Will he take the job as an Taniste next December or retire ?
And Simon Coveney was called out for the party in his Department just today on News At One.
Is that good enough? Are you saying Irish politicians don't call anyone else out?
To suggest Micheal Martin is anywhere near as bad as Boris Johnson is based on deflective bluster and nothing more. I've no major grá for MM but I'll take him over Boris every day of the week.
They called him out and we wait and see... the point i am making is your looking across the water and there was a few parties at home you didn't notice...
"people who live in glass houses don't throw stones"
The UK system called him out... and did what, exactly?
At least the UK system called him out... we had a few Covid blunders and they quietly went away... we cannot compare ourselves to the uk until we clean our own act...
As the others here opined - Micheal Martin is spineless, gutless, lacking in conviction and principles, unable to keep his own TDs in order and simply lacking in leadership qualities.
Being a good leader means often not being a populist - and by doing things or making key decisions that are often unpopular at the time but are the right thing to do in the interests of their country and society.
I see none of this in Martin. Lacking in gravitas, vision, strategy and leadership.
Dr Tony Holohan should have been sacked by the government back in September 2020 for leaking information to the media.
NPHET is tasked with the following: providing direction, guidance, support and expert advice on the development and implementation of a strategy to contain coronavirus in Ireland. It facilitates the sharing of information between the Department of Health and its agencies. It provides a forum for ageementr on strategic approaches to public health emergencies.
Yes, NPHET was designed for all that but they could never be called a truly "expert panel". In reality, they got so much obvious stuff wrong mainly due to arrogance and egomania but were never properly interrogated and questioned by the leader of the country. MM.
NPHET modellers continually and deliberately put forward outrageous predictions yet I never heard them taken to task on this by the leader of the country. MM.
Maybe you can confirm otherwise but NPHET's don't make decisions on public policy - they simply advise the government. They don't have any power really except that people listen to what they have to say.
You are quite wrong to say that NPHET had no power. Their strategy was obvious - and clever. They made sure that their advice to Govt. was out in the public domain in advance on every possible occasion which left the Govt. with no alternative but to comply often with ludicrous, inconsistent and ill-thought out restrictions. The leader of the country should have but failed to put a stop to that. In effect, they were handed power by the leader of the country. MM
To add to all this he appointed a completely clueless Minister for Health, Stephen "NPHET said" Donnelly
MM comes over as a decent, honourable man and I wouldn't question his honesty for one second but, I'm sorry to say, that he failed as leader of the country in a critical time. I don't see how he has any future in Irish politics.
At least with FG in 2020 you thought that Leo had a spine, every time MM slunks up to the podium you'd feel a strong breeze would knock him over. Entire FF backbench seems like spineless yes men, completely out of their depth.
MM has a lot to thank FG for.
For decades FF had the votes of a large percentage of the population and GE time was all about getting a few undecided with them to get over the line to get the Mercs and perks.
The country has changed dramatically in the last 30 years. The GAA moved with the times, but FF didn’t. (Chickens came home to roost in the RC cult).
They sold out the country and destroyed the lives of a generation of young people who by and large have since ignored the party.
There is no talent coming through. MM may have made sure he wasn’t the first FF leader not to get the big job, but he has failed to win back those young people and as a result he could be the last FF taoiseach for some time.
Then again, how could he win back that generation given that he had helped destroy the country? Yet there’ll be people feeling sorry for him as he heads off in to the sunset with a platinum pension that they’ve subsidised.
But if he fully intends to quit at the next GE is he really going to take over as tanaiste? If he has FF's interests at heart surely the thing to do is let someone else take over and serve in that role so they will have made an impression on the voters before the election? He's done nearly every big job in politics, can't see much thrill for him in a couple of years as Leo's deputy.
