As things fall apart, can Howlin hold?
In 2016, Brendan Howlin said he wouldn’t pay attention to the polls for two years. Well, now it’s time the Labour leader did something, writes
Two years on from its near wipeout, we’re still awaiting the second coming of the Labour Party.
Brendan Howlin was a reluctant candidate to become leader. Now he finds himself an increasingly isolated leader of a party which, to say the least, has become somewhat reluctant about him.
Serving in several ministerial roles since he entered Leinster House in 1983, Howlin is a veteran politician who was the self-proclaimed minister for cuts between 2011 and 2016.
He excused himself from contending the Labour leadership in 2014 when tánaiste Eamon Gilmore resigned.
Joan Burton’s term ended in disaster in 2016 — her resignation was inevitable. For the party’s much-reduced band
of TDs, Howlin was the obvious choice to succeed her. But he had to be convinced.
Colleagues leaned on him to take on the mantle, but it was clear he would not have any interest in a contest — such a battle was in the offing as the party’s former deputy leader, Alan Kelly, wanted a shot.
His other TD colleagues did not fancy allowing Kelly take over and refused to even facilitate his entry into the race, in order to ensure Howlin’s ascension to the throne.
At the media event to formally announce Howlin’s successful election, Kelly was a noticeable absentee, tweeting, later that night, a picture of a row of pints of Guinness, exclaiming it was not his day.
More than two years later, the 62-year-old Howlin’s Labour Party remains a chastened force.
Languishing at sub-10% in every opinion poll and with elections, local and European, pending next year and a possible general election beforehand, Labour members are getting nervous.
Thus in recent weeks we have seen a number of Labour councillors emerge from the fog of frustration and call on Howlin to make way.
They include: Martin Farren, Mick Duff, Martina Genockey, Pamela Kearns, Terry O’Brien, Noel Tuohy, and Lettie McCarthy.
Speaking to me on Wednesday, Farren, who is based in Donegal, said Howlin must accept responsibility for the party “being in the doldrums”.
“He has been given considerable time to turn the party around, but we are making no progress. He should, for
the good of the party, consider his position,” said Farren.
Duff, a councillor for Dublin South West, was more trenchant in his opinion. He said the leadership issue is an impediment to all other work being done. “The away days should be postponed until this issue is dealt with. It is now the number one issue.”
He said it is not acceptable for the leader to refuse to meet councillors to discuss the issue before then.
We have had two weeks of calls for Howlin to resign, but, from him, we have had silence.
Stony silence.
Neither Farren nor Duff claim they have had a call from Howlin or his office over their calls for him to resign. This vacuum has allowed such calls to gather momentum.
Are the councillors being unreasonable?
The lack of progress in terms of the party’s recovery has been painfully slow, that is true. Howlin, on taking office, played for time.
In an interview with me, he said he would be ignoring the polls for the first two years. “The polls are all over the shop. The best advice I got was to ignore the polls for the first two years,” he told me in November 2016.
“We were on 8% two weeks ago, now we are on 3%. I think they are really meaningless to be honest with you.”
We are more than two years on from when Howlin took over, so even by his own standard, the polls are now meaningful. And by his own standard, he is a failure.
Howlin has not been helped by a team of TDs who are jaded from ministerial office or being around the Dáil for
more years than many would care to remember, an apathetic media who has concluded the party is now of limited news value, and his own habit of speaking as if he is still a minister.
One of the chief complaints aired by councillors and Oireachtas members who did speak to me this week was that Howlin has refused to stop championing what the party did in government, even though the public has wholesale rejected that viewpoint.
Duff severely criticised Howlin for not being a strong enough voice in opposition. “He has not left his ministerial hat behind him and looks forward to being in coalition with Fine Gael again,” he said.
As we edge towards autumn and the political season gearing up again, Howlin will have to stare down his detractors if he is to survive.
So far, the calls for his head are limited to county-council level.
If they stop there, then Howlin will be OK.
However, were a TD or senator among the party’s gang of 12 decide to break ranks then Howlin’s position would genuinely be under pressure.
The unhappy Labour councillors have said Alan Kelly should take over the leadership of the party in order to revive its standing.
Kelly sought to be nominated to contest the leadership in 2016, but failed to secure the support of any other TD to do so.
Speaking to me, a number of councillors have said Kelly is what the party needs and restated the calls for Howlin to make way.
Asked who he would like to lead, Farren was clear in his support for Kelly. “I would like to see Alan Kelly lead. We need a young, vibrant, and energetic person to re-energise the party ahead of the elections coming up,” he said.
Duff said while he would prefer a contest to occur, his preference would be to see Kelly assume the leadership.
Yesterday, Dermot Lacey, a Dublin councillor, also came out saying he would support Kelly as leader.
Kelly has been conspicuous by his silence thus far. A cynic would think he would be quite happy to see this heat on Howlin while not directing a campaign to oust his leader.
By maintaining his silence, Howlin is surely only allowing his critics galvanise and organise — his refusal to meet councillors before the planned think-in in Drogheda next month will prolong the agony and keep the party under a negative media spotlight.
It is blindly obvious the party needs a leader who wants to lead and has one in waiting in Kelly.
Whether Howlin has the stomach, energy and enthusiasm, after a long career, to kill this challenge off remains to be seen.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
