Formerly toxic party still a ‘work in progress’

Micheál Martin is adamant that his party’s poll resurgence will continue, writes Deputy Political Editor Mary Regan.

AT Fianna Fáil’s first ard fheis following its electoral defeat in 2011, a leading British politics academic, Professor Tim Bale, delivered the sobering advice to delegates: “You have to realise that your brand is not simply tarnished, it is utterly trashed. It is not just trashed, it is toxic.”

Almost three years on and the party leader, Micheál Martin, who took on what many believed was one of the most difficult jobs in politics — to rebuild the once dominant but dramatically fallen and unpopular party — now believes the “toxic” phase is behind it.