Bruiser turns to snoozer in anticlimax
And in a way, so it was in the head-to-head between the two potential Taoisigh of the country, Bertie Ahern and Enda Kenny last night. Presenter Miriam O’Callaghan described it as the “climax” of the election campaign but you felt that perhaps the denouement will not come until next weekend.
It was an intriguing battle. Both relaxed into the debate early. While it lacked the venom of the previous night, it was not lacking in spark. The format was as five years ago, with both leaders making a pitch at the start and then debating five pre-agreed topics including health, education and crime.
Mr Ahern, in his opening speech, was a little nervous.
“They say politics is the art of the possible. In 10 years we have made a lot of things possible,” he said.
Enda Kenny looked a little more relaxed and departed a little from the expected script to address people directly. He talked about his contract for Ireland.
In his opening response to Ms O’Callaghan the Taoiseach, looking relaxed, spoke about his record over the past 10 years and made an effective pitch by pointing to his working-class roots in Drumcondra.
The Fine Gael leader, immediately confronted by one of his Achilles heels, lack of ministerial experience, answered confidently by referring to his time as Minister for Trade and the leadership qualities he has shown since becoming FG leader.
When the subject turned to priorities, Mr Ahern said that a strong economy was paramount. Mr Kenny agreed but said that it was the last Fine Gael government which sowed the seeds. The presenter then honed in on the controversy surrounding Mr Ahern’s finances.
“I gave the matters to the tribunal confidentially. And they were leaked straight out. That was my only objection,” he said.
Enda Kenny was asked about his deliberate non-engagement with this issue. Do you fully accept the Taoiseach’s integrity in the matter? asked Ms O’Callaghan.
At this stage, it was clear that Mr Kenny did not want to engage in this. And it was also clear that the propensity of the debate would remain well-mannered.
The Taoiseach, asked did he do anything wrong, answered no emphatically.
As the debate moved to the most fractious issue, the Taoiseach accepted there were issues in A&E and primary care but put it in the context of huge improvements over 10 years.
When Enda Kenny described it as a “gargantuan failure”, it was then that we experienced the first bit of bickering.
Mr Kenny majored on the trolley phenomenon. Mr Ahern talked about the successes in cardiac, oncology and the treatment purchase fund. It led to a major row.
The Taoiseach faced difficult questions over lack of progress over 10 years. Mr Kenny in turn faced difficult questions over how achievable his ambitious promises were.
The second row revolved around Enda Kenny’s promise to provide free healthcare to all under fives. Ahern argued that it could not be achieved in five years. Kenny argued that it could. Perhaps Ahern emerged slightly ahead from this section.
The debate then moved on the economy. Again the exchanges were technical and detailed. Mr Kenny agreed that the Taoiseach had “presided” over a successful economy but argued that Ireland had lost competitiveness. Ahern again referred to the achievements of his government. This was home turf for him and he easily dealt with the details.
