Kenny off to Germany to meet Merkel

Charlie-Bravo

I'm sorry, but this just stinks as arogance as if the election is in the bag for Fine Gael. Perhaps Richard Bruton would best ruinning running the party.

This plays into the hands of Labour, and I hate to say it, Fianna Fail.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0213/politics.html

Killer Pigeon

astrofluff wrote: »

I'm sorry, but this just stinks as arogance as if the election is in the bag for Fine Gael. Perhaps Richard Bruton would best ruinning running the party.

This plays into the hands of Labour, and I hate to say it, Fianna Fail.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0213/politics.html

How do you know they're not just going on a date, catching up with old times ... whatever those Christian Democrats do. Sure why do people have to make a big deal of that?

Liam Byrne

It's just a pity Kenny & a few others didn't go to meet her the last time out; we might have actually gotten something that was even remotely in the interests of the country.

sollar

On valentines day too, i can't see much love in the air.

I lol'd listening to Micheal Martin on the news commenting on it though, FF rats, by listening to him you'd swear he only landed into the party two weeks ago after spending the last 12 years on Mars.

ilovesleep

Maybe he is going threaten to send Jedward to Germany if they dont reduce the interest on the bailout loan.

yosemite_sam

astrofluff wrote: »

I'm sorry, but this just stinks as arogance as if the election is in the bag for Fine Gael. Perhaps Richard Bruton would best ruinning running the party.

This plays into the hands of Labour, and I hate to say it, Fianna Fail.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0213/politics.html

I hope she tells him to pay up, Bruton should be leader. Kenny is an embarrassment to County Mayo and soon to be Ireland

yosemite_sam

yosemite_sam wrote: »

I hope she tells him to pay up, Bruton should be leader. Kenny is an embarrassment to County Mayo and soon to be Ireland

He is indeed an embarrassment, significant improvement on Cowen though. And every sentance uttered by Martin makes him look a clown too to anyone with two brain cells to rub together.

PeterIanStaker

ilovesleep wrote: »

Maybe he is going threaten to send Jedward to Germany if they dont reduce the interest on the bailout loan.

Nobody would be that cruel.

Amtmann

Can someone please explain to me how he is an embarrassment? Genuinely. I've been looking at him since 2002 and I've always thought he was physically quite dapper and presentable, moreso than Bertie and certainly more than the obese and gruff Brian Cowen.

Is it his accent? Because I have no problem with that. Granted, he is a little po-faced; but this is not 'embarrassing'. Honestly, the soundbites have no bearing on the calibre of a man. Our last Taoiseach was poorly presented and lacking in pulchritude, fitness, tact and ability.

The one before that signed blank cheques, accepted handouts, had no vision for the country and was last seen in a cupboard on TV trying to flog a tabloid.

And Enda Kenny is embarrassing?

fat__tony

Tremelo wrote: »

Can someone please explain to me how he is an embarrassment? Genuinely. I've been looking at him since 2002 and I've always thought he was physically quite dapper and presentable, moreso than Bertie and certainly more than the obese and gruff Brian Cowen.

Is it his accent? Because I have no problem with that. Granted, he is a little po-faced; but this is not 'embarrassing'. Honestly, the soundbites have no bearing on the calibre of a man. Our last Taoiseach was poorly presented and lacking in pulchritude, fitness, tact and ability.

The one before that signed blank cheques, accepted handouts, had no vision for the country and was last seen in a cupboard on TV trying to flog a tabloid.

And Enda Kenny is embarrassing?

Excellent post and spot on.

The only thing that is embarrassing are the hordes of idiots in Ireland which dislike him for the most pathetic reasons I've ever heard.

femur61

Tremelo wrote: »

Can someone please explain to me how he is an embarrassment? Genuinely. I've been looking at him since 2002 and I've always thought he was physically quite dapper and presentable, moreso than Bertie and certainly more than the obese and gruff Brian Cowen.

Is it his accent? Because I have no problem with that. Granted, he is a little po-faced; but this is not 'embarrassing'. Honestly, the soundbites have no bearing on the calibre of a man. Our last Taoiseach was poorly presented and lacking in pulchritude, fitness, tact and ability.

The one before that signed blank cheques, accepted handouts, had no vision for the country and was last seen in a cupboard on TV trying to flog a tabloid.

And Enda Kenny is embarrassing?

Could never understand why Bertie appealed to so many maybe when he went abroad dignitaries saw something I didn't see.

dabestman1

Hope fg get a real surprise on feb 26th as this reaks of arragance.

MaceFace

astrofluff wrote: »

I'm sorry, but this just stinks as arogance as if the election is in the bag for Fine Gael. Perhaps Richard Bruton would best ruinning running the party.

