they smiled a lot on tv and made an odd joke or whatever. That's a sign of just how low the bar is in terms of how people perceive good leaders, that those two are considered charismatic.

irish_bob

hallelujajordan wrote: »

I think that's wrong. . You will remember in the last GE nearly all the FF posters in every constituency had pictures of Bertie on them . . Had Cowen taken over FF before the last election I think you would have seen a vastly different result. .

And I think it is telling that Enda's personal rating is lagging so far below the overall FG rating and only looks good because of Cowens poor result. . with the shift in support to FG that we are seeing Kenny should be seeing personal approval ratings in the 50's or higher. .

That said, I think FG have missed the boat in terms of changing a leader before the next GE . . If you assume it is going to happen this year then it would be crazy to change anything now !

i agree that fine gael should have changed kenny a while back , kenny is the difference between fine gael forming the next goverment with labour ( per usual) and fine gael for the 1st time forming a goverment without labour

labours drop is evidence that thier absolute refusal to come out in favour of any real public sector reform has not gone down well with the general public , its a green light for fine gael to move more to the right and call for outright reform of the public sector and also , the redicolously generous wellfare state , we are in unprecedented times , life long fianna fail voters are deserting the party , what was unthinkable for decades is now a real possibility , fine gael can lead without having to wear the concrete shoes that are LABOUR , the only thing stopping such an eventuality is KENNY

as such the longer we go without a general election the better , if IVAN YATES could be persuaded to make a return , with him as leader , fine gael would romp home

guinnessdrinker

I like Kenny, I think he comes across as a good honest politician, something that we are possibly not used to in this country.

One of my friends told me that when they interviewed him one time that he was one of the most genuine people that they had ever interviewed and was believe it or not actually charismatic.

Ardent

holly1 wrote: »

I think its very important to have a strong leader...

Not it's not. A party is more than just about one person.

meglome

Ardent wrote: »

Not it's not. A party is more than just about one person.

But this is the thing, it shouldn't necessarily be important that a party have a strong charismatic leader but in practise it is important.

Liam Byrne

brianthebard wrote: »

If people are foolish enough to vote for a party based on who the leader is then there's really not much I can say there.

It's worse than that, btb.....remember that this was the same Bertie that - despite a confusing array of unanswered (or avoided) questions, had a myriad of question marks hanging over him and people STILL viewed him as "sound-out".

Enda should have a decent shot; that's not an over-compliment, because the alternatives are woeful and deluded.

Pat Rabbitte would be the best option at the mo, but he's no longer leader; Gilmore or Kenny might see us through, and regardless of either's shortcomings at least neither is deluded or tainted by condoning corruption, incompetence and greed.

Mr.Micro

meglome wrote: »

But this is the thing, it shouldn't necessarily be important that a party have a strong charismatic leader but in practise it is important.

I agree Brown replaced Blair, the latter had a certain charisma. Cowan replaced Ahern,again a certain charisma for some, but both replacements are dull and humourless and do not come across well.

guinnessdrinker

Mr.Micro wrote: »

I agree Brown replaced Blair, the latter had a certain charisma. Cowan replaced Ahern,again a certain charisma for some, but both replacements are dull and humourless and do not come across well.

For me, I thought Blair had charisma but never in a million years did Ahern come across well, not to me anyway.

gandalf

How people can call Kenny incompetent in one breathe and support the pack of halfwits and morons that are leading this country at the moment is beyond me.

Kenny doesn't inspire confidence from looking at him initially but as someone has already said he has done something right as I believe Fine Gael are now in a position to mount a decent challange and to deliver a definite alternative to the absolute disaster that is in Government at the moment.

I mean the last FF Taoiseach before the disaster Cowan had the common touch, was the type of person apparently that the majority wanted to have a pint with, was let wrongly by RTE present a sports programme. He obviously filled people with confidence and the majority of FF drones were happy with him. Firstly I have always been suspicious of him, I cringed when he made speeches. He turned out to be very responsible didn't he. Investigations turned up he never had a bank account when he was finance minister. He got various hand outs from people who benefited in various ways from him being in Government and he helped to send us down the road to ruin by instead of addressing the economies over reliance on the property sector to encouraging it more. When things started to go pear shaped he fecked off, left us with someone who is not capable to do the job and Ahern doesn't even bother to turn up and do his basic duty as a TD and take part in votes.

Is that the type of leadership you want Marshy?

Mr. Presentable

Don't like Enda Kenny at all. He seems to spend all his efforts on negativity and little on offering solutions. Does not inspire, and is without charisma, it seems to me, to anyone outside Mayo.

TBH, I think he is the luckiest man in politics having not won the last GE.

