Enda Kenny - loosing votes for FG??

murphyebass

Just wondering is there anyone else out there like me. I'm presuming there is.

Enda Kenny at the helm of FG is putting me off voting for them. I detest the man.

That said the alternatives are not good are they...

FF - not a chance in hell, we need a change simple as that.
Labour - Possibility I suppose. At least Gilmore has been vocal. I do worry whether he'd back up any of his statements with actual policies though.
SF - no way no how, the countries bad enough as it is.
Indpendants - too much local politics/out for themselves for my liking.


Did anyone hear Joan Bruton and Leo Vradkar taking lumps out of each other on newstalk this morning.. comflicting views wouldnt be in it!! ...How the hell would that coalition even work if it did happen which lets be fair is the most likely outcome of all this mess?!

Labour & FG for the next couple of years, they take abuse that FF deserve over those years, then everyone forgets how bad FF were and reelect them next time round when low and behold we spend like loonatics again and this whole mess happens all over again. :cool:

Bottle_of_Smoke

Yeah he no doubt is losing them votes. People's voting choice often boils down to what they think of the leader and how they think he would represent the country.

Yitzhak Rabin

Unfortunately he probably is. Its very hard to shake peoples impression of a politician.

People should be looking at the party's front benches and more importantly their policies. Then ask yourself if the party's policies are in line with what you want, and what is the best and most credible avenue for the government to take in the next few years.

Morebypasses

Enda Kenny is the reason I am considering voting for FF even though I had had vowed not to vote for them. Cowen gone has moved the goalposts for me. M Martin is a far more capable individual then that robot Kenny. Where was Kenny over the weekend???? Are FG hiding him again? We may be a laughing stock internationally at present but wait until they see what’s coming in late march when Kenny is rolled out as leader of our country!!!!!!!!!

Yitzhak Rabin

Morebypasses wrote: »

Enda Kenny is the reason I am considering voting for FF even though I had had vowed not to vote for them. Cowen gone has moved the goalposts for me. M Martin is a far more capable individual then that robot Kenny. Where was Kenny over the weekend???? Are FG hiding him again? We may be a laughing stock internationally at present but wait until they see what’s coming in late march when Kenny is rolled out as leader of our country!!!!!!!!!

Really now is he?

What would you say his achievements in government have been over the past decade?

I remember him for:

-The behemoth of a inefficient quagmire that is the HSE
-How he espoused the values and benefits of having light touch regulation of the finicial sector
-Remember from 2004 to 2008 when all those FAS boys were heading on junkets and stealing taxpayers money. Who was the minister for trade and employment?
-The disastrous Lisbon Campaign when he was minister for FA

Michael Martin is a Fianna Fáiler through and through - Incompetent & Corrupt.

I don't honestly believe you had ever truly 'vowed' to never vote FF again. M Martin coming to power is just a handy excuse.

Bottle_of_Smoke

Morebypasses wrote: »

Enda Kenny is the reason I am considering voting for FF even though I had had vowed not to vote for them. Cowen gone has moved the goalposts for me. M Martin is a far more capable individual then that robot Kenny. Where was Kenny over the weekend???? Are FG hiding him again? We may be a laughing stock internationally at present but wait until they see what’s coming in late march when Kenny is rolled out as leader of our country!!!!!!!!!

Why do you have to vote for FG/FF?

Jeboa Safari

Morebypasses wrote: »

Enda Kenny is the reason I am considering voting for FF even though I had had vowed not to vote for them. Cowen gone has moved the goalposts for me. M Martin is a far more capable individual then that robot Kenny. Where was Kenny over the weekend???? Are FG hiding him again? We may be a laughing stock internationally at present but wait until they see what’s coming in late march when Kenny is rolled out as leader of our country!!!!!!!!!

I don't see how he is, he's another ditherer who passes the book, all he did during his time in Health was order a series of reports and comissions so he wouldn't have to make a decision. I'd say Enda Kenny is praying for Michael Martin to be elected FF leader because he is one of the few that won't destroy him in the leaders debate

jmayo

Morebypasses wrote: »

Enda Kenny is the reason I am considering voting for FF even though I had had vowed not to vote for them. Cowen gone has moved the goalposts for me. M Martin is a far more capable individual then that robot Kenny. Where was Kenny over the weekend???? Are FG hiding him again? We may be a laughing stock internationally at present but wait until they see what’s coming in late march when Kenny is rolled out as leader of our country!!!!!!!!!

