Timing is everything in politics and Fine Gael’s timing is all wrong

Timing is everything in politics. There are signs that Fine Gael has got its timing badly wrong again in the run-up to local and European elections, now only nine days away.

That’s two in a row. Five years ago, events over which they had little control were compounded by a series of self-inflicted disasters ensuring a major setback for Fine Gael. Strategically, and as significant for it as a party, was the annihilation of Labour and the resuscitation of Fianna Fáil.