Does he still get teacher's salary for his half hour 34 years ago that he spent in the classroom?

brianthebard

nipplenuts wrote: »

Don't like Enda Kenny at all. He seems to spend all his efforts on negativity and little on offering solutions. Does not inspire, and is without charisma, it seems to me, to anyone outside Mayo.

*rips out hair*

How exactly is he supposed to inspire? Is he a politician or an artist's muse? I really don't know what people expect from politicians any more.

teednab-el

nipplenuts wrote: »

Don't like Enda Kenny at all. He seems to spend all his efforts on negativity and little on offering solutions. Does not inspire, and is without charisma, it seems to me, to anyone outside Mayo.

TBH, I think he is the luckiest man in politics having not won the last GE.

Does he still get teacher's salary for his half hour 34 years ago that he spent in the classroom?

And you would be happy to keep Cowen and Coughlan in office?:rolleyes: Im sick of this lack of charisma nonsense about Enda Kenny. No point having charisma if your intention is to scr*w the Irish economy like the last bunch of thieves. Time for change and time for Kenny to lead the country.

briktop

you think enda kenny has no charisma -

with that fat slug lipped turd cowen as taoiseach ?

have you been to specsavers ?

gandalf

Maybe if Enda starts drinking Bass the FF drones will respect him more LOL!!

Marshy

gandalf wrote: »

How people can call Kenny incompetent in one breathe and support the pack of halfwits and morons that are leading this country at the moment is beyond me.

I definitely don't support the current government, but that doesn't take away from Enda's inadequacy for the job in my view. He has no credibility.

Is that the type of leadership you want Marshy

Again, just to recap, no I've never once stated I approve of Cowen. Enda may be honest, hard-working and incorruptible(we may just see about that) but are these traits alone good enough to justify being leader of the country in their own right? I think not. As a previous poster asked, what has Enda done in his 34 years as a TD? Failed to get FG into government for one and I truly believe he was the one largely responsible for that.

nuttz

jmayo wrote: »

Good I'll be roudn to help you pack.
We need less FF voters and apologists in this country.

Now, now James there is no need to be like that.

gandalf

Marshy wrote: »

I definitely don't support the current government, but that doesn't take away from Enda's inadequacy for the job in my view. He has no credibility.

How can he have no credibility if he hasn't been tried. A lot of people expected Cowan to do a lot better than he has. Were you in that camp as well?

Again, just to recap, no I've never once stated I approve of Cowen. Enda may be honest, hard-working and incorruptible(we may just see about that) but are these traits alone good enough to justify being leader of the country in their own right? I think not. As a previous poster asked, what has Enda done in his 34 years as a TD? Failed to get FG into government for one and I truly believe he was the one largely responsible for that.

Well unlike Bertie Ahern he hasn't arsefuked the country from a height either so I would suggest he should be given an opportunity because you seem to agree with everyone he couldn't do a worse job than the failure that is currently infecting the Taoiseachs position in government.

Marshy

gandalf wrote: »

How can he have no credibility if he hasn't been tried. A lot of people expected Cowan to do a lot better than he has. Were you in that camp as well?

He has no credibility as leader of FG. And I'm obviously not alone in thinking that, only 1 in 3 people satisfied with him. That means there's a substantial enough number of FG supporters unhappy with him too.

Did anyone expect the economy to disintegrate as quickly as it did? Some may claim to have foreseen it but even George Lee or David McW wouldn't pretend to have predicted everything that has happened. My point is that Cowen came in at a time when the economy was still functioning ok, so no I didn't see it coming. Don't get me wrong he's been a poor leader but its unfair to portion all the blame on him. Look at other countries in a similar boat to us now.

I could see Enda doing at least as bad a job tbh, I'd much rather have someone like Bruton at the helm.

r0nanf

Marshy wrote: »

I definitely don't support the current government, but that doesn't take away from Enda's inadequacy for the job

Marshy wrote: »

He has no credibility as leader of FG...I could see Enda doing at least as bad a job tbh

It is outrageous how people can decide that someone is not suitable before seeing them work. As per previous posts, he has united a party that was falling apart at the seams and has made good front bench postings. He could turn out to be a turd, but you cannot decide that just because you don't like the cut of him or whatever your 'scale of ability' is based on.

If you're going to talk about "credibility" apparently Cowen had plenty of that when Bertie passed on the torch. I am not a FG supporter, but I think the constant flittering of Kenny is senseless. He may not dole out the soundbites like Rabbitte did, or have the everyman bullsh*t mask of Bertie, or the bullishness of Cowen, but he has succesfully managed FG. For me that's worth a lot more.

IIMII

Is Enda Kenny the right man for the job as next Taoiseach?

Not on yer Nelly

brianthebard

Marshy wrote: »

He has no credibility as leader of FG. And I'm obviously not alone in thinking that, only 1 in 3 people satisfied with him. That means there's a substantial enough number of FG supporters unhappy with him too.

Define credibility.