It was Flashback Central in Dublin on Sunday.
The good times back for Fianna Fáil. Standing room only at the special ardfheis.
Boomtime taoiseach Bertie Ahern is a discreet presence in the back of the hall. People are falling over themselves to shake his hand. He won’t be sticking around long because he has to get to Croker for the GAA club finals.
You know the way it is.
Luminaries of long-forgotten cabinets are queuing to get in. Two sons of Charlie Haughey are in the hall. Former TD and senator Donie Cassidy is bustling up and down the aisles shaking hands.
The grassroots – dead and buried a decade ago, are in flying form. Blasts from Fianna Fáil’s past glide around the glitzy lobby of the Radisson hotel in Golden Lane, remembering those times when the past was a blast and the singsongs could go on all night.
These Soldiers of Destiny won’t officially be elected to government again until Wednesday, and already Michael Lowry and the Regional lads are trying to pull off a cheeky stroke over Dáil speaking time, but isn’t it great gas altogether?
That Lowry fella may be a dyed-in-the-wool Blueshirt but he’s some operator, they have to admit.
Big screens are showing highlights of the party leader from the general election campaign, the one where they ended up winning more seats than any other party with the result that Micheál Martin will be back in the Taoiseach’s office by midweek. A message pops up at the end of his video: “Thank you for electing 48 Fianna Fáil TDs.”
Happy days.
Micheál has called this special meeting so rank-and-file members can vote on his recommendation that the party enter into coalition with Fine Gael and the aforementioned Regional group of wheeler-dealers.
Micheál is cheered to the rafters when he appears before the faithful. His front row is populated by a few serving Ministers banking on a cabinet recall and the rest of the seats are filled with the deep longing of aspiring ministers hoping to catch his eye come Wednesday.
Even at the question-and-answer session with members, which was closed to the media, we hear that everyone was in good spirits “and even the whingeing was positive”.
Micheál is in control.
He looked very happy.
A short time earlier, the outgoing Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs talked to journalists in the hotel’s courtyard, mainly addressing questions around the Occupied Territories Bill. A large protest demanding that the Bill be passed greeted delegates on the way in to the hotel.
Reporters tried to raise the curious case of the seven Regional Independent TDs, who last week signed a group deal to unconditionally support Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael for the next five years in return for a quids-in quartet of ministers, direct involvement in drawing up the programme for government, and enhanced influence with easy access to ministers for the four who didn’t land one of the ministerial positions.
And before Christmas, in early negotiations, they netted the plum position of Ceann Comhairle for their former member, Verona Murphy.
Now, the emboldened group – augmented by two Healy-Rae brothers also endorsing the government team – says those members who are not ministers should be able to join an opposition technical group (while still unconditionally supporting a government featuring four of their colleagues) so they can also make use of opposition speaking time and resources.
The Regional Independent Group and the Healy-Raegional Independents want their bread buttered on both sides, with all the gifts of government and all the high moral ground of opposition.
Understandably, the Opposition is up in arms over it.
So what does Micheál have to say about this caper?
“I’m not as excited about this as the Opposition are.”
He’s blaming the media. Such “negativity” in the commentary on the government when there are so many positives to highlight about the work of the last administration and so much to look forward to with the one about to begin.
“Sittin’ on the sidelines cribbin’ and moanin’ is a lost opportunity,” he complained.
Sorry. Sorry. That was a flashback to that other time when the Fianna Fáil faithful were also full of the joys and Bertie Ahern just couldn’t understand why people were saying negative things about the government.
“I keep saying to people – there’s a certain negativity which has emerged in terms of the commentary on this government,” Micheál said. “It’s as if people are disappointed with the result of the general election. I picked that up on the day of the election count itself when I observed various columnists and media analysts almost bemoan the fact that those who got elected to form a government, got elected to form a government.”
What about the free schoolbooks and (Micheál’s big project) the Shared Island agenda, he wondered?
But no, “for a lot of commentators that doesn’t appear to be exciting their interest.”
You see, Micheál need only look into his own heart to know what the people of Ireland are thinking. And he knows they are not interested in the case of those TDs who want to be in the government and out of it at the same time.
“I’m just saying that the public aren’t as excited about an issue like that. The public are interested in the fundamentals that are facing us in terms of particular challenges facing this country.”
And what about the Lowry-led TDs who want to have their cake and eat it with their doubly buttery bread?
“Well, they are clearly TDs that are supporting the government ... Now it’s not for me to adjudicate on that, that’s a matter for the Dáil itself.”
Anyway, he’s going to have a good think about it.
In the meantime, Micheál could not stress enough that the people are more interested in “The Fundamentals”.
Dear God. It’s the flashbacks again. The last time the Fianna Fáil leadership banged on about our Fundamentals the economy collapsed and we had to bail out the banks.
What’s an incoming taoiseach to do when “the government isn’t even formed yet, hasn’t even been approved by the Dáil and the naysayers are out in large numbers”, sighed Micheál. “Our job will be to prove them wrong over the next five years.”
That’s it. “Moving forward together”, as the slogan on the big screen told everyone before their leader arrived to make his speech. He was greeted with cheers and much yahooing and even as shout of “G’wan Micheál!”
More flashbacks.
Jack Chambers grabbed his boss’s arm and raised it aloft.
“I see Captain Exciting is at the top table,” observed one politician of the deputy leader. “I should have run as an Independent. I’d be in the government and the opposition now.”
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