Job success will be the message on the doorsteps

Enda Kenny took to the stage at his party’s ard fheis at the weekend and admitted his government had not got it right on every issue but was making progress. We can expect similar comments to be used by his election candidates in the coming weeks. Mistakes might have been made but Fine Gael now has a string of successes to list off to disillusioned voters.

Certainly, the bustling atmosphere at the ard fheis in Dublin’s RDS over the weekend reflects Mr Kenny’s much used mantra that he wants the country open for business.

But there are still some major political and budgetary landmines that will soften the march of Fine Gaelers as they get into election mode and battle for votes ahead of polling day on May 23.

Senior Government figures privately dread an onslaught of protests and criticism over water charges. The new levy, while it will not be collected from homeowners until next January, will be introduced in October.

Memories of the continued protests and criticism that surrounded the introduction of the household charge are a reminder of how contentious an issue this could be.

Another budget also looms for the Coalition. But speculation of tax cuts for workers means that voters will be expecting more out of the saving measures when they are announced in October.

None of the recent austerity budgets have brought much celebration anyhow.

Luckily for Fine Gael, these two issues will come after the local and European elections.

However, a more immediate issue may be the position of Labour in Government. Recent polls have shown worrying drops in support with the party hovering around 10%.

Some may argue this may be the natural position in the polls for Labour after its heightened support in the last general election. Nonetheless, those words will do little to comfort disgruntled backbenchers and councillors who are getting it in the neck. Certainly, there have been a string of defections at council level as well as in the Dáil since Labour entered coalition.

This continued pressure on Labour must be watched by Fine Gael. If there is a meltdown for Labour councillors and even more so for its MEP candidates, this pressure will inevitably be passed onto its Coalition partners.

It may not be about pulling the plug on being in power with Fine Gael but about winning positions at Cabinet and on spending issues which could then ultimately dominate fall-outs in the coalition.

However, the immediate focus for Fine Gael, of course, is its goal to improve on its 2009 position, where the party secured 32% of the vote at council level. Added to this is a desire to possibly see it take more than the four seats at European level. This second ambition seems quite realistic given the seasoned candidates Fine Gael are pushing for Europe. At local level we can expect some gains for Sinn Féin and most likely independents, but it is hard to say if either of the Coalition partners will get more councillors elected, especially given boundary changes.

A continued focus on jobs though will be the most effective way of garnering support for any candidate knocking on doors in the coming weeks.

Certainly the polls at the end of February indicated no major changes for Fine Gael, despite continuing controversies surrounding Justice Minister Alan Shatter and gardaí.

Indeed, this emphasis on employment was evident last week when Enda Kenny led his ministers out announcing that unemployment had fallen to 12%.

The Taoiseach went as far during his ard fheis speech on Saturday night to even suggest that “for Ireland, our best days are up ahead.”

Try telling this to the thousands of young people emigrating, the long-term unemployed or those stuck in negative equity and struggling to pay mortgages.

We are a long way off celebrating any resurgent economic growth. We are a long way off telling school leavers they definitely will get jobs.

Kenny told his party and those who tuned into his Saturday night speech that the tide had turned.

Has it? Some will agree. Others will not.

But Mr Kenny, using words attributed to Abraham Lincoln, also indicated that Fine Gael and the Government are as ambitious as ever to succeed, despite having made mistakes.

“I am not bound to win.

“But I am bound to be true.

“I am not bound to succeed.

“But I am bound to live up to what life I have,” he said quoting the former US president.

US president Barack Obama used parts of the same quote when he made a rallying speech to the Democrats in 2010.

Obama used the quote and told supporters they had a chance to make good on the promises they had made about healthcare.

We can certainly expect a lot of promises from Fine Gael over the coming months.