Oh wow an undecided voter that will vote for ff becuase of Kenny. :eek:

Of course one can forget and forgive the fact that while ff have been in charge

• there was the creation of a massive property bubble that bankrupted our three major banks and two building societies
• creation of a bubble that has left thousands swimming in negative equity for the rest of their lives
• creation of a bubble that led to loss of industrial export competitiveness and loss of real jobs
• start of emigration again
• wastage of billions on cost overruns and ego projects,
• loss of soverignty as we had to accept IMF/ECB bailout
• our country became the laughing stock of the international community as our government and it's leader lurched from one disaster to the next.

Now I suppose one can forgive ff all that, since isn't Kenny leading the FGers. :rolleyes:

BTW as other poster asked, why would you consider the only other option to be ff if you dislike Kenny leading FG ?

Avns1s

Jeboa Safari wrote: »

I don't see how he is, he's another ditherer who passes the book, all he did during his time in Health was order a series of reports and comissions so he wouldn't have to make a decision. I'd say Enda Kenny is praying for Michael Martin to be elected FF leader because he is one of the few that won't destroy him in the leaders debate

The only one of the 4 nominees for FF leader that have any ability in a debate is Lenihan and his arrogance and aggressiveness overrides his ability to communicate his points!

Leiva

yes

Corsendonk

I think he has peaked. The floating vote just don't get grabbed by his personality. We may all argue that its not about his personality/charisma but we know deep down that it is especially with voters that will be voting away from their natural choices in the past. A pity that Richard Bruton didn't suceed in his leadership bid, I suspect if he did FG would have had more of a chance of forming a government without Labour.

I am not convinced that Enda understands the world outside politics. He announced last week he has been in the Dail for over 35 years, institualized springs to mind. Good party organiser, future leader of the country in one of our worst times?

Dymo

Morebypasses wrote: »

Enda Kenny is the reason I am considering voting for FF even though I had had vowed not to vote for them.

Well done sir, after all FF has done to the country your willing to give them another go.I'm sure on election day there's going to be more like you just looking for any reason to vote FF and Enda Kenny is just a simple bandwagon decision.

mike65

Most inbred (and I mean that in the nicest way) FFers will sit on their hands come voting day, its beyond the compass of most to cast a first preference any other way so they'll take the easy way out.

wonderfulname

mike65 wrote: »

Most inbred (and I mean that in the nicest way) FFers will sit on their hands come voting day, its beyond the compass of most to cast a first preference any other way so they'll take the easy way out.

And how about those with no political allegiance? Or those looking at FG and Labour as the only viable options?

Enda Kenny gives the impression that he doesn't have the balls to take charge properly, so that would put me off voting FG as a party, what's the point if they can't assert themselves?

mike65

wonderfulname wrote: »

And how about those with no political allegiance? Or those looking at FG and Labour as the only viable options?

Enda Kenny gives the impression that he doesn't have the balls to take charge properly, so that would put me off voting FG as a party, what's the point if they can't assert themselves?

You answered your own question! Those who don't rate Kenny will just have to hold their nose.

jmayo

wonderfulname wrote: »

And how about those with no political allegiance? Or those looking at FG and Labour as the only viable options?

Enda Kenny gives the impression that he doesn't have the balls to take charge properly, so that would put me off voting FG as a party, what's the point if they can't assert themselves?

If anything that is the one area he does appear to be alright.
Remember the coup by FGs so called brightest and youngest stars ?
He looked dead and buried, but did he give up and roll over as they assumed he would ?
Did he f**k, he totally outflanked them and thought them a lesson.

If anything we will need more of that because as sure as hell, there are going to have to be battles with public sector workers/unions/vested interests in the next few years.
Would you want someone in charge who can talk the talk, but not have the balls to go head to head when it matters ?

