Are you like me? Whenever a government Minister comes on air and trots out the ‘well we didn’t make the mess’ line, do you want to say, ‘well, hey it’s two years in, it’s now your time to clean up?’
The flip-side to this is the Opposition will be eyeing up the next two or three years and coming up with policies and candidates for Local, Euro and the eventual General elections.
Policies and Candidates…. Step forward sexy Mickey Martin, the calm cool hero surfin’ the waves of opinion polls. This weekend will be his time to shine as the Soldiers of Destiny gather at the RDS this weekend. Unlike last year, they can start looking forward. The sack cloth is loosening as they are beginning to flex their muscles for the battles ahead.
As a person I like Michael. As a father he has known immeasurable tragedy which no parent should go through and yet he carried this with a simple grace. On the occasions that I’ve met him, his personal warmth was obvious.
However, any political party is about policies and candidates.
This is where Michael gets a bit fuzzy. His Dail appearances have been less than impressive. He seems to think calling names will win him popularity. Gerry and Co. are cornering the market in populist sound bites on the issues of the day. The core Fianna Fail vote is under attack from Sinn Fein. Can Michael respond?
Austerity is gripping the country and none of us are quite sure if it is working. It’s still a bit soon for us to take Fianna Fail seriously on economics and yet they are going to have to come up with policies as elections are looming. Opposition for opposition’s sake may not work for any longer.
Then there is the issue of abortion legislation. Michael avoided the issue during his tenure as Minister of Health but the clock is ticking. How will he handle it in the coming months?
If we were to look at one big decision that Michael made as Minister, we have to look at the HSE. Whether he likes it or not, this was his baby. It should have been a major reconstruction job ensuring the largest piece of the irish public service was ready for the 21st Century. Ireland was too small to have 18 health boards and yet the reality was it was one big name plate swapping exercise. In my eyes that’s a big black mark for Michael. No real reform.
When it comes to candidates, Fianna Fail were battered in the last election. How will they recover? Who will their candidates be? Michael has told us the party is renewing itself but even then, will there be enough candidates? Or will there be old faces? Will those who brought us into the mess find themselves back in the Dail?
Do you really want that? Is it too soon to speculate on the kinds of candidates who will run in 2015 and beyond?
Let me know your views...
