Rabbitte charm offensive misfires
“I am a natural,” the Labour Party leader assured her as he pushed her wheelchair up and down the driveway of the general hospital in Cobh.
Neither the jovial woman from Eaton Heights nor the assembled press corps were convinced of his credentials.
His three days in the south of the country have shown “people-person Pat” is hard product to sell.
On Wednesday, he looked on as Breeda Moynihan-Cronin helped a tourist who fell on the streets of Killarney.
Yesterday, photographers asked him to talk naturally to patients at the hilltop hospital.
“How long are you here, Mary?” he asked Ms McNicholas.
“Eight months,” she said, then paused, before local candidate, John Mulvihill, had to interject with the required small talk.
Minutes beforehand, at a spontaneous press conference, “the Rabbitte” was a different beast.
“Parliamentarian Pat” was in authoritative mood.
Throwing down the gauntlet to Health Minister Mary Harney, he said if his party’s reforms were not visible within 12 months he would overhaul the management of the Health Service Executive.
He said he would welcome the mantle of Minster for Health and achieve in one year what Ms Harney failed to do in three.
In his home constituency of Dublin South-West, he is respected for mastering the business of politics.
But he is a parliament man, not a parish man.
As the election approaches, he will be inundated with uncomfortable, people-driven press encounters.
He could well heed the advice he offered Ms McNicholas as he took control of her steering.
“Relax, we’ll take the brakes off the wheelchair and you’ll roll straight down the road,” he said.