Cat Melodeon

I'm in North Tipp. I have no firm allegience. I have never and would never vote for Lowry and despair of those who do. Hoctor (FF) is hopeless and damaged. The Greens are guilty by association (and I don't think there even is a Green candidate in these parts). Coonan (FG) is a non-entity. Kelly (Lab) is untested beyond his stint in the Senate and 18 months as an MEP. I couldn't bring myself to vote for Sinn Fein - their individual candidates can be good honest workers but the Sinn Fein brand (it's history, it's policies) is not something I can bring myself to endorse.

So for me, it's a toss-up between FG and Labour. On that basis, Labour win, no matter how wishy washy their policies. I know the decision should be about policy and which likely cabinet will be best for the country, but I just cannot stomach Enda Kenny and cannot understand how he remains leader above other more convincing/appealing potential leaders. If it does end up in a FG/Lab coalition, I'd much rather see Gilmore as Taoiseach with some of the better FG members in key positions.

wonderfulname

jmayo wrote: »

If anything that is the one area he does appear to be alright.
Remember the coup by FGs so called brightest and youngest stars ?
He looked dead and buried, but did he give up and roll over as they assumed he would ?
Did he f**k, he totally outflanked them and thought them a lesson.

If anything we will need more of that because as sure as hell, there are going to have to be battles with public sector workers/unions/vested interests in the next few years.
Would you want someone in charge who can talk the talk, but not have the balls to go head to head when it matters ?

Yeah, that's also a sticking point for me, I don't understand why its a good thing to remove those previously assumed the best for their position just because they moved to take you down.
That's not going head to head, that's demoting people out of fear.

deise go deo

Perhaps he is loosing the party votes but I dont have any problem with him, I have my own issue with FG but Kenny isent it, I have no doubt that he will be the next Taoiseach and that he will prove to be a very able Taoiseach at that.(then again Going by what went before the bar isent very high)

jmayo

wonderfulname wrote: »

Yeah, that's also a sticking point for me, I don't understand why its a good thing to remove those previously assumed the best for their position just because they moved to take you down.
That's not going head to head, that's demoting people out of fear.

You just go to show how you can never kepp all of the people happy.
You say he was wrong to remove Bruton from finance, Hayes from education and move others, yet others say he was wrong to give them any jobs at all.

So either way someone will complain that he is wrong and thus not up to the job.

He did highlight one thing in that heave and that is that some of the so called smart young wantabees are not all they think they are in their own minds.
It might be the old dog for the long road after all.

I don't get it sometimes, but Kenny has managed to become almost a figure of hate, even though in comparison to some politicans in other parties he would be the epitemy of an old fashioned, honest, decent, hardworking, non arrogant man.
Perhaps it is because a fair chunk of our media up until recently were very pro ff and following the ff handlers prompting ?
Granted he is no economic genius, and does have a habit of coming across unnaturally in media, but he is genuinely nice guy.
He just gets on with things, he doesn't make a big song and dance about a lot of things.
He cycled around ring of Kerry last summer, no huge publicity just one bad fashion faux pas picture
He climbed Kilomanjaro and no huge fanfare.
Fecks sake if bertie had done that we would have every media channel waiting at the top and the sindo would be writing about it for decades.
And there woudldn't have been a hope in hell cowen would have attempted any of the above, but at least one thing that can be said cowen kept his family out of the media.

K_user

Enda Kenny is the best reason not to vote for FG - And probably the best chance that FF have of getting votes!

The man is as about as inspiring as Cowen and looks and sounds like twice the wessel.

Surely in a population of 4 million plus, there are better candidates for the head of the government?

wonderfulname

jmayo wrote: »

You just go to show how you can never kepp all of the people happy.
You say he was wrong to remove Bruton from finance, Hayes from education and move others, yet others say he was wrong to give them any jobs at all....

Speaking of old dogs I see it as a kicked dog lashing out, its not about whether Bruton and co were fit for the job, its the fact he kicked out, its a bad sign to me.

Nothing else you wrote was relevant, the only mountain I'd care for a future Taoiseach to get on top of is our mountain of debt!

jmayo

wonderfulname wrote: »

Speaking of old dogs I see it as a kicked dog lashing out, its not about whether Bruton and co were fit for the job, its the fact he kicked out, its a bad sign to me.

