Peter Mathews running for FG in Dublin south

Yitzhak Rabin

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0122/1224288086975.html

Irish Times wrote:

BANKING commentator Peter Mathews has been unveiled by Fine Gael as its third candidate in the Dublin South constituency.

Mr Mathews, a prominent critic of Government policy on the economic crisis on television programmes over the last two years, has been added to the party ticket for the five-seat constituency, having joined Fine Gael in the past month.

Peter Mathews is in my opinion one of the most honest, credible and convincing commentators on the Banking crisis in the country. I don't have a vote in Dublin South, but if I did he would most definitely get my number one.

It'll be very tough for anyone running in that constituency as there are some big candidates running there.

For anyone who doesn't know who he is, this was him speaking to the Joint oireactheas committee on finance in 2010.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNFbl525fkM

There are 10 parts to it, and are well worth a watch, but the above part is particularly good watching (well at least from about 4:30 onwards when Frank Fathead shuts up)

Sierra Oscar

This constituency is going to be very interesting to say the least. It is good to see more people with in depth expertise putting their names forward as candidates.

In Matthews case however, I can already see the Left highlighting again and again that Matthews is "just a banker" and the bankers are to blame for putting us in this mess . . . and also of course putting in the comparison to George Lee.

Lady Chatterton

Bring on the silver fox - a man with brains and distinguished good looks!

heebusjeebus

He'll be getting my first preference vote (followed by Olivia Mitchell and Alan Shatter). I hope he does get in and Fine Gael utilize him as much as they can.

Lady Chatterton

heebusjeebus wrote: »

He'll be getting my first preference vote (followed by Olivia Mitchell and Alan Shatter). I hope he does get in and Fine Gael utilize him as much as they can.

I hope they treat him better than they treated George Lee. No point in attracting competent people if your only going to use them as crowd pullers.

murphaph

Exactly, I don't care if some other clown has been "waiting for their turn" on the FG backbenches etc. If Matthews is prepared to do the right thing, FG should use his skills to help Ireland get out of this mess.

Yitzhak Rabin

Same, I really hope they start to implement some of his ideas for saving the country from total financial ruin (and robbery).

I don't think the comparisons to George Lee are too relevant though. Lee was a media commentator, while Mathews has a background of working in banking, and has a reputation as one of the most prudent bankers around. AFAIR he was head of ACC, one of the few stable financial entities in the country. As he says himself when the comparison of George Lee was put to him:

Mr Mathews denied that he was a “celebrity economist” or “George Lee Mark II” candidate. He said comparisons with Mr Lee were irrelevant and his background as a banking analyst was “actually quite boring”.

heebusjeebus

MrsD007 wrote: »

I hope they treat him better than they treated George Lee. No point in attracting competent people if your only going to use them as crowd pullers.

Ya I agree. I think blame was 50/50 when it came to George and FG. Hopefully the party have learned lessons from it.

SerialComplaint

yekahs wrote: »

SAFAIR he was head of ACC, one of the few stable financial entities in the country.

Way off the mark - wrong bank and wrong role.

heebusjeebus wrote: »

I hope he does get in and Fine Gael utilize him as much as they can.

How do you reckon FG will utilise him as a backbencher, given that he hasn't a snowballs chance in hell of getting a Minsterial post?

heebusjeebus

SerialComplaint wrote: »

How do you reckon FG will utilise him as a backbencher, given that he hasn't a snowballs chance in hell of getting a Minsterial post?

I'm sure there will be many many committees setup in the hope of getting us out of this mess.
As I say, I hope they use him well.

Lady Chatterton

SerialComplaint wrote: »

Way off the mark - wrong bank and wrong role.


How do you reckon FG will utilise him as a backbencher, given that he hasn't a snowballs chance in hell of getting a Minsterial post?

How do you know that he will not be given a ministerial position? Look at Tom Parlon - he went from IFA president to being a minister. He had no political experience before his appointment to the cabinent!

