Will Enda Kenny be toast by tuesday?

unit 1

So according to tonights news EK could be toast by tuesday.

Will commonsense prevail, and they'll leave him there, or will RB make the fatal mistake and think a good finance spokesman is the same thing as a party leader in opposition?
RB is good on finance, not the same thing as a party leader so why risk wasting his talent?
EK's problem is that the media cannot seem to wear the idea of a west of Ireland taoiseach full stop, and their assertion in today's paper(indo) that 1% of those polled blamed him for the recession is to be honest pathetic. Any rumblings at the moment I would suggest are at windbag Gilmores rise in the polls which will evaporate when people eventually cotton on to him and his populist sitting on the fence.
In short EK has integrity in spades, and has done a superb job so far for FG, which will reward them, but only if they hold their nerve. The fact that he is dull (John Major anyone) should not divert people from the real issue.
FF must go, but the timing is their gift, and playing musical chairs with your leaders will not change or hasten their inevitable demise.

RonMexico

The people don't have a problem with a west of Ireland taoiseach, they have a problem with a windbag and an ineffectual wimp.

Victor

unit 1 wrote: »

and their assertion in today's paper(indo) that 1% of those polled blamed him for the recession is to be honest pathetic.

1% with a margin of error of 3%? :rolleyes:

who_ru

I disagree with you about the media not accepting a west of ireland taoiseach.

I think Kenny has for quite a while been all about 'trying' to improve his performances - he comes across as totally fake in one on one interviews - see his late late show interview, which was by any yardstick appalling.

he is long enough in the job now to know he cannot generate the support necessary to win an election - and speaking as a non FG'er if he really did have FG's best electoral interests at heart he would walk the plank. the public just won't buy him.

Cowen is finished politically also - it's only a matter of time. Yes people will gradually pull back from labour as the election draws nearer, if you ask me the irish are incredibly politically conservative and can hardly countenance change let alone actively seek it.

for the sake of political participation i hope both Cowen and Kenny are replaced.

i think you are right about Bruton - very competent on finance but not a leader. the public are so unfamiliar with any FG potential leaders - i mean varadkar would be a dire choice, i don't know who they could go with if not bruton.

unit 1

RonMexico wrote: »

The people don't have a problem with a west of Ireland taoiseach, they have a problem with a windbag and an ineffectual wimp.

And just what effect do people want him to have?
He cannot bring about an election only those in power can. In essence his task is to wait for an election to be called, then put himself and party before the electorate. Of course people expect him to pick holes in gov policy all day long, and he and his frontbench dutifully do this, but when the gov blatantly close down the dail for a week to avoid the smell from recent reports it show what a lost cause even this duty can be. In truth his mettle will only be tested when a general election is called, and so far he has passed with flying colours in each and every one of these. This is a storm in a teacup and FG would be stupid to let it blow them off course.

johnnyskeleton

The impression I get is that Enda Kenny is just a different flavour of Biffo. Equally Bruton is a different flavour of Brian Lenihan.

The fact is that people trust Bruton & Lenihan to be if not exactly honest, then a lot less dishonest than Kenny & Cowen.

Kenny is also a waffler whereas Bruton is a straight talker. During the bubble it was all about who had the better waffel. But what is important these days is being a firm leader.

I don't know if Bruton is a good leader or not - he hasn't had a chance to prove himself. If the Irish are really so frightened of change or taking a risk on someone who has no experience of power, then we are stuck with a corrupt FF and an inept FG forever. RB would be to my mind the first "green shoot" of a new, accountable political party in Ireland and that's worth fighting for.

Finally, while people are not opposed to a political party leader from the west per se, the only people who can tolerate Kenny are those from Mayo (this is just pure parish politics - the party leader always gets in on a stormer in their own patch) and those within FG who see him as uniting the disparate strands of the party. If you are not in FG and not from Mayo then you are the first person I have encountered who supports Kenny over Bruton that isn't one or the other of the above.

Sand

Seeing as at least one poster was on a thread today doing an "impression" of Enda Kenny's accent, I think the idea that people have an issue with a Taoiseach from the west of Ireland (or at least with a clear west of Ireland accent...) might not be without merit. Certainly, most of the annoyance with Kenny seems to be based on who he is as a person as opposed to anything else.