This plays into the hands of Labour, and I hate to say it, Fianna Fail.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0213/politics.html

This meeting was organised months ago and was scheduled for this date when we still believed the election was going to be in March. It is hardly an ideal time to have a meeting considering the debate tonight - I am sure Kenny would prefer to be locked away in a room for the day preparing.

Honestly, do you think the country should shut down for three weeks and maybe a couple of weeks more until a government is formed?

All credit to him for trying to be proactive!

GSF

RoverJames wrote: »

I lol'd listening to Micheal Martin on the news commenting on it though, FF rats, by listening to him you'd swear he only landed into the party two weeks ago after spending the last 12 years on Mars.

I disagree - its 14 years on Mars. I'm looking forward to Micheal Martin's National Geographic channel interview

GSF

dabestman1 wrote: »

Hope fg get a real surprise on feb 26th as this reaks of arragance.

How dare FG try to get a better deal for Ireland! The arrogance of it! :rolleyes:

ednwireland

FG use there EU grouping connections to get a mtg with merkel, why didnt FF do that, oh wait they werent part of any eu groupings and were left out on the fringe hmmmmmm.
good move by enda, election stunt - yes but shows FF up imo.

Ruire

astrofluff wrote: »

I'm sorry, but this just stinks as arogance as if the election is in the bag for Fine Gael. Perhaps Richard Bruton would best ruinning running the party.

This plays into the hands of Labour, and I hate to say it, Fianna Fail.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0213/politics.html

A) Enda is vice-president of the EPP, of which Merkel's party is also part of. He's perfectly entitled to meet her. If she's willing to discuss Ireland's economic situation, then why shouldn't they?

Isn't it? At worst, Fine Gael would need a coalition with Labour being the lesser party.

danbohan

GSF wrote: »

How dare FG try to get a better deal for Ireland! The arrogance of it! :rolleyes:

how dare fg lie to the people of ireland that they will get a better deal , the arrogance of it !

Ruire

danbohan wrote: »

how dare fg lie to the people of ireland that they will get a better deal , the arrogance of it !

How dare Labour claim the exact same! How dare SF claim that they run the economy for any more than a month!

later12

ednwireland wrote: »

why didnt FF do that, oh wait they werent part of any eu groupings and were left out on the fringe

They are part of the ELDR group and as such sit with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in the European Parliament.

As the main Government party, Fianna Fail have been engaged in ongoing discourse with Merkel and other European leaders for years.

gandalf

danbohan wrote: »

how dare fg lie to the people of ireland that they will get a better deal , the arrogance of it !

Not really, an awful lot of the people behind the scenes in the EU realise that the deal as it stands if we don't hit our growth targets is unworkable and given the outgoing governments overly optimistic growth forecasts in the past I believe this now to be the case.

There is a very strong case to renegotiate aspects of the deal as it stands and given there is a important EU meeting on these finance mechanisms in early March its makes perfect sense and is extremely prudent to be making approaches to one of the most powerful and influential politicians in the EU now.

axer

Tremelo wrote: »

Can someone please explain to me how he is an embarrassment? Genuinely. I've been looking at him since 2002 and I've always thought he was physically quite dapper and presentable, moreso than Bertie and certainly more than the obese and gruff Brian Cowen.

I was one of those people that just did not like him for some reason. I could never pin it down. I think it was that it felt like an air of pretentious-ness or something. I find Richard Bruton more likeable though as if you know what you are getting straight up.

I dont think Enda Kenny is an embarressment for arranging to meet with Merkel. It is highly unlikely that he does not become the next taoseach so he should start discussing plans with the likes of Merkel now as it is prudent of him to do this now so that he is ready to go when elected.

Not liking him for some unknown reason is a bs reason to not vote for him or his party though and I realise that now.

bnt

I don't think Enda Kenny looks particularly Prime Ministerial, but then I said the same thing about Tony Blair in 1997. After ten years in office, Blair ... well ... no, he still didn't look particularly Prime Ministerial,and then he handed over the reins to Gordon Brown, so ... sorry, bad example. Fuhgeddabouttit. Kenny's going to fly back from Berlin with his nuts in his handbag, assuming Ms. Merkel hands them back to him. :eek:

ixtlan

gandalf wrote: »

its makes perfect sense and is extremely prudent to be making approaches to one of the most powerful and influential politicians in the EU now.

Absolutely. And it's not just about business. In a few weeks Enda will be having more official meetings, but personal rapport and just getting to know people on a personal basis can be critical in negotiations. I expect Enda and Angela get along quite well. Didn't she visit Ireland (somewhat controversially) during the 2007 election campaign?

So, it's a good photo op sure, but it's also good preparation.

Ix.

GSF

So people would rather Enda spent his day in a shopping centre shaking hands rather than building a relationship with our main lender?