SerialComplaint

heebusjeebus wrote: »

I'm sure there will be many many committees setup in the hope of getting us out of this mess.
As I say, I hope they use him well.

I'm not sure I'd want to be building my daughter's future on the back kof 'committees'.

MrsD007 wrote: »

How do you know that he will not be given a ministerial position? Look at Tom Parlon - he went from IFA president to being a minister. He had no political experience before his appointment to the cabinent!

Big difference - Tom joined a small party, the PDs. Peter has joined FG, and there is a long queue ahead of him for Minsterial posts.

Lady Chatterton

SerialComplaint wrote: »

Big difference - Tom joined a small party, the PDs. Peter has joined FG, and there is a long queue ahead of him for Minsterial posts.

We will have to wait and see. I'd like to see him get even a junior ministry......

murphaph

SerialComplaint wrote: »

I'm not sure I'd want to be building my daughter's future on the back kof 'committees'.


Big difference - Tom joined a small party, the PDs. Peter has joined FG, and there is a long queue ahead of him for Minsterial posts.

That's true and such a shame. Mathews would, IMO, make a fine Taoiseach, nevermind junior minister for something largely irrelevant. I'd like HIM to be the leader of FG and for him to select the cabinet based purely on peoples' abilities and not a queue. We have the talent in Ireland, but it's sadly going to be left to morons again.

SerialComplaint

MrsD007 wrote: »

We will have to wait and see. I'd like to see him get even a junior ministry......

No disrespect, but it doesn't really matter what you like. What matters is what he can negotiate for himself in FG, and he is at the back of a very long queue.

murphaph wrote: »

That's true and such a shame. Mathews would, IMO, make a fine Taoiseach, nevermind junior minister for something largely irrelevant. I'd like HIM to be the leader of FG and for him to select the cabinet based purely on peoples' abilities and not a queue. We have the talent in Ireland, but it's sadly going to be left to morons again.

Shees, can he turn water into wine too? He's done a few good interviews, but let's not canonise the guy just yet.

Yitzhak Rabin

What's your opinion on him Serial? Would you vote for him in Dublin South?

SerialComplaint

I might give him a preference somewhere down the line. I'm left-leaning, so it is Culhane 1 and White 2 - after that, it is whatever it takes to make sure FF get humiliated.

RobAMerc

he'll get my number 2 after Shane Ross. PM is a decent man I think and seems to be doing it out of a genuine interest in helping out, not vanity or to enrich himself or others. ( unlike possibly 160 of the rest of them )

Hector Mildew

RobAMerc wrote: »

he'll get my number 2 after Shane Ross. PM is a decent man I think and seems to be doing it out of a genuine interest in helping out, not vanity or to enrich himself or others. ( unlike possibly 160 of the rest of them )

Was thinking along the same lines until I came across this article (written by Ross) linked in the Shane Ross thread. After reading that, I’ve decided to give Mathews my Number 1.

homer911

He was canvassing at the Stillorgan Luas stop this morning - came over quite well, but would like to know more about him and his pedigree..

stevie g for life

I'm a big fan of Peter Mathews. He will certainly get my first preferance vote. Best of luck to him

kincsem

he'll get my number 2 after Shane Ross.

I'm in South Dublin and I'm voting the same as the above poster.

mitten64

Peter Mathews is definitely getting my number 1 vote. He has much more to offer than Ross and is much stronger on the issues and solutions than Ross.
The late Debate last nigth just highlighted that Ross is a bit unsteady-he's not composed enough to make rational decisions...and this just goes back to his articles on the banks over the last few years. "So what...burn them!"(Last night's late debate)...I don't disagree with him at all, and I think he's a good man, but only a few days ago he was saying there should a debt-for-equity scheme used for the Bondholders-slightly different tune to what he was singing last night.
I don't think he's 100% reliable for what we're facing, and Mathews seems pretty consistent and steady with his approach, no fanatics just facts-he also knows how to talk to these inisters and politicians-he doesn't take crap(watch him tell Forty Gaffs Fahey in the Oireachtas to "Step aside if the Minister doesn't understand it"-Nama)
In saying that, him and Ross together in the Dail, with Sommerville, could be a great little tripod and very effective.
Mathews get's my number 1 and Ross my number 2...PM anyday over Ross, but I would take the two of them over any of the other candidates by a country mile. Both very good men

thebman

Would give him my number one if I was voting there.