But who knows, if Irish people are so committed to personality Pop Idol style politics (and the Gilmore popularity seems to indicate this) then perhaps they ought to get rid of Enda Kenny and stick in Cheryl Cole or similar to lead the country.

goat2

i like kenny, west of ireland tiosach would be brilliant, at least he is right in the middle of one of the worst e
effected places in this failing economy and see what is happening, a bit of understanding what is happening outside of dublin would do us no harm

dont understand what he has done wrong to be put down, he was not part of the team that has us where we now find ourselves, out of work, no job oppertunities, seeing no light at the end of tunnell
still the big wigs have everything they had four yrs ago, what really is going on

Deise Tom

If Enda is pushed, I hope that the same mistake as happened in FF does not happen and more than one person goes for the job of leader.

Banned Account

He'll be gone alright - nice guy, no balls.

Tim Robbins

unit 1 wrote: »

So according to tonights news EK could be toast by tuesday.

Will commonsense prevail, and they'll leave him there, or will RB make the fatal mistake and think a good finance spokesman is the same thing as a party leader in opposition?
RB is good on finance, not the same thing as a party leader so why risk wasting his talent?
EK's problem is that the media cannot seem to wear the idea of a west of Ireland taoiseach full stop, and their assertion in today's paper(indo) that 1% of those polled blamed him for the recession is to be honest pathetic. Any rumblings at the moment I would suggest are at windbag Gilmores rise in the polls which will evaporate when people eventually cotton on to him and his populist sitting on the fence.
In short EK has integrity in spades, and has done a superb job so far for FG, which will reward them, but only if they hold their nerve. The fact that he is dull (John Major anyone) should not divert people from the real issue.
FF must go, but the timing is their gift, and playing musical chairs with your leaders will not change or hasten their inevitable demise.

Great post. 100% agree. I like Kenny. Good honest man. What Irish politics needs but alas the electorate like liers and people who pander to vested interests.

Labour have had a huge rise because all they do is complain, they won't tell us what tough decisions they'll take.

fontanalis

I'm really befuddled to what people think what Bruton will do better than Kenny.

dunsandin

I think a lot of people think of Bruton as Michael o'leary lite, and there is a touch of the straight talker about him. I think the Enda is a bit of a waffler, and, seeing as how he ascended to the dizzying heights of leader of fine bhouys, he can't be quite the choirboy he comes across as. Hidden ruthlesness (Bruton getting the bullet proves the point) is a dangerous type. I'd prefer if he was just openly a hard-ass and spoke it like he saw it, the enda might be nigh.

jimmycrackcorm

fontanalis wrote: »

I'm really befuddled to what people think what Bruton will do better than Kenny.

You should stop befuddling - it's like asking why people change their car when the one they have still goes from A to B.

dunsandin

The Enda is trying to go from a "B" to an "A" though. The leader of an A team needs to be a bit better than that of a B team.
Not too sure how much of a supreme leader type we can expect to extract from a pushy school teacher. Might be better than a pushy, hard necked, un-self aware, overweight provincial solicitor though.

thebman

Enda's problem is he doesn't come across as confident or believing what he says.

He's partly his accent and partly he seems to get caught up in himself too often and start mumbling and stuttering. Its more pronounced than Bruton, Bertie, Cowen and many other politicians because of his accent IMO.

I think Bruton seems straight talking, honest and confident as a result of this bluntness he has yet does not appear arrogant. This makes him a good speaker and I think that is why the public and the media generally seem to have a preference for Bruton over Kenny.

Liam Byrne

thebman wrote: »

Enda's problem is he doesn't come across as confident or believing what he says.

He's partly his accent....

What ?

Be-be-bertie wa-wa-was de wurst evvur for this.

Kenny is eloquent by comparison!

thebman

Liam Byrne wrote: »

What ?

Be-be-bertie wa-wa-was de wurst evvur for this.

Kenny is eloquent by comparison!

Yes the difference is the accent.

Most of the media and a large portion of the electorate reside in Dublin. This accent and stuttering in it is not irritating to them.

I believe Enda's accent is what actually turns people off as well as him not only not being from Dublin but having the appearance of a somebody from the country that leads to people from Dublin disliking him.

This why Bruton is I believe more appealing to the people that dislike Kenny. He appears more confident on the issues common to the people and doesn't sound like he is from the backend of nowhere. In fact, his accent is quite neutral which is beneficial I believe when trying to appeal to an entire nation of people.

Its nice to say that these things shouldn't matter but we all know they do to many people.

