Gone is Fianna Fáil’s born-to-rule bonhomie, replaced by democracy dodgers’ softened cough
THERE WAS an unfamiliar background noise at the think-in yesterday – a sort of uneasy and fearful rasping. It was the sound of a softened cough and it belonged to Fianna Fáil.
They have changed. Gone are the years of swaggering bluster, back-slapping and bonhomie; that born-to-rule confidence. They are now the democracy dodgers: frightened of the electorate, scared to hold three outstanding byelections, doggedly clinging to power.
The atmosphere in Galway’s Ardilaun Hotel was flat. There was a tired, strained air among deputies and Senators, like they had spent a very long summer shipping abuse from voters and now have little stomach left for the fight.
Their boss is clinging grimly to his belief that there won’t be a general election for another couple of years – the evidence told a different story.
His parliamentary party dutifully went through the motions for the benefit of the media, singing from the same hymn sheet about unity and purpose. Publicly, all now firmly behind their leader.
“Sure we have to, it’s too near the election to do anything else,” shrugged one backbencher. The passive nature of the participants and the listless mood about the place was hard to ignore.
“People are just looking out for themselves now,” remarked another deputy.
They fear that next year’s event won’t be a think-in, but a shrink-in. If there is a similar bonding session in 12 months’ time, the party may need a considerably smaller venue for a considerably reduced parliamentary party.
But at least they still have the trappings – including an over-the-top security operation involving a large complement of local gardaí and a private security firm – lots of ear-pieces and men talking into their sleeves and lapels.
Locals who are members of the hotel leisure centre are barred from attending it while the think-in is on, while we spoke to an irate women who attended a wedding in the hotel on Saturday and “had to run the gauntlet of security” on Sunday morning when she returned to collect her car.
And all that, for one egg. One measly egg, lobbed at a ministerial car from a lone demonstrator at the main gates yesterday morning. He missed.
Even the protesters couldn’t be bothered.
Still. Mattie McGrath, formerly of the FF parish, was gratified to receive an invite. He rang to check, only to be told he wouldn’t be welcome. The letter was sent in error.
If it hadn’t been for Dermot Ahern’s chickens the day would have been lost in a fug of depression.
The Minister for Justice let slip that the four chickens he keeps in his back garden escaped on Sunday. One of them, we were told on good authority, is called Lady Gaga.
All attempts to capture them failed. Dermot went out and tried to apprehend them using a large towel, but they gave him the slip. He should have called in the security from the Ardilaun Hotel – it would have given them something to do.
His Rhode Island Reds came home of their own accord, in the end.
A timely lesson there for Fianna Fáil about chickens coming home to roost. And it’s scaring the life out of them.
The Ardilaun Hotel provided a poignant reminder of those glory days when the FF tribe partied into the early hours during the golden years of the Galway races. Those were the days when we were the envy of Europe and it was full steam ahead on the gravy train.
Yesterday, there wasn’t much optimism about, although the hotel smelled strongly of beef and gravy. No sign of Bertie either. He’s due at Listowel races today.
Senator Ned O’Sullivan, who owns a menswear shop in Listowel, had to leave early this morning because he’s sponsoring the best-dressed man competition at the meeting.
“The ladies get all the glory, the winning man will get a thousand euro voucher to spend in my shop. There’s a best-dressed bookie too, but he only gets an aul’ voucher for a shirt.” Any man hoping to carry away the prize should not be influenced by Minister Éamon Ó Cuív, who spoke yesterday about “The Scarecrow Effect”. This is his way of describing his plan to introduce work schemes for people drawing unemployment benefit.
“The Scarecrow Effect” is aimed at people who are working and claiming benefit. He reckons that once they realise they will have to work for their social welfare payment, they will sign themselves off the register rather than jeopardise their regular source of income.
Meanwhile, with Fine Gael on a firm election footing, it was auction politics with a difference from Fianna Fáil.
Enda Kenny is promising to fix the economy in 10 years. Discuss. Cue incredulous snorts and amused grins.
Ten years? Enda Kenny? Did you ever hear the like? Oh, but Fianna Fáil will fix the economy much quicker than that. (Never mind that it took them 13 years to break it. They can be fast when they want.) So it'll be a strange election campaign: competitive cost-cutting; grim promises on a sliding scale of pain. There was no sign of Willie O'Dea after his tour de force on the Late Late Show. The Minister for Transport was missing too. Noel Dempsey was apparently nursing a golfing injury having "overswung" at the weekend.
He’s to address the meeting today on election strategy.
Election strategy at the moment means trying to avoid fighting the three byelections. All agree that it will be the new year before they happen, and the consensus is that this will trigger a general election, if one hasn’t happened already.
And the Democracy Dodgers, considerably softened of cough, will finally have to face the music.