It's a bad sign for you and it is seen as a good sign to others.
Why do I get the feeling whatever Kenny did you would see it as bad. :rolleyes:

wonderfulname

jmayo wrote: »

Why do I get the feeling whatever Kenny did you would see it as bad. :rolleyes:

Because you can't bear the idea that there may be negative aspects to the man? So you'll put blame on my political viewpoint rather than accepting he's not perfect? Do you know what my political viewpoint is?

Blindly following does nobody any good.

Mr. Presentable

If FG cannot elect a leader in whom the people can have confidence, how can they expect to get voted into power? It is plainly evident that the public at large (rightly or wrongly) don't have confidence in the man. At a time when they could conceivably form a single party majority govt for the first time in their history, you would think they'd provide an inspirational leader who would get them votes.

pow wow

pow wow wrote: »

Edging very reluctantly toward Labour. It would have been FG but for the fact that Enda Kenny is at the helm.

You read my post last night didn't you :cool:

He is the main reason I'm inclined to not vote FG - regardless of policy the fact that the party endorses him as leader (which they do by allowing him to remain as such) speaks volumes to me. If he is their best foot forward and the best they have to offer then sorry, no.

I'm not entirely supportive of Labour's approach and their policies but in an environment where strong effective leadership is of necessity I think their man is the guy to do it. Policies get watered down and sometimes washed away by what actually happens once a party is in and I'd have more confidence in Gilmore doing right by the country than I ever would in Kenny.

As regards other parties Paul Gogarty is the reason I won't vote Green, current conditions why I won't go FF, and ideology why I wouldn't vote SF.

Redders825

I can definitely see how people may thinh EK is losing votes for the party, but I think alot of people here are missing the point, what difference does it make if Enda doesnt come across well, or if hes uninspiring. At the end of the day, he is a leader of a party, as long as he puts the correct people in the correct ministries and manages them successfully to turn this country around then that what its all about.

Being able to speak well or not on Prime Time shouldnt decide your vote, its how he manages his "team" and to date he has done that very well.

There are thousands of MDs/CEOs around the world who are uninspiring but run a successfull well-oiled company, i hope this is the case with Enda, but only time will tell.

mikemac

Cat Melodeon wrote: »

I'm in North Tipp. I have no firm allegience. I have never and would never vote for Lowry and despair of those who do. Hoctor (FF) is hopeless and damaged. The Greens are guilty by association (and I don't think there even is a Green candidate in these parts). Coonan (FG) is a non-entity. Kelly (Lab) is untested beyond his stint in the Senate and 18 months as an MEP. I couldn't bring myself to vote for Sinn Fein - their individual candidates can be good honest workers but the Sinn Fein brand (it's history, it's policies) is not something I can bring myself to endorse.

Michael Lowry doesn't need your vote, Another go at topping the polls

Me too anyway, I'd like to vote FG but as backbenchers go, Coonan is one the worst, the invisible TD.
You'd think he'd sweep into the next Dáil.
Tbh, I think he'll lose his seat and FF will keep a seat.

jmayo

wonderfulname wrote: »

Because you can't bear the idea that there may be negative aspects to the man? So you'll put blame on my political viewpoint rather than accepting he's not perfect? Do you know what my political viewpoint is?

Blindly following does nobody any good.

On another thread you claim I read you wrong well likewise I believe you are reading me wrong.

Previous to him being elected leader I always thought he was inoffensive and quiet.
For most of his career he belonged to a different constituency to me, he was in the one with scumbag flynn. :mad:

When he survived in 2002 I think it was at the expense of a man who at the time I thought would have made a good leader of FG, one Jim Higgins.
He was, along with Brendan Howlin, the main guy who had highlighted the Garda corruption in Donegal.
He dared take up a case that no one in Donegal or elsewhere would touch, a case that was being kicked to touch by none other than michael mcdowell.

He had a huge record of speaking in the Dáil, but as he pointed out the night he lost his seat in 2002 that doesn't appear to matter to the electorate. Another case of constituency versus country.

Lo and behold Kenny became leader, in fact it looked as if he took the job very few wanted.
He worked very hard turning around a bunch of defeated no hopers who looked to be on the way out.

