Fine Gael leadership race could hinge on sexual orientation issue

A result where holy Catholic Ireland has elected a gay prime minister would make international news, writes Alison O’Connor.

IT IS coming up on two years since the same sex marriage referendum was passed to widespread exultation, but the question remains as to whether we are ready for a homosexual Taoiseach.

This is a genuine issue to raise in terms of the political implications it involves. It could become a very significant point in a tight leadership race and will require strong discipline on the part of those in opposing camps not to use it as a tactical weapon, even in apparently innocent circumstances.

The political legitimacy now in raising the sexuality of the candidates and their marital/family status surrounds whether there are enough members of the Fine Gael parliamentary party, and indeed the wider party membership, who are at all bothered by Leo Varadkar being gay, or how bothered they think the voters might be. Just as in wider society the party is bound to reflect a cross section of opinion. It is a sad fact, but a realistic one, that there will be some people who will cast their vote for another candidate purely on the basis that they do not wish the party to be led by a gay man. Party members will be aware that if Leo Varadkar is the eventual winner, a result where holy Catholic Ireland has elected a gay prime minister would make international news.

While 62% of Irish people voted ‘yes’ to same sex marriage in 2015, with a large turnout of more than 60%, there was a sizable 38% of our population who voted ‘no’. Observing that referendum campaign it was obvious that many Fine Gael party members put their shoulders to the wheel far more energetically and enthusiastically than, for instance, Fianna Fáil. The initial push came from Labour, and more specifically from former Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore. But it is fair to say that Taoiseach Enda Kenny came behind the ‘yes’ campaign with vigour. Actually in the final analysis the political involvement, and its importance in getting the referendum passed, ended up being somewhat minimised afterwards. But by no means did all Fine Gaelers support the change.

What is not acceptable though are the not so subtle efforts from some quarters to put the spotlight on Leo’s sexuality and turn it into a disadvantage, while highlighting the “more acceptable” heterosexuality of his opponents. In this instance I refer to the Irish Independent. Last Sunday the Sunday Independent featured two photographs on its front page of ministerial guests in attendance at the Dublin wedding of former Fine Gael senator Eugene Regan. One was of Simon Coveney together with his wife Ruth, and the second photograph was of Leo, flying solo, as it were.

The following day the Irish Independent again ran the two photographs, again side by side. Roll forward to Tuesday when the newspaper ran the strapline on its front page: “Why the Political Spouse is Important”. On a double page spread inside, running alongside an article on the importance of the political spouse, we had the same two photographs, third day in a row — the happy Coveney couple, and right beside them Leo in splendid solitude. There was the addition of a lovely photo of Simon Coveney and his six-year-old daughter. Off to the left of these was a photograph of Leo and his boyfriend Matt Barrett in what looked like a holiday snap. You get the drift of this dog whistling-type messaging, the conflation of the headlines and the strategically chosen photos — here’s your choice readers: good family wholesomeness, or a slightly flighty homosexual, who, shock horror, takes exotic foreign holidays with his same sex partner. Subtle it wasn’t.

You could see it as coincidence, or alternatively as part of a trend that Saturday’s front page headline in that same newspaper contained the word “Judas” in relation to the Social Protection Minister and his apparent spearheading of a “secret campaign” to oust Enda Kenny. It’s not like it’s a great surprise to see a newspaper favour one candidate over another, whether in subtle or not so subtle ways, and readers will generally cotton on to this. I’m sure if you were to dip into the archives of this particular newspaper you would see a not too subtle favouring of former Taoiseach Jack Lynch. Who knows as the week’s go on there might even be a slight leaning towards hometown boy Coveney in this publication. But the thinly disguised coverage of Leo’s sexuality is on a very different level.

Against that it is interesting that one of Leo’s selling points to the many who will cast their vote for him as the next Fine Gael leader is that his appeal is wider than just that party. He’s that rare enough politician, instantly recognisable by his first name, who has bit of a buzz about him, the type of which is not usually associated with politicians.

In fairness to Simon Coveney it is difficult to imagine him descending to the tactics of using the sexuality of an opponent to diminish him, but as mentioned earlier there could be those in his camp less scrupulous, particularly if the race goes on for a long time, as it now will, and is seen as tight.

This is just one aspect of the damage that will be inflicted by Enda Kenny prolonging his departure. He’s done it already. It’s sad really for a man who did so much work to build up the Fine Gael party, and bring it to great heights, that now, for what one can only conclude are personal reasons, he is causing it harm. No matter how you dress it up there’s a shockin’ dose of ego involved here.

The party has been in an unnatural situation for over a year now, since the general election of 2016. Yes the Taoiseach did manage to hammer together a complicated deal whereby his party ended up in Government, but the counter argument is that this was the least he could do given the appalling election result and his key part in that.

It is the way of politics that those who wish to succeed him have been chomping at the bit since then. This is hardly a surprise or indeed unseemly, despite how it has been presented. The party has given Mr Kenny way too much rope, out of deference for the years he devoted to FG, and for his part he has used it to tie them up in damaging knots. It has been farcical to watch the ongoing puppet show of recent weeks with speculation centering on the reasons why Mr Kenny might delay his departure be it to do with the the Pope, the US President or outlasting the tenure of a predecessor.

It has certainly not done anything in terms of ordinary voters seeing their politicians in a positive light. In their everyday lives people realise that any of us can be guilty of believing ourselves to be indispensable, but also realise that when your time is up, you go. While you are entitled to recognition for your service it really is rimming it to expect to be allowed to hang on, especially when there remains a suspicion that this latest step is actually a tactical move in a longer term game plan to actually remain in situ.

This contest is now on, whenever it actually takes place. Let’s hope the candidates will be allowed to fight it fairly without being hobbled through pernicious journalism.