FG Deal Politik

Fine Gael’s newly appointed deputy leader James Reilly insisted in the Irish Times the party had emerged “much stronger” from the recent challenge to Enda Kenny’s leadership.

He's Back

You have got to be joking, the parliamentary party heave, and its fallout show how ill-prepared for Government the FG party is.
Dr Reilly - no doubt now deputy leader as a reward for his loyalty to Enda said the new bench is a “proven performers and new energy”.
It would be truer to say it is a mass marriage of convenience based on gender and geography.

Kenny could not fire East Coast deputies, as they are at risk from Labour, and had to keep a few token women in the front rows of the FG team, even if it meant keeping those who have publicly stated they have no confidence in his ability or leadership.

Michael Noonan is the new finance spokesman while Richard Bruton, who led the recent heave against Mr Kenny, is appointed as spokesman on enterprise, jobs and economic planning.
How can he plan our economy when he plots for his brothers former job?

Two others involved in the heave, Simon Coveney and Leo Varadkar, were retained on the front bench.
Coveney is a dynastic politician who is importat in the FG power struggle.
Varadkar - who on Primetime stated he had no belief that Kenny could take them over the line next time out is kept on because he is a modern, friendly face for FG - but I doubt very much either would be in a FG cabinet post election.

FG's attempt at damage limitation has been ineffective “There was always going to be a change or a freshening of the front bench,” Dr Reilly told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme, suggesting the leadership struggle had merely brought the changes forward.
“We now have a new, exciting, energetic mix on our front bench that has the required qualities to bring this country back from the brink"
Well, I for one very much doubt any of those who heaved against Kenny would be in a cabinet portfolio, it will be the stalwarts in the mold of Noonan, the old reliables

Dr Reilly also said Kenny had the “decisiveness and incisiveness” to lead the country of the morass it finds itself in.
This when he could not even foresee or control his own front bench, most of whom declared no confidence in him and ran around like headless chickens after one bad poll - so much for quality leadership!

Asked if former finance spokesman Richard Bruton has lost his credibility in the recent heave against Mr Kenny’s stewardship, Reilly said: “I believe that Richard believed he was the best man for the job at the time. He went to the party, to let the party decide, and he lost"

We have seen in the past that an individuals political survival is far more important than the state of the nation. We are in crisis and should have a government that picks the best person for the job - and at a time of crisis we should perhaps look at a government of national unity.

However, as usual, loyalty to a leader is more important than competence. Horse trading is the most important part of the Irish Economy

With this in mind Phil Hogan, Alan Shatter, Jimmy Deenihan and Michael Ring along with Reilly are certainties for ministries.

Others who may well make future Ministers are Noonan, Catherine Byrne, Deirdre Clune, Andrew Doyle, Frank Feighan, John Perry, David Stanton and Paul Kehoe.

Speaking of Richard Bruton Reilly said “He understands perfectly well he has a huge important role to play in the future of this country and he will be in the next government and he will be a minister in the next government,” he said.

I really think that's a non-starter, If FG manage to become the leading party in the next election, Bruton will be on the back benches, in the good company of Charlie Flanagan, Coveney, Varadker, Bruton, Olivia Mitchell and Fergus O’Dowd.

Revenge, as they say - is a dish best served cold.


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Banking Scandal -and its not even a headline

If Fianna Fail had one bit of good news in the past few weeks, it was FGs melt down. The media management has been magnificent..
The entire medias eye was off the ball, and FF will get away with the biggest failing in the political history of the Island.
The two reports dealing with a disasterous financial meltdown that lay the blame squarely on the Government.

Dermot Ahearn said the crisis was no ones fault, and the mantra is repeated.
The FF/Green manta is the crisis is outside our control - it was due entirely due to external factors.

This is a lie

The Watson/Reingling report states the crisis was home grown - and due to overly light regulation and political mismanagement.

Governor Honohan said in his report that the collapse of Lehman Brothers did not cause the Irish banking crisis.

The financial regulators were disfunctional, 'intrusive demands" from line staff were set aside when senior regulators were approached.

To quote the Watson Reingling report “internal procedures were overridden, sometimes systematically.”
The regulators did not do their jobs, and on the basis of political and business favours they were overlooked.

Having light touch regulaton is one thing, but the shelving of investigations is to me criminal, and someone needs to answer that.
The excuse that the crash was unforseen is untrue - there were some very serious people who warned of the crisis.
In April 2007 Prof. Morgan Kelly warned we were heading for a recession with a hard crash because we had a classc set up for a property bubble bust.
Bertie in response to this and other warnings said that sitting on the sidelines moaning and cribbing - and was surprised that people who warned of a potential bust did not commit scuicide.
Regling / Watson said that by the middle of the decade, the financial and property boom in Ireland presented features that should have sounded alarm bells loudly.
Domestic financial stability reporting by the Central Bank had failed in this regard.
Brian Lenihan emphasised that the reports were "preliminary, scoping reports", which would point the way to a more detailed examination by a Commission of Investigation.
One wonders who is going to be in charge of it? Perhaps a tame high court judge or Fianna Fáil Senator Ivor Callely?
It will investigate the banks, but not the government, this is pointless - the politicians were as responsible as the bankers.
In the banks already a few token heads have rolled.
But the people who have been bought in to run our banks were alreeady senior members of those boards.

We are leaving foxes in charge of the henhouse
I believe we need someone like Eva Joly, a Norwegian born French judge with an outstanding history investigating corruption by politicians and vested business interests.
She finished her work quickly in Iceland.
We need to know what senior regulators failed to investigate concerns, we need to know what politicians were involved in getting tax breaks for regulators.
We need to uncover and prosecute those guilty of corruption and incompetence - otherwise they will do it again.

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