Wish any candidate in my constituency was as smart and decent as Peter Matthews. All seem self serving here

If you have any doubts about whether to vote for him, add his RSS feed to your list and see his posts over the course of this banking crisis. Always proved right but not too cocky about it either.

He can also debate with politicians as the Frank Fahy youtube video on NAMA shows.

Big fan of Ross too due to his attention on broadband infrastructure deficit (when in seanad not his newspaper column), two great candidates.

Tipp Man

I'm going to go against the grain here and say that I am not particularly impressed with him in the bits that i have seen him. Maybe its the format of the TV programmes he's been on, I don't know, but he doesn't impress me in the slighest

Strikes me as a bit of a lightweight and never seems to say anything of real substance. He could be very knowledgeable but i don't think he gets it across well at all

On a personal level he seems like a decent guy

bamboozle

mitten64 wrote: »

Peter Mathews is definitely getting my number 1 vote. He has much more to offer than Ross and is much stronger on the issues and solutions than Ross.
The late Debate last nigth just highlighted that Ross is a bit unsteady-he's not composed enough to make rational decisions...and this just goes back to his articles on the banks over the last few years. "So what...burn them!"(Last night's late debate)...I don't disagree with him at all, and I think he's a good man, but only a few days ago he was saying there should a debt-for-equity scheme used for the Bondholders-slightly different tune to what he was singing last night.
I don't think he's 100% reliable for what we're facing, and Mathews seems pretty consistent and steady with his approach, no fanatics just facts-he also knows how to talk to these inisters and politicians-he doesn't take crap(watch him tell Forty Gaffs Fahey in the Oireachtas to "Step aside if the Minister doesn't understand it"-Nama)
In saying that, him and Ross together in the Dail, with Sommerville, could be a great little tripod and very effective.
Mathews get's my number 1 and Ross my number 2...PM anyday over Ross, but I would take the two of them over any of the other candidates by a country mile. Both very good men

this is half the reason why i'm looking forward to seeing an irate cranky Ross as a TD, hopefully it'll mean that semi state bodies will think twice before blowing money needlessly (FAS) if there are people like Ross ready to expose their waste...unlike calamity coughlan whose ingenious solution was to have an investigation into FAS and agree a massive pay off with Molloy.
Public expenditure & needless waste needs to be reigned in and having the likes of Ross in situ will improve the chances of this happening.

thebman

Tipp Man wrote: »

I'm going to go against the grain here and say that I am not particularly impressed with him in the bits that i have seen him. Maybe its the format of the TV programmes he's been on, I don't know, but he doesn't impress me in the slighest

Strikes me as a bit of a lightweight and never seems to say anything of real substance. He could be very knowledgeable but i don't think he gets it across well at all

On a personal level he seems like a decent guy

I don't think he is very good at TV interviews TBH. He isn't a natural TV politician. Even in his own videos, sometimes he rambles a bit or pauses for long periods of times and seems to forget that on camera, dead air shows up fast. He does take his time before he speaks but usually has something interesting to say when discussing the economy.

Cavehill Red

MrsD007 wrote: »

I hope they treat him better than they treated George Lee. No point in attracting competent people if your only going to use them as crowd pullers.

Your two sentences don't follow on.
What is the connection between George Lee and competent people?