Interesting.

turnfan

GSF wrote: »

So people would rather Enda spent his day in a shopping centre shaking hands rather than building a relationship with our main lender?

Interesting.

+1

Doublin

Maybe wishful thinking, but it would be great if while they are having a nice Valentines lunch, Enda leans over and says 'Angela, you know the Irish parties advocating defaulting are gaining in popularity, could you give me an ironclad promise that you will help in easing the burden on the Irish taxpayer for this mess. I'll go back a hero tonight and show I'm the top man for the job and leave the others gobsmacked in the debate tonight.'

GSF

Doublin wrote: »

Maybe wishful thinking, but it would be great if while they are having a nice Valentines lunch, Enda leans over and says 'Angela, you know the Irish parties advocating defaulting are gaining in popularity, could you give me an ironclad promise that you will help in easing the burden on the Irish taxpayer for this mess. I'll go back a hero tonight and show I'm the top man for the job and leave the others gobsmacked in the debate tonight.'

The FF view seems to be that they would rather we (those of us without the big state payoffs anyway) pay the current interest rates than than see those FG b**!&*£'s achieve anything.

analucija

Merkel sent a letter to Ireland in 2007 supporting Kenny and FG. I don't think this visit is anything else than photo op. It would help though if we have a leader that gets on well with Angela.

jank

GSF wrote: »

So people would rather Enda spent his day in a shopping centre shaking hands rather than building a relationship with our main lender?

Interesting.

What do you expect from us. We love to sneer and knock people down instead of actually doing something. I see these muppets posting everyday about Enda yet most don't have a clue themselves what FG or any other party stand for.

I realise that politicians aren't held in the highest regard but less of the sneering might be nice for a change. It would show us that we are actually growing as a nation rather than a nation of whining begrudgers.

MaceFace

GSF wrote: »

The FF view seems to be that they would rather we (those of us without the big state payoffs anyway) pay the current interest rates than than see those FG b**!&*£'s achieve anything.

I fear that this is actually very true regardless of the nonsense Martin came out with saying he would consider supporting FG. Both parties entire existance is a constant battle to differentiate from the othter.

My prediction is that once FG get into power, they will find themselves unable to work effectively as the FF cronies that were appointed all over the PS and state bodies will do the best to destroy FG.
FF broke from the grass roots of their organisation and today it is a bunch of well off middle aged men (some women) who see this all as a game and a big boys club who care more about their party than they do of the country.

At least the other parties are still kept in check by the grass roots.

yosemite_sam

Tremelo wrote: »

Can someone please explain to me how he is an embarrassment? Genuinely. I've been looking at him since 2002 and I've always thought he was physically quite dapper and presentable, moreso than Bertie and certainly more than the obese and gruff Brian Cowen.

Is it his accent? Because I have no problem with that. Granted, he is a little po-faced; but this is not 'embarrassing'. Honestly, the soundbites have no bearing on the calibre of a man. Our last Taoiseach was poorly presented and lacking in pulchritude, fitness, tact and ability.

The one before that signed blank cheques, accepted handouts, had no vision for the country and was last seen in a cupboard on TV trying to flog a tabloid.

And Enda Kenny is embarrassing?

Kenny thinks it's his devine right to lead the country, he is only a TD because his dad was one. I believe he had a tempoary teacher in his class for a couple of decades so he could keep his primary school teaching perks. He was in Parliment for NINE years before he opened his mouth. Oh and if you get a chance ask him who paid off FG party debt of 3 million pounds in the 90s that is a real hand out

i am all for being pro active but i feel it is a bit on the arrogant side for him to go to Merkel before he even knows who he will be in govt with?

axer

Deleted User wrote: »

i am all for being pro active but i feel it is a bit on the arrogant side for him to go to Merkel before he even knows who he will be in govt with?

What difference does it matter who he will be in government with? It is highly unlikely that he won't be taoiseach so why not start getting the ball rolling?

Mr.Micro

Deleted User wrote: »

i am all for being pro active but i feel it is a bit on the arrogant side for him to go to Merkel before he even knows who he will be in govt with?

He is trying to do something for the country as a politician not like Martin going around like a president as if he was all brand new.

axer

axer wrote: »

What difference does it matter who he will be in government with? It is highly unlikely that he won't be taoiseach so why not start getting the ball rolling?

and what if he ends up in govt with FF..

axer

Deleted User wrote: »

and what if he ends up in govt with FF..

I would assume he would still be taoiseach.

analucija

axer wrote: »

What difference does it matter who he will be in government with? It is highly unlikely that he won't be taoiseach so why not start getting the ball rolling?