Liam Byrne

thebman wrote: »

Most of the media and a large portion of the electorate reside in Dublin. This accent and stuttering in it is not irritating to them.

I believe Enda's accent is what actually turns people off as well as him not only not being from Dublin but having the appearance of a somebody from the country that leads to people from Dublin disliking him.

This why Bruton is I believe more appealing to the people that dislike Kenny. He appears more confident on the issues common to the people and doesn't sound like he is from the backend of nowhere.

"backend of nowhere" ?????

To be honest, I couldn't care less where someone is from if they are honest and competent.

I doubt that Kenny would have told anyone to commit suicide.

And Kenny's accent is very neutral compared to Ahern's.

I can't listen to Joe Duffy, for example, because his accent is chronic. That's not an issue for me, because I don't vote for him and he doesn't make decisions that affect (ruin?) my life.

Above all, Mayo is a place....in Ireland. So the above opinion is insulting and condescending in the extreme.

It may not be your own personal opinion (hopefully not), but anyone who has that opinion doesn't have the intelligence or cop-on to make a proper judgement.

Finally, many people from around the country have moved to Dublin for media jobs because of the way this country is set up. Matt Cooper, for example, is from Cork.

So all things considered a biased prejudice like this is pathetic, to be honest. And if this Dublin bias has damaged the country, then I'm even more sickened than I was.

thebman

I certainly isn't my opinion but it appears to be the opinion of much of the electorate.

The same electorate that thought Bertie and Charlie and Beverly were and are lovely people despite all evidence to the contrary.

marco_polo

There plenty of people down in Kerry who believe that the Dublin Media were only out to get John O'Donoughue because he was from the West. His accent is the least of Enda Kennys problems, his main problem is taht under his stewardship the traditionally second largest party is a meer 11% ahead of the least popular government in the entire history of the state.

I think he is a very likeable, honest and intelligent man, but the simple fact of the matter is that he is not connecting with the electorate.

lmimmfn

Enda Kenny got destroyed in the debate with Ahern, its time for him to go, honestly id like Bruton in charge to see how he pans out.
Kenny just moans about FF propsals, Gilmore at least disects them, gives opinions on whats wrong( classic example before the new provisional law he said it was insane, said it should be delayed due to the backlog of people applying for the test and not done on a bank holiday ) with them and provides his solution, Kenny doesnt do any of that. He needs to move on and realise that he's actually preventing FG from getting anywhere( not that im a FG supporter, but i could be if the right man was there )

He also has to be the most boring politition since John Major....arent these peas interesting...theyre so versatile!!!!!!

average_runner

In the last elections Enda Kenny got hammered by Bertie in a tv debate.

Enda Kenny is good at reading things from paper but cannot perform on his own.

He is a man of no word, as last election he said he would step down if FG didnt win.

Alot of politics to people is not about policy's but on how a person comes across, Enda kenny does not have anything positive comming across, while compared to Bertie, he built the FF campaign about him, the peoples person, one of the people from inner North Dublin, this is what won elections. Not saying I agree with this method but it is successful.
Labour are top of the Poll but you ask the average joe what is their policies and he/she would say no idea.


Bruton has no good personal glow either, while Hayes could be the man to lead FG.

Banned Account

I agree, the fact of the matter is that Kenny has the type of personality that leaves people cold. Like it or not, people vote for people as much as they do for policies. In the modern political game, people shold realise that to be successful you need a leader who can incite emotions in the voters, let those like Kenny take the backroom functions but have some charisma at the coalface.

Take the issue of the leaders debate in the UK - neither Cameron nor Clegg came out with anything for the policy perspective that people hadn't been aware of prior to the debates, rather, the debates let the electorate see the men behind the policies, they voted for the people they liked - Brown left them cold.

Is is wise to vote for a personality? - No.
Will this stop people from doing it? - No.

The solution therefore, is for a party to recognise this and proffer a leader who polls well, all the structural work, whip work and motivation can come from the back.

On a seperate note, the sacking of Bruton was the biggest act of political buffoonery I have evr witnessed.

thebman

marco_polo wrote: »

There plenty of people down in Kerry who believe that the Dublin Media were only out to get John O'Donoughue because he was from the West. His accent is the least of Enda Kennys problems, his main problem is taht under his stewardship the traditionally second largest party is a meer 11% ahead of the least popular government in the entire history of the state.