He has defiencies.
I don't think he is totally upto speed with economics brief, but how many sucessful managers have you come across who don't know departments inside out, but yet they are smart enough to know which manager is best to manage it.
Yes he can come across something awful on tv when in fact he should try and be normal.
Thus I don't think the sun shines out his ar** or anything of the like.

I do believe the guy is smart enough to know what he doesn't know and smart enough to try and get the best person for the job.
Just imagine that there is high probability that the two guys dictating FG economic policy after election are Richard Bruton and Peter Matthews.
Do you think Kenny is stupid enough to overrule those two ?

It doesn't matter who gets in, we all are going to have to face a lot of pain.
The only positive thing I would hope is that we can somehow stomach the pain if we the government taking the right decisions, something the current shower could never have been accused of doing.

xoxyx

Morebypasses wrote: »

Enda Kenny is the reason I am considering voting for FF even though I had had vowed not to vote for them. Cowen gone has moved the goalposts for me. M Martin is a far more capable individual then that robot Kenny. Where was Kenny over the weekend???? Are FG hiding him again? We may be a laughing stock internationally at present but wait until they see what’s coming in late march when Kenny is rolled out as leader of our country!!!!!!!!!

Oh God, please don't do that. You think we're a laughing stock now? Imagine if FF got back in.

I like to imagine that Enda has a lot of hidden depth, but I don't understand, for the life of me, why he won't hire some good PR people and get himself a new image in the public's eyes. He is truly turning away potential FG supporters through the way he is viewed and he has to be well aware of this.

CoalBucket

Redders825 wrote: »

I can definitely see how people may thinh EK is losing votes for the party, but I think alot of people here are missing the point, what difference does it make if Enda doesnt come across well, or if hes uninspiring. At the end of the day, he is a leader of a party, as long as he puts the correct people in the correct ministries and manages them successfully to turn this country around then that what its all about.

Being able to speak well or not on Prime Time shouldnt decide your vote, its how he manages his "team" and to date he has done that very well.

There are thousands of MDs/CEOs around the world who are uninspiring but run a successfull well-oiled company, i hope this is the case with Enda, but only time will tell.

+1 It is a general election not the X Factor.

dixiefly

I dont think Kenny is nearly as bad as many people both on here and outside make him out to be. I try to think of the content of what he has done, how he reacts to situations and the policies he is proposing and I dont have a major problem with him.

As mentioned before, an electorate that thought the the son shone out of Bertie's you know what now reckon that Enda Kenny is not to be trusted / not a correct person for Taoiseach.

He may not be the best politician of all time but he will be light years ahead of the last two incumbants Bertie & Cowen in so many ways.

lugha

xoxyx wrote: »

I don't understand, for the life of me, why he won't hire some good PR people and get himself a new image in the public's eyes. He is truly turning away potential FG supporters through the way he is viewed and he has to be well aware of this.

And I don't understand for the life of me why, after having sunk to the depths we are in, there are people who think that a good way to judge a politician is on his public image!

Seriously, is there any other important, or even trivial, decision you would make, be it the selection of a tradesman to work in your house or choosing a school for your child or identifying the best medical intervention in a crisis where you would use the vacuous irrelevance of "image" to sway you, or even remotely influence you, over the actual value or substance of the service being provided? Of course not. You would be rightly mocked if you even mentioned how your plumber presents himself or how good a drinking companion you think your doctor might be. This insanity seems to be confined to politics .

Surely, the sensible response when it is pointed out that many have a problem with Enda Kenny's image is not to get in the make up and PR people (to delude the people in to believing Kenny is someone he is not. i.e. lying!), but to gently point out to those with the problem, that they do indeed have a problem, but it is not Enda Kenny!

I have a tingle of excitement that this election might herald the beginning of a new and better way to do politics. But my hopes die a little when I read threads like this .

xoxyx

lugha wrote: »

And I don't understand for the life of me why, after having sunk to the depths we are in, there are people who think that a good way to judge a politician is on his public image!

Seriously, is there any other important, or even trivial, decision you would make, be it the selection of a tradesman to work in your house or choosing a school for your child or identifying the best medical intervention in a crisis where you would use the vacuous irrelevance of "image" to sway you, or even remotely influence you, over the actual value or substance of the service being provided? Of course not. You would be rightly mocked if you even mentioned how your plumber presents himself or how good a drinking companion you think your doctor might be. This insanity seems to be confined to politics .

