Public unlikely to forgive and even less likely to forget

MICHEÁL MARTIN clearly believes in redemption.

It’s a few new faces thrown on top of a lot of familiar ones

Last week, he said sorry for the Government’s mistakes. This week, he appointed nine of those who sat around the cabinet table during Brian Cowen’s tenure to his new Fianna Fáil frontbench. He must seem to think the public will forgive and, even better, forget. He may be in for a rude awakening.

In the world of business, the management of a company which comes close to collapse and requires outside assistance to survive might reasonably expect to get their P45s.

It’s always been different in politics — politicians of all hues are adept at shifting the blame — but even by those standards, it may be surprising to voters just how many of the old guard have survived in Mr Martin’s “new team”.

Voters might have expected that, if he were truly sorry, Mr Martin would have axed those he deemed responsible for the mistakes of the past. They might have expected that, if Mr Martin was truly showing humility, he might have presented them with an actual new team rather than attempting to pull the wool over their eyes.

This isn’t a new team. It’s a few new faces thrown on top of a lot of familiar ones.

True, there is some new blood: in what seems a clear effort to boost their chances of winning a seat in the election, Mr Martin went outside the Dáil and Seanad to select a councillor, Mary Fitzpatrick, and an unelected party member, Averil Power, who has served as a special adviser to Mary Hanafin.

He also promoted a number of backbench TDs — the likes of Niall Collins, Michael McGrath and Seán Fleming — who are seen as smart and capable.

But most of the major roles go to politicians who were on watch as the economy collapsed.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan is Mr Martin’s finance spokesman, despite the fact Mr Lenihan’s credibility has been battered by the economic crisis, with the public coming to view statements such as “we have turned the corner” with increasing distrust.

Even Mr Martin himself criticised the manner in which the EU/IMF bailout was communicated to cabinet ministers late last year.

But Mr Lenihan is just one of the many old faces who have been retained. Long-serving minister Mary Hanafin has been named deputy leader, for example. There is political logic in the decision, given that Corkman Mr Martin required a deputy leader from Dublin to try and rebuild the party’s fortunes in the capital. But it doesn’t get round the fact that Mr Martin is staying loyal to the old guard.

He has retained Tánaiste Mary Coughlan, Government chief whip John Curran, senior ministers Éamon Ó Cuív, Brendan Smith and Pat Carey.

He also kept Children’s Minister Barry Andrews, whose portfolio allowed him to sit at cabinet.

Mr Martin was always going to keep some of the above because of their ability, experience and, in some cases, youth. Firm hands are needed for an election campaign, so he was never going to jettison all the ministers.

As for those he may actually have wanted to jettison, the bizarre political situation he inherited as leader probably mitigated against him doing so.

Because they are still serving ministers, it would have been very awkward to appoint different spokespersons to the portfolios they hold. A party spokesperson could have contradicted a minister, or vice versa, on a major issue, causing damage to the party’s campaign.

But what were the reasons for restoring Willie O’Dea to the frontbench?

Talent, Mr Martin simply argued. The fact Mr O’Dea strongly supported him in his leadership bid may also have something to do with it.

But more than any of the others, it is a decision which suggests Mr Martin really does believe he can fool the electorate.

Mr O’Dea was forced to resign from cabinet last year in very controversial circumstances after he smeared a political rival and then denied doing so in an affidavit.

In recalling him to the frontbench, Mr Martin risks having all of Fianna Fáil’s old sins thrown back at him. And if that happens, he will have no one to blame but himself.