It is finally time to move on, but without this bumbling Taoiseach Enda Kenny

Enda Kenny’s approach has been to treat the whistleblower as if he had the equivalent of a political plague, writes Alison O’Connor.

There is no underestimating the trauma caused by the last heave against Enda Kenny even though it is almost seven years ago now since it took place. The resulting post traumatic stress disorder suffered within Fine Gael has continued to dictate the current pace of events in relation to ousting the party leader.

They just haven’t had the stomach for a coup; they wanted it to be a bloodless transition. But if ever the hand wringing and niceties needed to end it is now. Ever since the disastrous general election performance of last year we’ve been told that Enda has a timescale in his mind and will know the time to go.

The period in between has been characterised by dithering and lots of FG niceties. In fairness to the pretenders to his throne they have given the Taoiseach every opportunity. He needs to repay that courtesy by recognising his own political reality.

By any measure, 15 years at the helm of a party is an incredibly long time. He did take the party to great heights and showed extraordinary stamina. Prior to Enda Kenny’s leadership Fine Gael had built up an unenviable reputation when it came to swapping leaders, to little electoral avail.

The phenomenon where political leaders are often the last to recognise their time has come is bound up in power and ego. These are both important traits when it comes to leadership, but ones that can also contribute to delusional thinking when it comes to relinquishing your position as top dog.

It begins with expressing a desire to take over a party, usually with a pledge to make it great again, but all too often ends with them being shuffled off the stage.

There is genuine confusion among the ranks as to why he is clinging on. There has been lots of guesswork. One scenario painted is that he wants to surpass the record of former Fine Gael Taoiseach John A Costello, estimated to be reached near the end of April.

It would be perfectly acceptable for him to stay on while a party leadership campaign was ongoing, but the current precarious political situation means it would be madness to prolong it. The uncertainty has gone on long enough to the detriment of the party.

This week Enda Kenny lived up to that rather unfair label that has always bedeviled him that he is not the brightest bulb in the political firmament.

It is a pity really given the service that he gave this country during the austerity years. But he provided enough face palm moments in recent days to give even his most ardent admirers reason to wonder what was going on in his brain when he all but admitted hearing voices, that of Children’s Minister Katherine Zappone to be specific.

He is clearly weary, and why wouldn’t he be? In terms of political leadership his tenure has been epic. At this point though he is an isolated figure, with no strong political coterie surrounding him.

There is an irony that the leader of the party which prides itself on its law and order approach has ultimately been done down by matters related to just that. How humiliating that it was felt widely necessary that law enforcement officers from outside the State would be required to investigate what has gone on in relation to the smearing of Maurice McCabe.

Former minister and Labour party leader Pat Rabbitte made an interesting point on Prime Time on Tuesday night when he said that you have to look at our history over decades of subversion to understand the relationship that built up between our senior politicians and senior Gardai.

There was a strong bond of trust. They took each other at their word. It was a necessity. But as Rabbitte also pointed out, times have moved on.

We can only guess here at Enda Kenny’s motivations in relation to how he has handled the issue of Sergeant Maurice McCabe’s allegations and the overall culture within An Garda Siochana.

Remember back in 2014 when the controversy broke over the suspected bugging of GSOC. Mr Kenny set a tone that has persisted since; “nothing to see here” and stressing the need to “move on”.

An interesting twist to that particular episode, especially given Mr Kenny’s “mea culpa” this week in relation to his recounting a conversation he never had with Minister Zappone, was the Taoiseach in 2014 stating a number of times that the Garda Ombudsman would have been legally obliged to tell the Government about suspicions concerning the bugging of its offices.

Eventually he added a whole new level to our political discourse when he acknowledged that the wording of the relevant legislation did not require GSOC to report to the Minister [for Justice] but that the provision in law meant that the commission may report to the minister.

“If my words were excessive in their meaning then I regret that,” he said at the time. On and on it went with the non-sacking sacking of former commissioner Martin Callinan, the eventual resignation of former Justice Minister Alan Shatter and the ongoing torment of Sergeant McCabe and his family.

There was a change of Government in between, and new partners for Fine Gael, but ultimately the Taoiseach’s aim of protecting the institution that is An Garda Siochana remained, while sacrificing individuals.

The appointment of an insider to succeed Callinan as Commissioner at that time, when the situation regarding the culture so blatantly needed addressing, said so much about the attitude coming from the top politically.

It doesn’t matter how many words of praise he may now heap on Maurice McCabe the Taoiseach’s ultimate approach has been to treat the whistleblower as if he had the equivalent of a political plague.

After all that went on, and all that the McCabes have gone through, how is it that the only time Enda Kenny has ever met Maurice McCabe was by accident during the Longford/Westmeath by election campaign in 2014? The Taoiseach was canvassing and Sergeant McCabe happened to be on traffic duty. The two men shook hands.

Surely it would have shown some much needed humanity and compassion if Mr Kenny had made a request, as late as last weekend, to visit the McCabes in their home and offer an apology.

The revelations in this newspaper on the previous Thursday and in RTÉ’s Prime Time regarding Tusla and false allegations of sexual abuse had sickened many people to their stomachs. It wouldn’t have been altogether surprising at that point to hear that the McCabes had no wish for such a visit but the offer would have been symbolic and shown a much needed solidarity.

The Taoiseach will leave office bearing much of the responsibility for the shambolic state of affairs that have led to this sorry episode. It is a further blot that having come to this point almost everyone feels hopeless about the establishing of a tribunal of inquiry.

What does it say about our public life that we don’t trust our politicians, our legal profession, indeed ourselves basically, for such an inquiry to take place without it becoming a runaway train of costs and duration.

History will ultimately be kinder to Enda Kenny but the immediate end of his leadership career brings the usual sense of failure.

His approach has been to treat the whistleblower as if he had the equivalent of a political plague