I think he is a very likeable, honest and intelligent man, but the simple fact of the matter is that he is not connecting with the electorate.

I disagree that where he is from does not cause him problems. The majority of media are located in Dublin and it benefits them to push for Dublin politicians to be in higher positions.

People in Dublin want one of their own in power much like the people down the country that have the same attitude.

People in the capital think Kenny would be too interested in rural politics over Dublin IMO.

Its an opinion I've developed from working with many people from Dublin and when things like this come up, they straight away insult where he is from be it Biffo or that clown from mayo, people in Dublin want Dublin people representing them and a Dublin Taoiseach.

Most of the media is from Dublin and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to link that people from Dublin are working in those media companies.

Its tribal crap but it is occurring.

fontanalis

thebman wrote: »

Yes the difference is the accent.

Most of the media and a large portion of the electorate reside in Dublin. This accent and stuttering in it is not irritating to them.

I believe Enda's accent is what actually turns people off as well as him not only not being from Dublin but having the appearance of a somebody from the country that leads to people from Dublin disliking him.

This why Bruton is I believe more appealing to the people that dislike Kenny. He appears more confident on the issues common to the people and doesn't sound like he is from the backend of nowhere. In fact, his accent is quite neutral which is beneficial I believe when trying to appeal to an entire nation of people.

Its nice to say that these things shouldn't matter but we all know they do to many people.

Welcome to the Project for the new FF century.

gbee

Enda came in to really make Irish politics a just, plain speaking and honest affair for the people.

Unfortunately he has become like a robot or a John Majors or maybe a character in Spitting Image.

I liked him, seen him a few times and watched him change from a fresh approach to someone out of their depth, probably stunned at the depth of depravity really in Irish Politics.

Ash.J.Williams

I don't care where the taoiseach comes from but Enda is just not a taoiseach. Himself and his chief whip remind me of two simpleton extras hired for Tom Cruise movie "far and away".

MidlandsM

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

I don't care where the taoiseach comes from but Enda is just not a taoiseach. Himself and his chief whip remind me of two simpleton extras hired for Tom Cruise movie "far and away".

This is such a simplistic view.:rolleyes:

Zamboni

MidlandsM wrote: »

This is such a simplistic view.:rolleyes:

To be fair, thinking Enda Kenny is at a political disadvantage because he is not from Dublin is the simplistic view in this thread.

3DataModem

Victor wrote: »

1% with a margin of error of 3%? :rolleyes:

Perhaps you don't understand what "margin of error" means in this context.

It dies not mean "plus or minus 3%"

Scoobydoobydoo

For me, I don't care where he comes from, and it really shouldn't matter, but I do find listening to Enda grating, I'm not so sure it's about the Mayo accent, so much his particular manner of speaking, it's got some kind of robotic sound to it for me - and as someone already said, there's a coldness about that. Pat Rabbitte is also from Mayo and I could listen to him speaking all day, no problem.

I really wish there was another system in place where our TDs weren't tied up with constituency politics, then it wouldn't matter who was from where, and I wouldn't care if they were all from the one town, as long as they could do a good job of running the country.

MidlandsM

Zamboni wrote: »

To be fair, thinking Enda Kenny is at a political disadvantage because he is not from Dublin is the simplistic view in this thread.

True, but is not what i was referring to.

MrDarcy

Scoobydoobydoo wrote: »

For me, I don't care where he comes from, and it really shouldn't matter, but I do find listening to Enda grating, I'm not so sure it's about the Mayo accent, so much his particular manner of speaking, it's got some kind of robotic sound to it for me - and as someone already said, there's a coldness about that. Pat Rabbitte is also from Mayo and I could listen to him speaking all day, no problem.

I really wish there was another system in place where our TDs weren't tied up with constituency politics, then it wouldn't matter who was from where, and I wouldn't care if they were all from the one town, as long as they could do a good job of running the country.

I think it is everything about the man, everything from the way he looks suspiciously at the camera with one eye half shut, like a man from the country who had it bred into him to be suspicious of all Dublin people, to the absolute rubbish he comes out with, from wanting to compensate everyone from taxi drivers to Eircom shareholders, to shyteing on about an unenforceable and meaningless "contract" with the people. He clearly lacks any vision whatsoever, all his statements seem to be loaded with what other people are doing wrong rather than what he can do right, and when he tries to say when he is doing right, he doesn't come across as credible.