Soldie

I'd like to see him win a seat, but he has some stiff competition. Alan Shatter, Olivia Mitchell, Alex White, and Shane Ross will almost certainly get elected. The real fight will be for the fifth seat, with Peter Matthews, Aidan Culhane, Maria Corrigan, and Eamon Ryan all vying for it.

mitten64

Tipp Man wrote: »

I'm going to go against the grain here and say that I am not particularly impressed with him in the bits that i have seen him. Maybe its the format of the TV programmes he's been on, I don't know, but he doesn't impress me in the slighest

Strikes me as a bit of a lightweight and never seems to say anything of real substance. He could be very knowledgeable but i don't think he gets it across well at all

On a personal level he seems like a decent guy

Lightweight? I don't think you understand how hard it is to condess this stuff into digestable soundbites for people to understand, because if you did know, then there's no way you would say he's lightweight. Do you think Constantin would agree with him and follow his twitter if he thought he was lightweight? I certainly don't.

As for your comment about "never seems to say anything of real substance", I think we must be watching different people. It's because people don't understand this stuff, that we're in this mess, and trust me, if you knew how big the mess was and how badly we have screwed things up as a country, then you would be trying to get people like him, and Sommerville elected.

Harvard University are even doing case studies on the Irish banking crisis because we're in such a hole.

I wish I could vote for him personally, but unfortunately no candidates of any decent calibre in any policy areas are running in my constituency.

If the electorate let men like the Mathews and Sommerville get through the net then we deserve everything that we get with this crisis. The Irish people need to learn a hard lesson here, and maybe you should read his articles...They took me some time to get through because they're so thorough, but you certainly wouldn't be saying "lightweight" if you read them.

Educate yourself fully before you vote-the media won't do it for you

SerialComplaint

mitten64 wrote: »

Lightweight? I don't think you understand how hard it is to condess this stuff into digestable soundbites for people to understand, because if you did know, then there's no way you would say he's lightweight. Do you think Constantin would agree with him and follow his twitter if he thought he was lightweight? I certainly don't.

As for your comment about "never seems to say anything of real substance", I think we must be watching different people. It's because people don't understand this stuff, that we're in this mess, and trust me, if you knew how big the mess was and how badly we have screwed things up as a country, then you would be trying to get people like him, and Sommerville elected.

Harvard University are even doing case studies on the Irish banking crisis because we're in such a hole.

I wish I could vote for him personally, but unfortunately no candidates of any decent calibre in any policy areas are running in my constituency.

If the electorate let men like the Mathews and Sommerville get through the net then we deserve everything that we get with this crisis. The Irish people need to learn a hard lesson here, and maybe you should read his articles...They took me some time to get through because they're so thorough, but you certainly wouldn't be saying "lightweight" if you read them.

Educate yourself fully before you vote-the media won't do it for you

Mmmm new poster with three posts, all about Peter Matthews.

Welcome to Boards.ie Peter.

mitten64

:eek: You caught me!!! Just on a quick break from my campaign schedule and already my cover is blown!

If you read my latter post you'll notice I'm not even in his constituency, so I doubt I'm him.

After living in America for the past 4 years, let me tell you that the politicians here would be eaten alive in that arena. I've managed to follow this crisis from afar, and I've seen Mathews over the last few years along with others-Sommerville, Gurdiev, McWilliams, Lucey-and literally have been disappointed to come back to what I see. These kinds of guys are celebrated in other countries as people challenging the status quo and saying this isn't good enough for our country, yet here, we don't like anyone stands out from the crowd.

Is it a crime to actually WANT guys like the above in our government?!

The Raven.

murphaph wrote: »

Mathews would, IMO, make a fine Taoiseach, nevermind junior minister for something largely irrelevant. I'd like HIM to be the leader of FG and for him to select the cabinet based purely on peoples' abilities and not a queue. We have the talent in Ireland, but it's sadly going to be left to morons again.

Murphaph, I was about to say that Peter Mathews would make a great Taoiseach, but you got there before me.

I don’t wish to denigrate Eamon Gilmore, as I have a lot of respect for him. Neither do I wish to offend Enda Kenny. I am not affiliated to any party and I base my judgement on the skills and integrity of individual candidates.

