Paul Hosford: Simon Harris’s Fine Gael leadership risks becoming a one-man show

Simon Harris’s dominance has energised Fine Gael, but without new faces rising, the party risks stagnation ahead of 2026

TDs applaud Simon Harris on his nomination as taoiseach in 2024. Among his Fine Gael colleagues in the photo are Peter Burke, Patrick O’Donovan, and Jennifer Carroll MacNeill — as is Neale Richmond, who may have been overlooked for a Cabinet nod. File picture: Maxwells

It being Christmas, I’m going to ask for your indulgence.

You see, friends of mine have taken to pointing out with great mirth when I make comparisons in writing or speech that are somewhat... peculiar. In 2020, I compared the Green Party’s decision to go into government to Star Trek’s Kobayashi Maru, for example.