I have refused to give FG any vote whatsoever for the last number of years all because of their leader, in terms of any type of a preference vote, because I honestly have been scratching my head for years wondering how on earth a character like Enda Kenny can become leader of a political party in this country. That would change in the morning if Richard Bruton became leader...

deisedol

MrDarcy wrote: »

I have refused to give FG any vote whatsoever for the last number of years all because of their leader, in terms of any type of a preference vote, because I honestly have been scratching my head for years wondering how on earth a character like Enda Kenny can become leader of a political party in this country. That would change in the morning if Richard Bruton became leader...

Generally people vote for their local rep not who the leader of the party is. the people of ireland did not vote in cowen- it was his party- we had no say in who ff put in as leader. this is the point everyone is missing- a party is about all the elected reps not one TD. you say you would vote if bruton is the leader- that does nt make sense to me - you either agree with the party policies or not- who the leader is is up to the parlimentary party. also fg would NOT be as strong a party if it were not for enda kenny. i think people are missing the point about what a leader REALLY means- and what they want from a leader. perhaps u and the media would like if WE went a bit american like the time they had an actor as president- ronald regan-
it is obvious to all that enda kenny is a great leader as he built up the party from the ashes. It is disgusting that the sheep are trying to kill the Sheppard that has taken them so far. i will never vote fg again if this shower of backstabbers want to run the country.

MrDarcy

deisedol wrote: »

Generally people vote for their local rep not who the leader of the party is. the people of ireland did not vote in cowen- it was his party- we had no say in who ff put in as leader. this is the point everyone is missing- a party is about all the elected reps not one TD. you say you would vote if bruton is the leader- that does nt make sense to me - you either agree with the party policies or not- who the leader is is up to the parlimentary party. also fg would NOT be as strong a party if it were not for enda kenny. i think people are missing the point about what a leader REALLY means- and what they want from a leader. perhaps u and the media would like if WE went a bit american like the time they had an actor as president- ronald regan-
it is obvious to all that enda kenny is a great leader as he built up the party from the ashes. It is disgusting that the sheep are trying to kill the Sheppard that has taken them so far. i will never vote fg again if this shower of backstabbers want to run the country.

But leadership is the key. Any organisational outfit that has a set of aims has to have credible leadership. For the TD's to be able to work towards a common purpose with any degree of success, I'd argue that there has to be a strong vision, an inspirational energy source and these things I strongly believe, a leader must provide. Richard Bruton has never led a political party, but already he is doing two things that connect with me:

(1) He has a vision of the kind of Ireland I want to live in. He genuinely appears to believe in building a caring and useful and engaging society and that we can fix our economic issues and be strong and secure again as a nation. I've never heard Enda kenny speaking like this or indeed any party leader for that matter.

(2) When he talks about the above, he doesn't sound like he has spent the last week in a studio being coached, he speaks as if he genuinely believes that this is what he wants to work towards. There is a conviction about the man that cannot be made up or manufactured.

Meanwhile back on the ranch we have Enda who seems to have the Gods telling him that he is destined to lead this country although practically everyone who has worked with him directly in terms of front bench activity, has come out and said that they have lost confidence in him! None of this should be a shock to Enda Kenny, people have been saying for years now that he did not possess the type of vision or quality as a leader that is required to govern a country.

You have the most corrupt and most hated government currently installed in this country at the present time. There is absolutely no doubt in most peoples minds that the policies of this government have brought us to where we now find ourselves, and yet according to the latest opinion poll, people still find the opposition as bad an alternative as the current incumbents. I ask you is it possible to find a more damning inditement of the main opposition party??? The only credible explanation I can see is the one that is being offered by Richard Bruton, which is that the main opposition party is failing to fulfill its potential, it is not seen as being credible, again the problem is clearly one of leadership...

unit 1

MrDarcy wrote: »

I think it is everything about the man, everything from the way he looks suspiciously at the camera with one eye half shut, like a man from the country who had it bred into him to be suspicious of all Dublin people, to the absolute rubbish he comes out with, from wanting to compensate everyone from taxi drivers to Eircom shareholders, to shyteing on about an unenforceable and meaningless "contract" with the people. He clearly lacks any vision whatsoever, all his statements seem to be loaded with what other people are doing wrong rather than what he can do right, and when he tries to say when he is doing right, he doesn't come across as credible.