The more I see of Peter Mathews, the more I think that out of all the politicians he is the most suitable person to be Taoiseach. For statesmanship, integrity, and diplomatic skills, I would give him 10 out of 10. He appears to have a profound knowledge of the economy and capable of making sound judgements, which should have been listened to as regards the banks.

He would be well able to deal with the IMF/EU officials in a firm but diplomatic manner, which would give Ireland back the dignity that has been lost by the FF government.

However, I think that Mathews would have been better as an Independent, or leader of some new party. I wish him well and I sincerely hope that his wings don’t get clipped by party politics in the future.

bijapos

Cavehill Red wrote: »

What is the connection between George Lee and competent people?

Nice snide little comment there. Lee called the crisis years in advance, he warned of the dangers of an overheating economy and one that was too reliant on the construction industry when it was "unfashionable" to do so. He argued for a more sustainable approach when it was a laughable thing to do. He was proven right and in that way he is utterly competent, far more so than most people in public life imo. Just because he saw what he saw in FG, didn't like it and decided to resign does not really give anyone the right to question his economic competence.

I for one hope FG have learned something from the Lee debacle and give Matthews the relevant attention and respect if he does get elected.

mitten64 wrote: »

Educate yourself fully before you vote-the media won't do it for you

+100 to that. So so true. Well said.

Tipp Man

mitten64 wrote: »

Lightweight? I don't think you understand how hard it is to condess this stuff into digestable soundbites for people to understand, because if you did know, then there's no way you would say he's lightweight. Do you think Constantin would agree with him and follow his twitter if he thought he was lightweight? I certainly don't.

As for your comment about "never seems to say anything of real substance", I think we must be watching different people. It's because people don't understand this stuff, that we're in this mess, and trust me, if you knew how big the mess was and how badly we have screwed things up as a country, then you would be trying to get people like him, and Sommerville elected.

Harvard University are even doing case studies on the Irish banking crisis because we're in such a hole.

I wish I could vote for him personally, but unfortunately no candidates of any decent calibre in any policy areas are running in my constituency.

If the electorate let men like the Mathews and Sommerville get through the net then we deserve everything that we get with this crisis. The Irish people need to learn a hard lesson here, and maybe you should read his articles...They took me some time to get through because they're so thorough, but you certainly wouldn't be saying "lightweight" if you read them.

Educate yourself fully before you vote-the media won't do it for you

Seriously what the #### is with the attitude in your reply to me? While you were swaning around the USA for the last 4 years i was here paying tax (lots of it) so you had better believe that i am entitled to an opinion on an election candidate without being called uneducated by you. Especially as i am a qualified economist (MSC banking and finance) and accountant so less of the smugness and condescending please

Look last night he had the perfect opportunity to lay down a marker and promote himself as the number 1 candidate in this country with regards to dealing with our banks. Instead Constantine dominated him and did most of the talking - Matthews was most audible when he was agreeing with Pearce bloody Doherty. He should have taken the bull by the horns last night and showed that he (and FG) have solutions to the banking problem. I don't think he did so i stand by my point that he is a bit lightweight. Richard Bruton on primetime for instance came across far better (albeit a much more seasoned campaigner).

I also stand by my comment of nothing of real substance (perhaps not best phrased) He went on for 5 minutes about fractional reserve banking. That's great but what we need are solutions not reasons. We all know that the abondment of fractional reserving led to this mess. What he should have done was outlined in exact detail how his plan (if implemented) would effect every business and citizen with a bank account in this country. Are our savings safe? If the banks fold what happens to our savings? What about business bank accounts? What about the atm's? Exactly what would happen that effects the daily lives of people? What about the broader economy? How exactly do they propose to go about this haircut and what happens once its done? How will the bond markets react to us doing this? I wouldn'd mind but they were asked the specific question of what would happen.

