A deputy resigns - Too many losers, just one winner

THOUGH George Lee took the limelight for the most regrettable reasons yesterday the real losers were Enda Kenny, Fine Gael and our parliamentary democracy.

The resignation is a symptom of what is wrong with our dynastic, dysfunctional political system.

George Lee’s decision to quit politics represents the third profound public humiliation in a very short time for Enda Kenny. His performances on the Late Late Show, and with Ivan Yates on Newstalk, were tragically inept and would not have passed muster at a minor schools’ debate.

Yet he, and his supporters, remain steadfast in their opinion that he is fit to be Taoiseach. They insist, correctly, that realising political leadership is not a beauty contest and that Kenny’s obvious decency and ability are more important. They insist it is more about substance, clarity and the ability to manage affairs.

Richard Bruton has for a long time, too long probably, been the only member of Fine Gael front bench whose economic analysis has articulated the kind of substance needed at this time of crisis. You do not need to agree with him to accept that his arguments are coherent and well made.

In recent weeks Mr Kenny was given two very public opportunities – on Sinn Féin and on water charges – to express himself with clarity. Twice he drowned in a quagmire of self-inflicted confusion and evasion. He gave the impression of a man who had not prepared well and a man not comfortable with having his views challenged robustly. Far too many, if not all, of his Dáil performances are, unfortunately, of a similar character.

Mr Kenny is entitled to feel proud of his achievement in rebuilding Fine Gael. That required the skills of a quarter master general, not those of a field marshal. At nearly every opportunity Mr Kenny seems determined to show us that the great sweep of vision, the great skills essential to a field marshal elude him.

George Lee most certainly has an ego – which ambitious, committed person does not? – he may have been petulant and impatient. He may even have been an impossible prima donna but that does not mean he could not have been, in the best sense of the word, managed. Even if he was these things, and there is no evidence of any kind to suggest that he was, his ability, his commitment to this society and his patriotism have been obvious for many years. They are the reasons Fine Gael asked him to join their party in the first place.

If Mr Kenny cannot manage George Lee how would he get on with, say, the European Central Bank or even SIPTU? Not to mention hard-line northern Unionists?

George Lee, like Ivan Yates before him, radiates the palpable conviction so absent from the greyness and inertia choking Irish politics. His energy and anger are infectious and a stark challenge to the bland, voting-fodder, time-serving foot soldiers cluttering the Oireachtas.

In reality Fine Gael should have gone out of their way to harness his energy and his charisma. They should have used his appeal to recruit and expand their party. They might even have considered his views before they finalised their economic policies.

Traditionalists, or just über cynics, will argue that he had not served his political apprenticeship and expected far too much far too soon.

This dismissal sounds great but it does not reflect how effectively the list system is used throughout Europe. Very many European ministers have no political experience – what we generally call organising welfare cards, emergency passports or checking up on grant applications – but they have the expertise needed to make an effective contribution to specific portfolios. They are often agents for change.

Just like George Lee might have been.

This sad parable would be just a storm in a teacup if it was only an internal Fine Gael matter but it is not. The stakes are just too high right now.

This country needs a new beginning, a period of deep reflection, reform and rejuvenation. We need to decide what we want to be and how we might sustain that existence. There are few enough certainties in politics but it is possible to say, with considerable conviction, that Fianna Fáil will not, ever, contemplate change on that scale. They are too conservative, too comfortable with the status quo. They are the status quo.

There are many losers in this sorry affair, George Lee and his constituents, Fine Gael and Enda Kenny, Irish democracy and politics. And there might be more.

Fianna Fáil are the only winners and yesterday’s events give them a hostage to fortune that may yet be their unlikely and unexpected saviour.