I have refused to give FG any vote whatsoever for the last number of years all because of their leader, in terms of any type of a preference vote, because I honestly have been scratching my head for years wondering how on earth a character like Enda Kenny can become leader of a political party in this country. That would change in the morning if Richard Bruton became leader...

I suppose your right when you compare to that paragon of virtue BA;) or maybe you are suspicious of apparent integrity, honesty, and non grandstanding, which he loudly declared as his policy.
It's obvious really, the heavily influeced pro east coast media simply could not give him a break.
And now we have a motley crew of overambitious east coast rebels lead by a charisma free zone RB, who might, just might be chewed up and spat out by FF in 2 years time.
All they had to do was hold their nerve and wait, I just hope that it's not the country that suffers for this monumental blunder.

deisedol

I dont think richard Bruton is the man to lead FG or indeed the country. If Enda Kenny is pushed out of leadership i believe to reunite the party James Reilly is the man. intelligent, articulate, charismatic with a vision (eg his Fair care health policy). i have seen no comprehensive education plan from brian hayes, no financial plan from bruton and no enterpirise plan from varadker. Reilly is the only one who has proved his vision, conviction AN ABILITY TO ENGAGE THE PUBLIC with the faircare health plan. Maybe the others have policy plans too but they did nt share them well enough with us the general public for me to remember them.
REILLY has to be greatly admired supporting his leader AND WAITING FOR DUE PROCESS AT THE PARLIMENTARY party meeting tomorrow and not backstabbing. he is showing real leadership qualities- the chips are down and he is LOYAL.
. Bruton is good at doing the sums but has nt the traits to lead the party or the country. i think these impatient younguns such as brian hayes varadker etc have massaged his ego in to thinking he is the taoiseach in waiting, watch they will have the knife out for him as soon as he has the legs under the top table. Enda kenny needs to put manners on these guys and i hope he wins the parlimentary vote tomorrow.

Liam Byrne

MrDarcy wrote: »

.......the absolute rubbish he comes out with, from wanting to compensate everyone from taxi drivers to Eircom shareholders

Cheaper - and on the face of it more ethical* - than compensating Anglo shareholders!

* considering the eircom share sale and price was another FF con; imagine selling people in a country stuff that they already own from their taxes!

That said, anyone who believes FF doesn't deserve compensation.

Deise Tom

deisedol wrote: »

I dont think richard Bruton is the man to lead FG or indeed the country. If Enda Kenny is pushed out of leadership i believe to reunite the party James Reilly is the man. intelligent, articulate, charismatic with a vision (eg his Fair care health policy). i have seen no comprehensive education plan from brian hayes, no financial plan from bruton and no enterpirise plan from varadker. Reilly is the only one who has proved his vision, conviction AN ABILITY TO ENGAGE THE PUBLIC with the faircare health plan. Maybe the others have policy plans too but they did nt share them well enough with us the general public for me to remember them.
REILLY has to be greatly admired supporting his leader AND WAITING FOR DUE PROCESS AT THE PARLIMENTARY party meeting tomorrow and not backstabbing. he is showing real leadership qualities- the chips are down and he is LOYAL.
. Bruton is good at doing the sums but has nt the traits to lead the party or the country. i think these impatient younguns such as brian hayes varadker etc have massaged his ego in to thinking he is the taoiseach in waiting, watch they will have the knife out for him as soon as he has the legs under the top table. Enda kenny needs to put manners on these guys and i hope he wins the parlimentary vote tomorrow.

Dont know anything about the man, but its no good having these charactistics, if those dont around you also dont have them or others to work on.

MrDarcy

unit 1 wrote: »

I suppose your right when you compare to that paragon of virtue BA;) or maybe you are suspicious of apparent integrity, honesty, and non grandstanding, which he loudly declared as his policy.
It's obvious really, the heavily influeced pro east coast media simply could not give him a break.
And now we have a motley crew of overambitious east coast rebels lead by a charisma free zone RB, who might, just might be chewed up and spat out by FF in 2 years time.
All they had to do was hold their nerve and wait, I just hope that it's not the country that suffers for this monumental blunder.