So i stand by my original statement

Also I am on record on here as saying that i am a big fan of constantine but i don't give a damn who he follows on twitter

And also to add that i do want Matthews to be elected and agree that we need a lot more candidate of this calibre

johnnyskeleton

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

This constituency is going to be very interesting to say the least. It is good to see more people with in depth expertise putting their names forward as candidates.

In Matthews case however, I can already see the Left highlighting again and again that Matthews is "just a banker" and the bankers are to blame for putting us in this mess . . . and also of course putting in the comparison to George Lee.

I wonder about it. FG probably will get 2 seats in DS but I doubt they would get 3. I think they might have been better served deploying Matthews in another area.

Cavehill Red

bijapos wrote: »

Nice snide little comment there. Lee called the crisis years in advance, he warned of the dangers of an overheating economy and one that was too reliant on the construction industry when it was "unfashionable" to do so. He argued for a more sustainable approach when it was a laughable thing to do. He was proven right and in that way he is utterly competent, far more so than most people in public life imo. Just because he saw what he saw in FG, didn't like it and decided to resign does not really give anyone the right to question his economic competence.

If calling the most obvious bubble in European economic history qualified you to be a TD, then I'm one, and so are all manner of anarchists, bloggers, street ranters and David McWilliams.

I'm not letting this nonsense go any further about pore ole George and the terrible maltreatment he got in Fine Gael.

Having been an overpaid Montrose hack for millennia, whose CV ran to one banking yarn where the entire details had been leaked to him, he stomped into FG demanding to a) get parachuted in ahead of existing local representatives and b) a seat at the front bench despite FG already having Bruton, Varadkar and a number of other better qualified commentators in his limited field of expertise.

After failing in any sense to represent the people of Dublin South (never seen in the constituency at all), he threw his rattle out of the pram and ran back to Mammy RTE. And what, pray tell, has he done there since other ruin the Saturday morning business show that used to be epic?

It's exactly the sort of name recognition voting that keeps this country in the mess it is. If people aren't voting because their granddad voted for the candidate's granddad, then as we saw in the Dublin South by-election, they'll vote for yer man off de telly.

Pathetic. And it certainly doesn't make Lee in any way competent.

ei.sdraob

Cavehill Red wrote: »

Pathetic. And it certainly doesn't make Lee in any way competent.

He was one of the few people who argued clearly and in a reasoned manner against the banking approach taken by the government.
See the video of him at the finance committee meeting, we had a thread on the subject before
He ate Frank Fahey for breakfast at that meeting exposing FF for the joke that they are, the man clearly cares about this country and fairplay to him for standing up and running in the elections.


I wish we had people like him running here in Galway who are smart and articulate, instead we get the likes of Frank 40 gaffs Fahey

bijapos

Cavehill Red wrote: »

If calling the most obvious bubble in European economic history qualified you to be a TD, then I'm one, and so are all manner of anarchists, bloggers, street ranters and David McWilliams.

It doesn't qualify him to be a TD, I never said it did, fact is he warned of the dangers years ago, and continued to do so when he was regularly mocked and parodied for doing so. Pity people didn't listen more to him, yourself and myself.

Having been an overpaid Montrose hack for millennia,

92-09 is Milennia? he was on €150K pa iirc, better value than most others in RTE or indeed any private media in this country, especially when he is getting it right and giving the facts and figures to back it up.

and whose CV ran to one banking yarn where the entire details had been leaked to him,

I think you'll find he has a much better record than that.

he stomped into FG demanding to a) get parachuted in ahead of existing local representatives and b) a seat at the front bench despite FG already having Bruton, Varadkar and a number of other better qualified commentators in his limited field of expertise.

Wrong. He was headhunted by FG. Which makes your "stomping" and "demanding" comments a bit laughable. He was unopposed in the FG selection convention for the bye election. I dont recall him demanding a seat at the front bench at any time, neither has any leading member of FG ever said he did.