Because he is not Taoiseach yet. There is no definitive programme for government yet and we don't even know if it will be a single party government or a coalition. So whatever was Enda doing in Germany it sure as hell wasn't any meaningful negotiating. I hope FG win the election but I do hope they will stop with the bull**** and take pictures of Enda and dogs from now on. Both have the same influence on the future of this country and you don't need to buy plane ticket to do the latter.

axer

analucija wrote: »

Because he is not Taoiseach yet. There is no definitive programme for government yet and we don't even know if it will be a single party government or a coalition. So whatever was Enda doing in Germany it sure as hell wasn't any meaningful negotiating. I hope FG win the election but I do hope they will stop with the bull**** and take pictures of Enda and dogs from now on. Both have the same influence on the future of this country and you don't need to buy plane ticket to do the latter.

I would rather he was meeting leaders and building a relationship with them rather than out shaking hands with Mary and Michael in a shopping centre somewhere as a poster alluded to earlier.

GSF

analucija wrote: »

Because he is not Taoiseach yet. There is no definitive programme for government yet and we don't even know if it will be a single party government or a coalition. So whatever was Enda doing in Germany it sure as hell wasn't any meaningful negotiating. I hope FG win the election but I do hope they will stop with the bull**** and take pictures of Enda and dogs from now on. Both have the same influence on the future of this country and you don't need to buy plane ticket to do the latter.

Are you saying that Mrs Merkel and dogs have the same influence on the future of Ireland? Thats a rather bizarre claim

analucija

GSF wrote: »

Are you saying that Mrs Merkel and dogs have the same influence on the future of Ireland? Thats a rather bizarre claim

No I am saying that photo ops with Merkel or dogs are completely useless at the moment. the second ones are cheaper though. Enda has a good relationship with Merkel already I would say but he will need a little more for any meningful result.

Edit: Does anybody know how long the meeting was?

GSF

analucija wrote: »

Edit: Does anybody know how long the meeting was?

40 minutes

bijapos

Its pretty standard now that the leader of the equivalent EPP party has a meeting with Merkel in the run up to the election in their country. Kenny is just doing what other party leaders from other countries have done, so yes its is nothing more than a photo op. You should note that the meeting was held in the offices of the CDU party, and not in the Reichstag or the Chancellors residence. It shows that it is a meeting of no international significance for the German state.

If Kenny wants to meet someone who has some say he should try to meet Wolfgang Schaeuble, the Finance Minister or Axel Weber the president of the German Federal Bank, both of whom have more say and influence on German monetary policy than Merkel. Merkel is notoriously indecisive, she almost never makes a decision without consulting several forms of advisor (not necessarily a bad thing) and she would have little input on this decision.

As an Irish parliamentarian Kenny also has access as to how much we actually owe to what German financial institutions and he should use this to try to get in contact with the relevant people*. Most of the work on Irish-German relations is done in Brussels and Strasbourg anyway and this is another channel which should be used.





* Off topic but I still find it laughable that we Irish citizens are still not in the clear as to how much is owed to which institutions. The only incidence that I am aware of is when David Norris attempted to read out a list in the Seanad a few months ago but he was silenced by the speaker.

Fr Tod Umptious

yosemite_sam wrote: »

Kenny thinks it's his devine right to lead the country, he is only a TD because his dad was one.

Yep he is still getting elected on the back of his father, 34 years on.

gizmo555

bijapos wrote: »

If Kenny wants to meet someone who has some say he should try to meet Wolfgang Schaeuble, the Finance Minister or Axel Weber the president of the German Federal Bank, both of whom have more say and influence on German monetary policy than Merkel.

Not any more, at least so far as Weber is concerned - he's handed in his resignation, effective end of April.

According to this piece published today by Der Spiegel, a big factor in his resignation was his deep unhappiness at the ECB printing money to buy Greek, Portuguese and Irish bonds. Can't imagine he'd have given Enda much of a hearing, if they did meet . . .

johngalway

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Yep he is still getting elected on the back of his father, 34 years on.

I agree. How many election has he been through? I'm sure all the voters in Mayo only vote for Enda because of his Dad.


Not.

People standing for election still have to get themselves elected. There isn't any magic free pass into the Daíl, the people still have to vote.

bijapos

gizmo555 wrote: »

Not any more, at least so far as Weber is concerned - he's handed in his resignation, effective end of April.

True, I suppose I should have pointed that out but he is in until April 30th which will be during the first two months of Kennys tenure and thus has a lot of influence. It seems Jens Weidmann is the favourite to take over from him, not sure if thats a good decision.

According to this piece published today by Der Spiegel, a big factor in his resignation was his deep unhappiness at the ECB printing money to buy Greek, Portuguese and Irish bonds. Can't imagine he'd have given Enda much of a hearing, if they did meet . .

Good article that, well worth reading.