You make a good point — I do think he is very much “what you see is what you get” and as you say, that is a rarity in politics. I guess you are also right that he does seem likeable, though perhaps it’s also true to say that being ”likeable“ in the political sphere can (sometimes) be seen in the same way as calling someone “harmless” in the social sphere — they’re grand but you don’t necessarily want to hang out with them. It seems similar in a way to how things fared for the UUP and SDLP in the North, on the whole more likeable people than their SF/DUP counterparts and yet still having lost swathes of ground to them.
The problem Micheal has is that there isn’t really much ideological difference between him and Varadkar, so beyond ideology there would have to be something about him that sets him apart from Varadkar etc. More likeable perhaps and almost inarguably more genuine, but he also smacks of the past while offering no real vista of what he is trying to achieve. He’s not selling a hugely different product from Varadkar et al politically, but Varadkar is just a better salesman. Fine Gael just come across savvier, more commercially-minded, more modern, and with a clearer sense of purpose. Then there is Sinn Fein, who have charismatic people and seem to offer something different at least, and at most the prospect of taking a wrecking ball to an outdated Irish political establishment. Micheal and Fíanna Fáil just scream insipidness and if Sinn Féin’s rise continues then FF are going to find themselves as an irrelevant ‘meh’ party stuck between SF and FG.
It was after the 2011 election that the FF party realised that their core support was gone.They've never really recovered, and the party structures are in bits. The FG "heartland" held onto that vote better.
Great analysis.
He could join the DUP but is possibly too extreme for them. He seems to hate Irish nationalism more than them.
What particular qualities would you like to see in a leader?
MM is worse than Cowen, devoid of leadership mettle entirely
Completely hollow man ,weak weak weak
He seems like a good person a decent individual… I think when compared to a lot of them he’s a what you see is what you get person and that’s rare in politics, in fact growing rarer in life…when you compare him to Leo he’s just got a million times more credibility , gravitas and trustworthiness and likability about him…
i think maybe where he could have done better was in some Dail exchanges where he came across as a little too emotive and riled every now and then….but I’d rather that then Dr Smugtastic of the opposition leering and grinning and being generally just dismissive and condescending…as opposed to intelligent and engaging responsibly and respectfully.
TBF he took FF from the gutter and put them back in government. Might not be what most of us wanted but some feat.
I think he'll jack halfway through his tainiste stint. Once that pension is boxed off.
He does have an innate decency about him. His radio interview with Brendan O'Connor showed that. It's easy to throw stones at politicians, but dedicating your life to public service is a noble calling.
I thought ff should have gone with someone else as leader but saying that I think he's done a pretty decent job.
Can't see him becoming Tánaiste once his term is up. Serve out his term on the backbenches like so many before him. I do think he would make a fine FF candidate for President.
I think he will see out his term as Taoiseach and carry on as Tanaiste.
After that I'd say it's 50/50 whether he will lead FF into the next election.
Too many variables to be sure what will happen.
Well MM might not be that great as an inspirational leader but I'd rather him than someone like that lying, egotistical toerag BJ.
Unless it pays better, he is as mean as pi55 when it comes to money.
He's nothing, he really wanted to be taoiseach to be taoiseach and didn't want the title of been the only FF leader not to be.
He's deeply unpopular in his party but they lack so little talent there is no power struggle.
NPHET are a necessary body, nobody would deny that.
But unlike most other countries, Martin ceded all power and responsibility to NPHET - rather than to take, on balance, his own perspective on the matter.
That tells me that he is spineless and lacks leadership skills.
He'd rather hide behind NPHET and blame them for anything during the pandemic.
A pandemic isn't just about healthcare, though that is vital. There are many other political factors to consider. Martin made it all about NPHET, and that makes him a weak leader.
It doesn't mean we don't need NPHET, it means that we need a leader.
Would make you nostalgic for Biffo!!!!
I'd say he'll turn up in the EU...cleansed...he wants nothing to do with a backwards idea of sovereignty!
I think he is a very decent man on a personal level thats gone through a lot of hardship in his personal life. Ive no idea how a father who has lost two children through no fault of his own is able to still put on a smile and try do a job to the best of his ability. How he is able to put up with the sh1te and abuse on a daily bases is beyond me.
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