After failing in any sense to represent the people of Dublin South (never seen in the constituency at all),

The people of Dublin South, (of which I was one in 2009) did not elect Lee to fix potholes or be seen around the constituency. The mood at the time was that we need less TDs who go around the constituencies but rather more who are experts in their own field. This, imo is why he was elected with over 50% of the vote. There was a very different mood in Dublin S at the time, people wanted a different calibre of TD.

he threw his rattle out of the pram and ran back to Mammy RTE.

He left because he could make no input into FG decision making. His reasons are well outlined in that link.

And what, pray tell, has he done there since other ruin the Saturday morning business show that used to be epic?

I agree, John Murray was miles better, Lee is not suited to the radio.

It's exactly the sort of name recognition voting that keeps this country in the mess it is. If people aren't voting because their granddad voted for the candidate's granddad, then as we saw in the Dublin South by-election, they'll vote for yer man off de telly.

As I said above they viewed Lee as being honest and competent. Two qualities which to my mind he has.

Incidentally if they shouldn't vote for "yer man off de telly" why should people vote for people such as Matthews or Sommerville?

Cavehill Red

bijapos wrote: »

It doesn't qualify him to be a TD, I never said it did, fact is he warned of the dangers years ago, and continued to do so when he was regularly mocked and parodied for doing so. Pity people didn't listen more to him, yourself and myself.

We can agree on both points - he wasn't qualified to be a TD and it's a pity more people didn't listen to the warnings from wherever they emanated.

bijapos wrote: »

92-09 is Milennia? he was on €150K pa iirc, better value than most others in RTE or indeed any private media in this country, especially when he is getting it right and giving the facts and figures to back it up.

I'd have to disagree on the perception that Lee was value at that price. Like everyone else in RTE, especially the 'talent', he is vastly overpaid and would not command near that rate anywhere else.

bijapos wrote: »

I think you'll find he has a much better record than that.

Really? Like what?

bijapos wrote: »

Wrong. He was headhunted by FG. Which makes your "stomping" and "demanding" comments a bit laughable. He was unopposed in the FG selection convention for the bye election. I dont recall him demanding a seat at the front bench at any time, neither has any leading member of FG ever said he did.

As I recall, at the time of the election, it was all Enda got asked about by the media, George's pals to a man. It was clearly the case he expected a front bench position, but unlike James Reilly, who had ran the IMO and was clearly the best man for his brief, Lee had significant competition within the party from better qualified candidates. He didn't like that, nor did he wish to function as a constituency politician, and when it became clear that neither Olivia Mitchell nor Alan Shatter were going to bow out at the next election, he threw his strop.

bijapos wrote: »

The people of Dublin South, (of which I was one in 2009) did not elect Lee to fix potholes or be seen around the constituency. The mood at the time was that we need less TDs who go around the constituencies but rather more who are experts in their own field. This, imo is why he was elected with over 50% of the vote. There was a very different mood in Dublin S at the time, people wanted a different calibre of TD.

I disagree. Like everywhere else in the state, people vote on name recognition, of which George had more than Alex White in that election. It's why Barry Cowen will be elected in Offaly despite having no track record whatsoever other than a nondescript term on the council. It's why our politicians remain mediocre.

bijapos wrote: »

He left because he could make no input into FG decision making. His reasons are well outlined in that link.

And within Fine Gael, especially within Dublin South, those reasons are considered self-serving and laughable.

bijapos wrote: »

I agree, John Murray was miles better, Lee is not suited to the radio.

Indeed. But Mammy RTE was happy to take him back, and yet not happy to put him back on the box.

bijapos wrote: »

As I said above they viewed Lee as being honest and competent. Two qualities which to my mind he has.

His honesty I wouldn't have doubted until that campaign. He had previously denied considering politics, then suddenly he was running in a by-election. As I said, his reasons for later leaving aren't universally considered as legitimate or even accurate.
His competence I've already commented on. By the standards of RTE journalism, he's better than average. As a TD he was dire.

bijapos wrote: »

Incidentally if they shouldn't vote for "yer man off de telly" why should people vote for people such as Matthews or Sommerville?

