Kenny open to sharing stage with Gilmore

FINE GAEL leader Enda Kenny has opened the door to the most popular political leader in the country to join himself and Taoiseach Brian Cowen in their televised debates ahead of the next general election.

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore had demanded to be included in the traditional head-to-head between the two largest parties, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.

After discussing Fine Gael’s election strategy with his parliamentary party, Mr Kenny surprisingly said he had no difficulty with the franchise being widened, given the changed political climate.

“As far as I am concerned, as leader of the Fine Gael party, it doesn’t matter to me, and it is not my call in any event, whether the leaders’ debates are between myself and Brian Cowen, whether they are between three leaders, four leaders or five leaders, or whether they take place on RTÉ, TV3 or on TG4.

“Fine Gael will compete to win the next general election and in respect of leaders’ debates, which I regard as being part of a campaign, and not the campaign, I will participate in it whatever the circumstances are, wherever it is,” he said.

Mr Kenny was speaking in the Faithlegg House Hotel in Waterford at the conclusion of the pre-Dáil term gathering of his TDs and senators. At it, they plotted tactics to secure an ambitious target of more than 70 seats in a general election.

The party leader announced he had appointed his loyal frontbench spokes- man, Phil Hogan, as the party’s director of elections for the campaign.

The Carlow-Kilkenny TD fills the gap caused by the resignation of chief strategist Frank Flannery from the position in 2009 – after he controversially suggested Fine Gael would go into coalition with Sinn Féin.

Mr Hogan’s appointment brings an end to a successful approach where the director of elections’ title was kept separate from politicians.

“For this forthcoming election I wanted a political person acting as director of elections. Very few know the country as well as Deputy Hogan.

“We have a great deal of work to do here. In many of the constituencies... the organisation is very strong but there are weaknesses in some and it allows us to focus on that,” Mr Kenny said.

One of the delicate disputes the newly installed director of elections will have to deal with is the internal anguish at the party’s effort to win two seats in Waterford.

To do this, sitting Deputy John Deasy will have to bring in a running mate, Senator Paudie Coffey.

However, there has been signs of friction. On the road to the Faithlegg meeting, Mr Deasy erected welcome signs. These included a picture of him with a local councillor, but excluded Sen Coffey.

And on Wednesday, when Mr Deasy was called up to give a speech greeting his colleagues in his constituency, he only uttered a few sentences before sitting down.

A picture of him at the gates of the hotel was defaced, with a cigarette drawn by his mouth, harking back to when he flouted the smoking ban.

Mr Coffey claimed he had a good working relationship with Mr Deasy: “Certainly there is always a healthy rivalry in any organisation, not just Fine Gael. And our ambition, and my ambition, is to win two seats for Fine Gael in this constituency.”

Mr Kenny said both men would work together: “They both made it perfectly clear, as did the organisation, that when the election comes this party is going to fight to win two Dáil seats in Waterford, Deputy Deasy and Senator, deputy-to-be, Coffey.”