Surely, the sensible response when it is pointed out that many have a problem with Enda Kenny's image is not to get in the make up and PR people (to delude the people in to believing Kenny is someone he is not. i.e. lying!), but to gently point out to those with the problem, that they do indeed have a problem, but it is not Enda Kenny!

I have a tingle of excitement that this election might herald the beginning of a new and better way to do politics. But my hopes die a little when I read threads like this .

Are you kidding me?? I know what you're saying in that we all need to be seriously informed and make our decisions in this election based on well-researched studies. But the fact remains that some people are not going to research the parties / politicians they are voting on and will simply go with whatever idiosyncratic ideas / ideals they have in their heads.

The fact that FF has enjoyed such a long run is surely a case in point. People have voted for FF because: "ah sure, we've always voted this way"; "Ah, but it's Bertie"; and, "Say what you want about Haughey, but wasn't he great to the pensioners".

I am not going to base my decisions in such a way, but other people are. The fact that Enda has a bad public image is affecting his party - you only have to read this thread to realise that!

And, although I believe it's the wrong way to go about things, I can understand this point of view. If a business is tendering for an important contract, the face and the reputation it puts forward is vital. In addition to performing well, you have to present well. Would you trust your bank manager if he turned up with greasy hair, smelling of drink and wearing dirty jeans. Sure, his past performance is without criticism, but, by God, he doesn't inspire confidence.

A stronger public image for Enda would strengthen the belief in his party, irrespective of its performance and policies. I welcome your further views, but I don't think there are any two ways about it.

I never said that Enda needs to misinform the public as to who he is. Indeed, I think the public has got the wrong idea - through no little fault of his own. He needs to get out there and show us so much, which, I believe, is already going on in the background.

superhooper

The whole FF package to me is flawed. EK's robotic emotion-He seems to have a couple of switches. Switch 1-Angry Enda. Switch 2-Happy I'm one of the lads Enda. Switch 3- Serious,No nonsense Enda. Reminds me of an old colleague of mine who was a ruthless bully- I just couldn't vote for him.
In addition my experience of working with FG on the ground was that they were exactly likely FF just more polished.

lugha

xoxyx wrote: »

The fact that Enda has a bad public image is affecting his party - you only have to read this thread to realise that!

Indeed. But it as idiotic for people to reject FG for that reason as it was for people to back Bertie because he was the opposite in this respect.

There is a difference between, on the one hand, acknowledging that there are a lot of rather shallow voters who will be persuaded more by style than substance, and that it is only politically pragmatic to indulge their nonsense. And on the other, to actually personally come out with such dross as “I won’t vote FG cos Kenny lacks charisma” or other such vacuous nonsense. It is the latter, retarded thinking that I take exception to.

Democracy is the least worst system and we should do our best to discourage its failings, if only by highlighting nonsense where ever we see it. Thus we should deride the dynastic notion of the inherited Dail seat, we should agitate for a total ban of all election poster mug shots, we should seek to put an end to TDs conducting themselves more like county councillors rather than national legislators. And we should aspire to a political system where it would be as farcical to focus on the image and charisma of a potential Taoiseach as it would to do so for the role of Garda commissioner, or Attorney General or central bank governor.

If the people who engage this X-factor type “thinking” (!) had it politely pointed out to them, every time, that such a view is rather idiotic ….

recipio

Three reasons to vote for Enda Kenny.
1 He is honest
2. He is the longest serving TD in the dail - read experience.
3. He takes a holistic view of Irish society, trying to change things instead of running the country like a poor mans UK which is all the FF'ers can do.
Lastly he is a 'gentleman' but that seems to be a crime in todays Ireland.

fat__tony

Yet more clowns on this thread having a go at Kenny without any apparent justification.

Go and vote for Fianna Fail then, base it on a popularity contest.

No wonder Irish people get the governments they deserve.

eddison

Lastly he is a 'gentleman' but that seems to be a crime in todays Ireland.

