Enda Kenny has all the qualities needed to be a natural born leader

POLITICAL campaigning and electioneering can sometimes be a difficult and trying experience. For individual candidates, election campaigns can be quite lonesome and personally demanding.

During my first experience as a candidate in the Kerry County Council elections of 2004, I was canvassing in the Milltown area one day in the final week of the campaign. At one point, as I drove from one housing estate to another, I heard Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny give a lengthy interview on a national radio programme. It was an important issue and Enda articulated his view very well, as a leader should. I felt proud of him as I silenced the radio and continued my canvass on foot once again.

When I returned to the car about an hour later, one of the two ladies who had accompanied me on the canvass checked my mobile phone for missed calls and messages and informed me that, among others, there was one missed call from Enda Kenny and that he had left a voice message.

I listened with interest: “Hello Brendan. Enda Kenny here. No need to call back. Just a quick call to wish you the best and to tell you to keep doing what you’re doing …” There were many more words of encouragement in the message. It gave me a new lease of energy that evening. When you’re 22 and running for election, it’s fairly cool when the party leader leaves such a message, especially when it was left just minutes after he had been speaking on national radio about an issue of major importance.

Later that night, when planning the following day’s canvass, I listened to the message again. It ended with the words: “Keep going until the polls close on Friday, right until the very last minute.” I did.

But it was the words “No need to call back” at the start of the message that I’ve thought about since — Enda was making a call to all his candidates.

This was the general rallying the troops, the captain lifting the team, the leader leading.

This is just one of many positive experiences I have had with Enda since he became Fine Gael leader in 2002.

I narrowly lost my election campaign in 2004 but Enda Kenny was a winner that year, beating Fianna Fáil in the European elections and coming within 10 local authority seats of them nationally.

Enda Kenny is a natural leader. He has brought about huge improvements for Fine Gael and I believe that he will do the same for the country if he becomes Taoiseach after the next general election.

Ireland needs strong and honest leadership and Enda is the man who can deliver it.

Brendan Griffin

Keel

Castlemaine

Co Kerry