The absent ‘third man’ who had a huge part in Fine Gael’s bust-up

GEORGE LEE might be forgiven had he indulged himself in a bit of “whatifery” on Monday evening as news of Richard Bruton’s sacking as deputy leader and finance spokesman of Fine Gael emerged. For example, what if Lee had remained in the Dáil rather than packing in political life last February for a quick return to the relative comforts of RTÉ?

What if Enda Kenny then had used the opportunity presented unexpectedly to him to promote Lee to the position of FG finance spokesman in place of Bruton?

Or what if Bruton had stalled his challenge for fear of Lee being promoted as his replacement to public acclaim, bolstering Kenny and weakening Bruton’s chances of ultimately seizing control of the party?

Or what if Bruton had still gone ahead and then wrested control of the party away from Kenny? What would have happened to Lee then? Would Bruton have been happy to keep Lee in place as his finance spokesman or would he have dumped him?

Or would Lee have committed himself to supporting Bruton? There are many other “what ifs?” we could suggest.

All of that may be pointless, if entertaining, speculation, but I suspect the parachuting of Lee into the party last year – something that seemed like a great coup at the time – may have contributed greatly to accelerating the deterioration of relations between Kenny and Bruton.

I doubt if it suddenly created a rift as Bruton must have shared for a long time the views of many – not just in the media but among the public as demonstrated in a string of opinion polls – that Kenny was a drag rather than an asset in trying to secure popular support for Fine Gael.

Bruton must have been thinking almost since immediately after the 2007 general election that Kenny had given his best shot and that while it had saved Fine Gael from going under and rebuilt the party, he didn’t have what it takes to bring the party back into the dominant position in a coalition government.

It all seemingly started so well for Fine Gael when Lee romped home in the Dublin South by-election last year – but it actually created an atmosphere of discontent and suspicion within Fine Gael that resulted in damage to it way beyond the embarrassment that resulted from Lee’s shock February resignation.

On Lee’s departure, which was marked by much adverse comment from him about his erstwhile leader and a few sideswipes at Bruton, Kenny was accused of not having earmarked a sufficiently prominent role for Lee once he got elected. That was true, although Lee was naive in not establishing a job description from Kenny (who he hadn’t even met) before taking his RTÉ leave of absence to run for Fine Gael. But how could Kenny have promised him sufficient prominence without greatly undermining the role of Bruton in particular, but also those of others with ambitions for political office with economic content such as Simon Coveney, Leo Varadkar and Kieran O’Donnell?

If Lee bristled at the perceived neglect from his leader – even if Kenny should not have needed to hold his hand every day it seems he could have done more to comfort his anxious new recruit – serious questions also have to be asked about Bruton’s willingness to accommodate Lee after Kenny’s handlers had recruited the star.

Bruton was not particularly noticeable in Lee’s by-election campaign, despite being one of Fine Gael’s few Dublin TDs and the senior one at that. Nor was he after Lee was elected: Bruton seemingly made little or no effort to draw Lee close to him or to be associated publicly with him.

There are many possible explanations for this. One is that Lee’s presence made Bruton insecure, that he was taking the limelight from his older rival and was more highly regarded by the public, to the chagrin of Bruton; another is that Bruton did not regard Lee, despite his popularity, as being sufficiently intellectually able and imaginative as he is when it comes to economics.

Neither of those explanations would be particularly good for Bruton’s reputation as a team player. If the former is correct it suggests he has a worrying ego that puts himself ahead of what’s best for his party and country. If it is the latter, then Bruton may be the type who struggles to integrate his inferiors into a good team, something that does not augur well for his leadership style, particularly when the parliamentary party is laden with his intellectual inferiors.

Alternatively, Bruton may have rated Lee’s economic nous but decided he didn’t have what was needed to cut it politically. He then got his proof by the manner of Lee’s departure – and that also raised questions about Kenny’s political savvy.

Whatever the case, I suspect the relationship between Kenny and Bruton deteriorated for many reasons, but how to handle Lee added dramatically to an already volatile mix.

Things got so bad that it seems the leader did not tell his deputy leader privately about Lee’s decision to quit before the news was disclosed to the public.

By sheer chance, I broke the news of Lee’s departure to Bruton and his reaction was a sight for me to behold. On the day in February when Lee dropped his bombshell I had an appointment to meet with former Intel chief executive, Craig Barrett, in Dublin. I heard Lee’s news just before heading to this meeting. One of my producers and I waited outside the appointed venue as Barrett concluded the meeting he was holding.

Bruton walked out from it. We said hello and I asked him what he thought of Lee’s news, without stating what it was.

“What has he done now?” he asked with a smile.

“You mean you don’t know” I asked. “Know what?” he said, going slightly pale. “That he’s quit your party and the Dáil” I replied.

BRUTON was speechless. He smiled anxiously, muttered something anodyne and began to leave. I countered that I might like to talk to him on air during that evening’s programme, but got only a “maybe” from over his shoulder as he departed. Clearly he felt he didn’t know enough to say more.

I’ll never believe anything other than he hadn’t known because he hadn’t been told. Lee had moved quickly that morning but Kenny had known in previous days about Lee’s problems and had been informed that he was quitting. How could he not have told his deputy leader of the crisis that was about to hit the party?

Disharmony between leaders and deputies is common in politics if the deputy has leadership ambitions of his own. Bruton had lost the vote eight years ago but Kenny had taken the risk of establishing a double act with the vanquished. In some respects it worked because it allowed Fine Gael the luxury of having an articulate spokesman on issues where Kenny struggled intellectually, until those occasions when it was impossible to shield the main man’s lack of knowledge and insight.

That must have been frustrating enough for Bruton but to see Lee – a populist economist of all things – invited into Fine Gael to acclaim may have been too much for him to take. It would be fascinating now to hear what Lee has to say about it all. But he cannot say anything as he attempts to rebuild his career at RTÉ.

How ironic it is though that Lee has far more job security than either of the men he left behind in Fine Gael.

The Last Word with Matt Cooper is broadcast on 100-102 Today FM, Monday to Friday, 4.30pm to 7pm.