Scandalcentral's Blog

Musical chairs, old left sitting! July 1, 2010

I’m sure all of you are aware of the Fine Gael front bench at this stage, if not here they are:

• Enda Kenny – Leader
• Sean Barrett – Foreign Affairs
• Richard Bruton – Enterprise, Jobs & Economic Planning (including public service reform)
• Catherine Byrne – Older Citizens
• Simon Coveney – Transport
• Deirdre Clune – Innovation & Research
• Jimmy Deenihan – Tourism, Culture & Sport
• Andrew Doyle – Agriculture, Fisheries & Food
• Frank Feighan – Community, Equality & Gaeltacht Affairs
• Charlie Flanagan – Children
• Phil Hogan – Environment, Heritage & Local Government
• Paul Kehoe – Chief Whip (with responsibility for political reform)
• Michael Noonan – Finance
• Fergus O’Dowd – Education & Skills
• John Perry – Small Business
• James Reilly – Deputy Leader & Health & Children, (with responsibility for policy coordination & implementation)
• Michael Ring – Social Protection
• Alan Shatter – Justice & Law Reform
• David Stanton – Defence
• Leo Varadkar – Communications & Natural Resources

So what’s the reaction? Well I can’t see anyone jumping with excitement! Nevertheless, many of my predictions were accurate. For the record I had 13 of the faces right! (Out of 19 positions) However my shadow cabinet contained  several people who seem to have been totally ignored: Lucinda Creighton, Terrence Flanagan, John Deasy, Brian Hayes.. Naturally I accept that Flanagan is more suited to Deputy Finance spokesperson, but as O’Donnell hasn’t got anything it looks like his talent is being left idle once again. That is a very bad move by Kenny. He is forcing his youth to either do a Lucinda Creighton on it or disappear into the political wilderness. Lucinda herself is once again overlooked. Many might suggest this is because Kenny feels she would then be the instigator of a second push in the Autumn when Fine Gael collapses in the polls. As true as that may be, she is more talented then Catherine Byrne or Deirdre Clune. But no one said that talent had anything to do with politics!  John Deasy was once again overlooked. Kenny has now overlooked him for over a decade. Yes, I completely agree that he couldn’t have been on the front bench up to this point but now I feel that Kenny is playing a risky game. There is nothing more dangerous than an angry backbencher and Deasy has right to be exactly that. However the most high profiler dropped from cabinet was Brian Hayes. It’s very unclear exactly what he did during the heave but it must have been bad! Kenny has replaced him with Fergus “snooze” O’Dowd. When keeping in mind this is the education post we are talking about, that is truly a shocking call. Revenge is a dish best served cold I hear… but when one remembers that O’Dowd was the first to publicity defy Kenny, it’s a very odd call.

One move I find very odd is the fact that he has more or less ended the political career of Olwyn Enright. Her constituency has been redrawn and she is expected to lose her seat to Labour. Hence I was quite sure that she would be spared and Charles “boredom” Flanagan would be consigned to the back benches. Kenny has gone the opposite way around, saving Flanagan for a very unclear reason. Either way Enright now has a lot of time to try to save her seat, if she even realises she is in trouble! One interesting point which should be highlighted is how Richard Bruton’s role is ever so similar to his previous one. His title is “Enterprise, Jobs & Economic Planning (including public service reform)”… the only change is that jobs is now a more centered focus and the banking system a little less. However for Kenny to include one of Bruton’s personal goals of public sector reform is an astute move, some could even say clever. Equally the appointment of Michael Noonan to Finance itself was expected and he signaled that he will continue the way Bruton left off.

Personally I find the idea of Michael Ring in social protection as slightly confusing. Initially I was shocked. One of my colleagues asked me if I needed a lie down! I simply struggled to get my head around it. However slowly I began to understand. It was one of those moments where the clouds lifted and I could see again. I have come to the conclusion that it actually may be a pretty good move by Kenny. My reason for suggesting this is simple. In my predictions blog, I mentioned how social protection will be massive in the coming months and that the biggest opposition party needed a heavy hitter, someone who will tackle and attack the Government with little care for the consequences. The role required an individual who has an opinion and is not afraid to make it heard. To quote it: “…However what this role requires is someone to put the Government on the rack and challenge Labour’s soundbite’s…” For this reason I suggested Lucinda Creighton. However in many respects Michael Ring is a very similar choice except that he is seasoned by about 30 years! He has the ability to shout and condemn and may do a great job. Nevertheless only time will tell as to whether he can provide substance to his commentary and score some points for Fine Gael outside of Mayo.

One interesting point which the media has ignored is that fact that certain portfolios have been dropped from the front bench including Immigration. The portfolio was held by Denis Naughton, (who has now been left to the hounds in the back benches) but is no longer regarded as important enough for the front bench. From glancing at the Fine Gael website it’s unclear if it has been scrapped totally or if it is now a back bench position. Equally, Innovation has now been promoted to the front bench and with it Cork’s Deirdre Clune. I reported earlier this week that she was in line for promotion. She is now officially the best dressed lady on the Fine Gael front bench clearly ahead of newly promoted Catherine Byrne who must have been totally shocked to her promotion as she was dressed almost as bad as Calamity Coughlan. However she must be more than a pretty face over the next 2 years if Fine Gael is to taken seriously as an economic powerhouse.

Overall this is a mixed front bench. The next election is just 96 weeks away. This bench is not the mix of youth and experience that Kenny claims it is. Far from it. The absence of  Terrence Flanagan, Brian Hayes, John Deasy, Olwyn Enright, Damian English, Joe Carey and Lucinda Creighton is regrettable. One would have expected more of the above to be sitting on the front bench and less of the Deenihan’s, Barrett’s and Feighan’s. This is an old-looking front bench which has a massive job to do. Hopefully they realise the job that must be done and how to do it. It’s very clear that up to recently the senior party has had no idea as to the fact that in many constituencies gains are unlikely unless they actually get off their asses and onto the streets. Is the message sinking through? Let’s ask that question in a few months. Personally, I believe the party is in free fall. Hopefully backroom team members like Frank Flannery will start to put pressure on people like Paddy Sheehan and find out his intentions for the 31st Dáil. Otherwise seats are being lost quickly in Cork South West and elsewhere. A new front bench is a start, substance must now follow. Nevertheless the return of the Varadkar’s and Bruton’s will do no harm and should help keep Kenny his job. But seriously what was with the red tie’s today?

Ready to lead?