I don't think either are coming in as celeb candidates, really. Neither is trading on name recognition (unlike Shane Ross, for example). But in principle, I agree with you.

mitten64

Tipp Man wrote: »

Seriously what the #### is with the attitude in your reply to me? While you were swaning around the USA for the last 4 years i was here paying tax (lots of it) so you had better believe that i am entitled to an opinion on an election candidate without being called uneducated by you. Especially as i am a qualified economist (MSC banking and finance) and accountant so less of the smugness and condescending please

Look last night he had the perfect opportunity to lay down a marker and promote himself as the number 1 candidate in this country with regards to dealing with our banks. Instead Constantine dominated him and did most of the talking - Matthews was most audible when he was agreeing with Pearce bloody Doherty. He should have taken the bull by the horns last night and showed that he (and FG) have solutions to the banking problem. I don't think he did so i stand by my point that he is a bit lightweight. Richard Bruton on primetime for instance came across far better (albeit a much more seasoned campaigner).

I also stand by my comment of nothing of real substance (perhaps not best phrased) He went on for 5 minutes about fractional reserve banking. That's great but what we need are solutions not reasons. We all know that the abondment of fractional reserving led to this mess. What he should have done was outlined in exact detail how his plan (if implemented) would effect every business and citizen with a bank account in this country. Are our savings safe? If the banks fold what happens to our savings? What about business bank accounts? What about the atm's? Exactly what would happen that effects the daily lives of people? What about the broader economy? How exactly do they propose to go about this haircut and what happens once its done? How will the bond markets react to us doing this? I wouldn'd mind but they were asked the specific question of what would happen.

So i stand by my original statement

Also I am on record on here as saying that i am a big fan of constantine but i don't give a damn who he follows on twitter

And also to add that i do want Matthews to be elected and agree that we need a lot more candidate of this calibre

I think you mistook my passion over the subject for insult. so there's no need to get defensive. By the way, your comment about my whereabouts and what I was doing shows gross ignorance, and maybe more thoughtfulness should be put into your replies, than shooting from the hip every time...I didn't say anything about you personally and I would appreciate the same courtesy since you don't have a clue what I was doing in those 4 years.

Yes, you're of course entitled to have your opinion, and I'm also entitled to challenge it in this forum, so refrain from voicing your opinions if someone like myself disagrees and evidentially touches a nerve.

Constantin is a separate person, but if you expect any person on that show to get enough time to talk about fixing the state and manage to fit it into a couple of minutes showing a breakdown of the knock-on effects, then you really must not understand this stuff...no apologies this time. Of course constantin got so much time, he's completely impartial, and was the only impartial panelist who understand the stuff-everyone else on the show who understood it is runnning for election, so the presenter can't help promote their campaign.

Basically, Mathews is politely saying we have Europe by the balls since we owe them so much money(far more than just the bondholders 50bn), and they can't afford to have us default on any of it. It completely makes sense that they reduce our interest rates down form the ridiculous penal levels to something we could actually manage to pay back for the most part. It's simple mathematics honestly. The complexity of restructuring the banking system must include legislative changes, so obviously it would be ridiculous for him to say he can do everything before he gets in. He can say what he knows is actually feasible.
It was a panel with a number of GE candidates, so obviously the presenter wasn't going to let him have 5-10 minutes to himself, and as for "5 minutes" talking about banking reserves, your grasp of time is quite weak, try one minute at most.

Fantastic that you too want to see him get in like a lot of us, but less cynicism would help get people like him in

liveline

Peter Mathews seems to be a bit of an outsider in Dublin South with the bookies. I think FG have a chance of taking the 3 seats here. I think Mathews will do particularly well from transfers from Shane Ross who I reckon will top the poll.

Pythia

Great result for Mathews last night. I did some canvassing for him. Lovely guy.