Basically your saying if Cowen and co. fuk up anymore and run the country maybe a bit further into the ground, then maybe Kenny might start looking like a more positive alternative.... As for the east coast conspiracy theory, Kenny needed to shake off the persona of the cynical culchie who was bred to distrust anyone and anything east of Leixlip village, the semi shut/squinting eyes of permanent suspicion, please just go Enda...

goat2

i am wondering how today is going for enda
i hope he can put this behind him
it must be soul destroying for him, this pressure is hard
i see nothing wrong with his accent, i do think galway people are the salt of the earth, brilliant people, and kenny is one of them. do people think this dublin accent is better, berties accent, my god

Ash.J.Williams

I do actually feel bad for Enda, my only problem with him is that every single word he speaks seems to straight off a PR hymn sheet, it really does seem that he hasn't an original natural thing to say.....
However those that did seem more genuine sold us out and (along with ourselves) destroyed our country.
So as much as I disliked the idea of Enda being Leader, would he have been any better than what we got?

Also after his 30+ years in the dail he obviously saw the taoiseach job as being his zenith, so I am sure this all very traumatic for him..


ah well burn the lot of them .....

Deise Tom

If Enda had not started been himself there a while back, I wonder would things have been different.

I would love to know who he was if he was not himself.

unit 1

So the so called wimp and "uncharismatic" Kenny has shown his true mettle.
He has proven to be a much tougher nut to crack than his detractors thought, and this display of steel can only be of benefit to him and FG.
When they get into power some people will just wonder what in earth they were thinking, the impatient brats that they were, but will there be any country left after Cowen and co, we can only hope and pray that there will be.

Deise Tom

Does anyone know exactly who was entitled to vote today and what position they hold within the party, a TD, Oirachtas Member or MEP etc.

thebman

unit 1 wrote: »

So the so called wimp and "uncharismatic" Kenny has shown his true mettle.
He has proven to be a much tougher nut to crack than his detractors thought, and this display of steel can only be of benefit to him and FG.
When they get into power some people will just wonder what in earth they were thinking, the impatient brats that they were, but will there be any country left after Cowen and co, we can only hope and pray that there will be.

Maybe he has been shown to be tough but most of this is behind closed doors so we'll never know how he managed to retain control, the problem is he has not been seen to do the right thing by the many people in the country that would vote for FG if he was not leader which was the whole reason for this.

None of FG don't want him as leader because he is a bad at what he does in the party, it is how he is perceived by the public that is the problem and it continues to be the problem now that he is still in charge.

Ash.J.Williams

The man has balls of steel, i like balls.

The Muppet

Am I right in thinking half of his party have no confidence in his leadership of the party but will ask the Electorate to elect him as leader of the country in the next general election. Are they really that stupid?

unit 1

thebman wrote: »

Maybe he has been shown to be tough but most of this is behind closed doors so we'll never know how he managed to retain control, the problem is he has not been seen to do the right thing by the many people in the country that would vote for FG if he was not leader which was the whole reason for this.

None of FG don't want him as leader because he is a bad at what he does in the party, it is how he is perceived by the public that is the problem and it continues to be the problem now that he is still in charge.

People vote on local issues at election time, this is well and a long known fact.
The notion that people will not vote for FG while he is leader is just that, a notion and a fanciful one at that, peddled as a justification to oust him by east coast types(look at the makeup of his detractors) who panicked when they saw the last(dubious) poll, and used this as a catalyst.
The other reason (that they are not picking up those who are shifting from FF)is also off the mark and here's why.
The people currently deserting FF are a notch below total diehard FF supporters, or their "core" vote, and are temporarily moving due to being demoralised. Their aim is to self flaggelate and punish their party but they will ultimately return when cowen and co are despatched and micheal martin installed. This will happen in the election after the next one, so here are their choices.
1 shift to FG
2 shift to Lab
3 shift to green:D
4 go independant
1 is an absolute nono
2 is a possibity, and then shift back
3 lol
4 will happen sporadically here and there

The beauty of 1 above is to remove the possibility of their temporary defection giving long term (but short term) gains to their biggest rivals FG and even Gandi could'nt do anything about let alone Enda Kenny. This is why the defecting votes wii go disproportionally to labour imo. Nothing to do with Enda Kenny at all it's just politics.

unit 1

The Muppet wrote: »

Am I right in thinking half of his party have no confidence in his leadership of the party but will ask the Electorate to elect him as leader of the country in the next general election. Are they really that stupid?

This is not how it works. They will ask you to vote for them because they will get the bypass built, or help to get you a medical card, or younh Johnny a job in the council, etc etc. That is the way most people vote, out of self interest.