Coveney: Fine Gael leadership race not a ‘personality contest’

Minister for Housing Simon Coveney has said the Fine Gael leadership race should not descend into a popularity contest.

The latest Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI opinion poll shows Mr Coveney is leading Leo Varadkar among voters and Fine Gael members.

Mr Coveney said the results were encouraging but insisted it was “only an opinion poll”.

Speaking on Kfm radio , the Minister did say the poll findings dented the opinion that Mr Varadkar was the most popular politician in the country.

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Mr Coveney said: “This isn’t a popularity contest, because we are similar. It’s about a value system. It’s about what Fine Gael politics brings to people’s lives.”

The two leadership contenders went head-to-head in a leadership husting in Dublin on Thursday night.

The second will take place in Carlow on Friday night , followed by Ballinasloe on Saturday night and Cork on Sunday.

Voting will begin in Monday and will be completed by Friday June 2nd when the parliamentary party votes.

The Irish Times leadership trackers shows 46 TDs and Senators are voting for Mr Varadkar, in comparison to 20 for Mr Coveney.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan, Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney, Kildare TDs Bernard Durkan and Martin Heydon, and MEPs Sean Kelly and Maireád McGuinness have yet to declare.

Mr Coveney said all he needed to win the contest was for six of those who have declared for Mr Varadkar to switch their allegiance.

The Minister insisted this was “still a real contest” and “completely doable to win”.

“All that needs to happen is if six of the 46 change their mind in the secret of the ballot box and if councillors support me 60/40.”

Mr Varadkar is in Co Longford on Friday ahead of the hustings in Carlow on Friday night.

Speaking to the Longford leader newspaper, Mr Varadkar said Irish society needed a party that will champion and prioritise those who work hard.

The Minister insisted he did not want to exclude anyone and those who were claiming that were deliberately misrepresenting him.

“What I am talking about is ensuring Fine Gael as a party champions and prioritises people who work in the country, people who are in employment in the private and public sector, self employed, farmers but also people like carers for example and parents.”

The Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll showed among Fine Gael voters, 48 per cent opted for Mr Coveney and 44 per cent for Mr Varadkar, with 8 per cent undecided. The sample of only Fine Gael voters is smaller than the national sample and therefore has a larger margin of error.

Mr Coveney is preferred by less well-off voters, older voters, farmers and those resident in Connacht-Ulster and in Munster, where 56 per cent say he is their choice.

Mr Varadkar leads in Dublin (with 44 per cent support) in Leinster and among wealthier voters.

Asked a series of questions about the candidates’ strengths, voters favour Mr Coveney on trust and believe he is more “in touch with ordinary people”. But they favour Mr Varadkar to “deliver real change” and rate him ahead of his rival for “straight talking”.