He wasn't a gentleman to George Lee or Richard Bruton. Lets face it Richard Bruton is a bloody expert in financial matters. Kenny should have been mature, and put the best man for the finance job in- Richard Bruton. Kenny basically killed Bruton politically.
I like Noonan, he is tough, but we do not need tough in finance, we need brains, and Kenny sidelined the best brains in the country.
Kennys dream is about to come true- Taoiseach.
Thats all he wants, thats all he ever wanted, thats what he has been waiting for all these years.
Its not about doing what is best for Irish people at all- thats just naive.

LOOK AT ME NOW MA- TOP O THE WORLD !!!

jmayo

eddison wrote: »

He wasn't a gentleman to George Lee or Richard Bruton. Lets face it Richard Bruton is a bloody expert in financial matters. Kenny should have been mature, and put the best man for the finance job in- Richard Bruton. Kenny basically killed Bruton politically.
I like Noonan, he is tough, but we do not need tough in finance, we need brains, and Kenny sidelined the best brains in the country.
Kennys dream is about to come true- Taoiseach.
Thats all he wants, thats all he ever wanted, thats what he has been waiting for all these years.
Its not about doing what is best for Irish people at all- thats just naive.

LOOK AT ME NOW MA- TOP O THE WORLD !!!

Kenny was ungentlemanly to Lee?

What a load of sh**e.

Lee was a muppet just like his sidekick Bird.
The two of them thought they were great because their buddies in RTE thought the sun shone out of their ar**es.
Well both of them moved to bigger ponds and both of them found they could not handle it, running back to the safety of Donnybrook.
Reilly summed it up when he said that he pestered people to listen to him, what did Lee do but sulked and then walked out.
BTW if anything it was Bruton that alientated Lee and not Kenny.

Yeah Bruton is very good financially, but he was shown up big time in his failed coup.
The amount of sh** around here is unbelievable.
Kenny would be seen as week if he put Bruton back, he is seen as week by not putting him back.
Putting Noonan in has been good and Noonan has shown a no nonsense approach.
As regards who will be involved in economic decisions in FG, just take a look at fact Peter Matthews is now running for them.
Move over Richard, you are not the only game in town. :rolleyes:

How do you know all Kenny wants is to be Taoiseach ?
Oh wait some guys down the pub or in the media says so, so it must be true. :rolleyes:

Jeeze if all he ever wanted was to be taoiseach, he must have had some great long term grand plan that meant he waited for 4 other people to lead FG until eventually one of them make a total hash of FG, so that he could eventually take over and lead them to the golden prize. :rolleyes:

Fecks sake if he can plan that long he must be the man to lead us back to prosperity. :rolleyes:

Oh yeah because some morons on the web, a sizable pro ff media decide he should go, the so called bright sparks in his party get the jitters and decide he should move over and let one of them have a go.
If he had you would have people on here claiming he was gutless and didn't deserve to be leader because he couldn't stand up and fight.

No matter what Kenny does he still is wrong.
He is not the greatest politican we ever or probably ever will have, but at the moment he is way ahead of the rest of the eejits running any of the parties.

eddison

Hey there is no need to get so upset !!

Fact 1:
Bruton is the best man for the job of finance. Kenny if he is a real leader, and has the complete and full support of his party, would not care if he looked weak. If he put Bruton back in finance, in fact he would look magnanimous.
But do you know what he looks like now?- VINDICTIVE

Fact 2:
Yeah Noonan is showing a no nonsense approach !! All ministers of Finance should be as tough as him lol! Sorry- thats rubbish. What is the sense of having a tough minister of finance, when what we need is a minister with business acumen?
When Noonan got the position, he looked bewildered.. He is good at beating down other parties, so that is what he is doing, and that as far as I can see is all he is doing.

So Noonan in Finance is another reason Kenny looks vindictive.

DJCR

YES YES YES !!!! Bruton losing the heave was the worst thing for the Country and FG.

unit 1

Virtuall nobody vote for their local candidate based on who is leader of their party so it actually matters very little how many people dislike, as opposed to hate, him.

nuac

Kenny would imho be a good and effective Taoiseach,

He may not win out in the leaders' debate, but I think only a small proportion of voters base their decision on the debate. All politics is local.

shoutman

For me, if Bruton suceeded in his coup attempt he would be a shoe in for the next taoseach of the country. Kenny is definitely putting me off voting for FG, that said I hold Martin in similar vain as Kenny. As for Labour, which Gilmore might be admirable on a personal level, their policies are beyond ridiculous, taxing the business class is one sure way of stopping any sort of economic recovery for the country.

