Kenny’s 10 years at helm of Fine Gael

Enda Kenny will today mark 10 years as leader of Fine Gael.

But any sense of relief at last week’s passing of the fiscal treaty referendum will be tempered by the scale of the challenges still facing his government.

Mr Kenny was elected leader of Fine Gael on June 5, 2002, by secret ballot, at a time when the party was on its knees, having haemorrhaged seats in the previous month’s general election. A decade later, he is Taoiseach.

But the road in between wasn’t always smooth, as the following episodes from his 10 years in charge illustrate:

* In a speech in mid-June 2002, he accuses the then Fianna Fáil-PD government of feeling “more at home in Boston than it does in Berlin”. Little does Mr Kenny — or anybody else for that matter — realise just how pivotal Berlin will eventually become in Irish affairs.

* In Sept 2002, Mr Kenny is forced to apologise after using the word “nigger” in a joke at a party function.

* In Oct 2002, Mr Kenny overturns his predecessor’s ban on Fine Gael accepting corporate donations.

* The same month, following publication of the second interim report of the Flood (later Mahon) Tribunal, Mr Kenny claims that Bertie Ahern has brought the office of Taoiseach into the “the lowest possible public repute”.

* In June 2003, Mr Kenny questions why public servants are getting pay increases under the benchmarking system in the absence of a reform agenda.

* In Jan 2004, Mr Kenny signals that Fine Gael will support incumbent President Mary McAleese for a second term rather than contest an election.

* In Mar 2004, Mr Kenny fires John Deasy as justice spokesman after the Waterford TD breaches the newly introduced smoking ban in the Oireachtas bar.

* In June 2004, Fine Gael wins almost 300 council seats in the local elections, coming within touching distance of Fianna Fáil. And in the European Parliament elections, the party overtakes Fianna Fáil, winning five seats to the latter’s four.

* In Sept 2004, Fine Gael agrees the “Mullingar Accord” with Labour on presenting an alternative government to voters at the next general election.

* In Nov 2005, Mr Kenny suggests dropping Irish as a compulsory Leaving Cert subject.

* In Jan 2006, Mr Kenny criticises the Government’s botched handling of the decentralisation scheme but calls for the project earmarked for his constituency to go ahead, leading to accusations of “parish pump” politics.

* In the May 2007 general election, Fine Gael wins an additional 20 seats, but falls short and Fianna Fáil is returned to power.

* In Sept 2007, a Fine Gael motion of no confidence in Bertie Ahern is defeated in the Dáil.

* In Feb 2008, in a stinging Dáil put-down, then finance minister Brian Cowen tells Mr Kenny he is “neither qualified nor able” to assess the evidence being heard against Mr Ahern at the Mahon Tribunal.

* In Apr 2008, after Mr Ahern announces his intention to step down and tributes are paid to him on his last day in the Dáil as Taoiseach, Mr Kenny describes him as the “ultimate paradox — a sociable loner”.

* In Sept 2008, Fine Gael in opposition supports the Government’s bank guarantee scheme.

* In the June 2009 local elections, Fine Gael storms to first place, winning 341 council seats. It also remains the biggest party at European level, and just for good measure, sees George Lee stroll to victory in the Dublin South byelection.

* In Feb 2010, Lee quits in frustration at feeling underutilised, dealing a serious blow to Mr Kenny’s leadership.

* In June 2010, Mr Kenny narrowly defeats a leadership challenge by Richard Bruton.

* In Feb 2011, Fine Gael wins the general election but fails to secure an overall majority, which sees it go into coalition with Labour

* In Mar 2011, as he prepares to be nominated Taoiseach by the Dáil, Mr Kenny travels to Finland for a meeting with fellow EU centre-right leaders, including German chancellor Angela Merkel. Speaking immediately after the meeting, he acknowledges that burning bondholders is off the table, despite signals to the contrary given by Fine Gael during the election.