It is not enough to be a safe haven for a once-in-a-generation storm

Fine Gael today has no sense of how to become competitive outside its own comfort zone, writes Gerard Howlin.

FINE GAEL’s parliamentary party meets this evening to hear from Enda Kenny about his intentions. For nearly two weeks, incessant noise has saturated the airwaves about his leadership and his would-be successors.

There is a lot of talk about who will lead Fine Gael, but almost none about what the party stands for. Several say publicly their leader should go, more say as much off the record. But nobody speaks of where Fine Gael should be led. For a party that prefers gravitas to any other accessory, the conversation has been as vacuous as it has been disorderly.