As a young person in this country (24), it is incredibly disheartening to look at the caliber of leadership on a political level; with all the media talking about brain drain on account of the economy, they all overlook at the fact that many people are looking at our so called leaders and thinking "these clowns aren't going to improve the situation".

While some people are inevitably going to come along and say, "well why don't you get into politics?" - undoubtedly there is a negative social stigma attached to politicians these days, but more then that it is the current political system and cronyism that exists within the system that would stop any sane and intelligent young person from entering into the political arena. The Richard Bruton example is a prime example of this, I think the world and his dog knows that Bruton would be a better leader for FG and for the country then Kenny, yet the big wigs in the FG party obviously felt that having Bruton in the top seat would lessen their grip on the party.

Will be an interesting election for sure.

mike65

News at one - first we heard Enda Kenny and I nearly slipped into a coma. he was bleating on about leader debates, then Micheal Noonan on to discuss the IMF/EU loans. Chalk and cheese, Noonan is engaging and well briefed. Obviously the latter did have his chance and blew it badly but its easy to see why Kenny is being kept under wrapped for as long as plausibly possible.

mike65

From irish times, is Kenny challanging Partridge?

He noted that yesterday was the anniversary of the lifting of the 900-day siege of Leningrad by the German army during the second World War. Life went on in the city even as 650,000 people died.

“In a sense, the people of Ireland have been under siege. Though in our case, there was no enemy bombardment. Instead it was friendly fire: the banks, property developers, ‘experts’, watchdogs, the Government.

“But still we endure. For too many of us, life has changed. Changed utterly. But, still, life goes on.”

gm361

Enda is not great on television. He comes across as over-cautious.

I might make a comment as someone who knows something about Enda going back 35 years. . . He is honest, loyal, trustworthy. Chasing coffins (i.e. attending funerals) as part of the political process does not sit well with him.
He has a very sound moral conscience - regardless of party (or none). He is not great on television because HE DOESN'T LIKE LYING or telling HALF TRUTHS.

Consider the above when you see Enda on the TV next!

Then apply the same logic to politicans who are 'good' on TV!

Which do you want to be Taoiseach?

[I'm not a member of FG - in many ways they have as many passengers as FF. I simply think Enda Kenny will be a great Taoiseach. Lived in Castlebar till 1985]

meditraitor

gm361 wrote: »

Enda is not great on television. He comes across as over-cautious.

I might make a comment as someone who knows something about Enda going back 35 years. . . He is honest, loyal, trustworthy. Chasing coffins (i.e. attending funerals) as part of the political process does not sit well with him.
He has a very sound moral conscience - regardless of party (or none). He is not great on television because HE DOESN'T LIKE LYING or telling HALF TRUTHS.

Consider the above when you see Enda on the TV next!

Then apply the same logic to politicans who are 'good' on TV!

Which do you want to be Taoiseach?

[I'm not a member of FG - in many ways they have as many passengers as FF. I simply think Enda Kenny will be a great Taoiseach. Lived in Castlebar till 1985]

Plenty of politicians dont like lying but have no problem with going on TV,to apply your logic then Richard Bruton and Noonan are awefull liar's, is it true

Are Richard Bruton and Micheal Noonan liars?

gm361

Hi Meditraitor - as I said in my post - I'm not an FG person.
I have no real thoughts about Michael Noonan or Richard Bruton.
Just trying to make the point that, IMOP, Kenny will be great in the job as Taoiseach and his capacity to merit the job shouldn't be judged by his TV skills.

Also, to split hairs, if Noonan and Bruton are 'awefull' [sic] liars then do you mean they are awful on TV?

GSF

gm361 wrote: »

Enda is not great on television. He comes across as over-cautious.

After all we have been through with the reckless Bertie Ahern, I get the feeling that part of Ireland still wants some flash chancer as leader. what do you have to do to the country to get people to wake up?