Flannery to be cyber-thorn in Taoiseach’s side
Frank Flannery has become increasingly outspoken since being expelled from the Taoiseach’s inner circle amid the Rehab controversy earlier this year, and is now poised to launch a regular political podcast, The Flannery Files, with the help of former RTÉ sports broadcaster Bill O’Herlihy.
Mr Kenny cut loose the man credited with master- minding Fine Gael’s best ever general election showing when it emerged he was paid to lobby for the charity Rehab of which he used to be CEO.
Now, Mr Flannery will deliver his take on the Taoiseach via the podcast which will be available on iTunes and its own web site.
A preview of the political insights to expect are currently available on YouTube, where Mr Flannery brands Fine Gael as being “hell-bent on self-destruction” since he left the fold. In a less than tasteful reference to the lethal epidemic engulfing West Africa, Mr Flannery describes cronyism as being like “the ebola of Irish politics — incurable”.
The former Fine Gael director of elections has pledged to be objective in his political analysis, despite being scathing about Fine Gael’s performance since he left his key strategic role with the party before its drubbing in the local elections in May.
Mr Flannery said he wanted his opinions heard as he believed the general election slated for spring 2016 would impact on the country’s prosperity for the next quarter of a century.
Mr O’Herlihy claimed that the podcast would be a “new dimension in political broadcasting”.
