Louise Burne: Fine Gael had a respectable candidate but it did not run a good campaign

Fine Gael must accept that it did not give Heather Humphreys the chance she deserved, writes Louise Burne

Heather Humphreys makes her concession speech after Catherine Connolly was named as the new President of Ireland at St Patrick's Hall, Dublin Castle. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

As Catherine Connolly stood in St Patrick’s Hall waiting to be confirmed as the winner of the presidential election, Heather Humphreys stood amongst Fine Gael politicians who had come to support her.

There had been questions during the election about where some of these prominent ministers and politicians had been. At least they were here now.

But, as has been the story of the whole Fine Gael presidential election campaign, it was happening too late.

It was clear from early Saturday that the Fine Gael candidate was not going to win the election.

However, those covering the election trail knew this day was coming due to a campaign which was tired and lacklustre compared to the slick operation run by Camp Connolly.

It should be astonishing that a big organisation like Fine Gael could not match a campaign of separate grassroots elements that experienced many bumps in its early days. But when you are up close and personal, it is not surprising at all.

The biggest issue with the Humphreys campaign was that it was overmanaged and stopped Heather from doing what she did best.

The camp was keen that there would be no “Kanturk moment”. It is largely believed that Simon Harris’ run-in with carer Charlotte Fallon in the Cork supermarket during the dying days of the campaign impacted the general election result last year.

While we will never be fully certain if this was the case, one person on the campaign told the Irish Examiner that they were determined not to have a Kanturk moment.

In a desperate bid to avoid this, she often ended up avoiding the public full stop.

On Wednesday, Ms Humphreys was in Cork for the day and came face to face with very few members of the public.

She spent more time looking at the front window of the car than she spent looking in the eyes of voters.

She spent more time shaking the hands of Fine Gael supporters who were already voting for her than shaking the hands of the undecideds.

She spent more time attending contrived events than being her authentic self.

And, in the dying days of the campaign, some began to realise this.

On Thursday night, one Fine Gael source suggested that the way the campaign was run impacted Ms Humphreys’ chances, noting that there were “bad events” that “didn’t let Heather shine”.

If the media, who had come to know Ms Humphreys on the corridors of Leinster House, had been saying this for weeks, Fine Gael needs to ask itself why it came to this realisation far later in the day.

The day before the polls opened, Ms Humphreys addressed the Irish Country Living Women and Agriculture event in Sligo.

She spoke about how, if she were elected, she would be the first president from a rural background. She had the audience in the palm of her hand as she spoke about being able to “stand in a gap” and “turn a cow”.

She had the women laughing as she forgot her husband, Eric, existed when she was asked a question about how he would fit into her life in the Áras.

At the end, she even got a standing ovation. It was a prime example of Ms Humphreys knowing her audience and playing right into their hands.

It was too late.

Heather Humphreys (left) congratulates Catherine Connolly on her election victory. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

If Fine Gael had the option of putting Ms Humphreys at an event like this every day of the election, it could have strengthened her.

Instead, she was stuck in cars, travelling from one rural village to the next, meeting people who were either in Fine Gael or already very likely to vote for her because of the investment she had secured for their community.

The other massive mistake that Fine Gael made was the prioritisation of endorsements over appearances on new media.

The Connolly camp was aware that people did not know their candidate. Her appearance on the How to Gael podcast and influencer James Kavanagh’s The Simpler Life let people see Catherine, not Ms Connolly.

People saw Minister Humphreys during the campaign, and not always Heather.

Fine Gael consistently downplayed Ms Humphreys’ absence from the podcast arena, arguing last week that its social media content balanced this out.

Instead, the party was at pains to get high-profile former politicians to endorse its candidate. This included politicians such as Mary Harney, Mary Coughlan and Frances Fitzgerald. 

Unless you are a political anorak, the newer generation who were more likely to back Ms Connolly would not have a clue who these women are.

Fine Gael even celebrated Bertie Ahern, a man viewed as so toxic that even his own party did not want him to run as Fianna Fáil candidate, endorsing Ms Humphreys.

When they got endorsements that may have been seismic, such as crooner Daniel O’Donnell, they did not or could not capitalise on his support. This could have been the most influential backing Ms Humphreys could have received, and they let it pass by.

Fine Gael looking for scapegoats

Already early on Saturday, people in Fine Gael were looking for scapegoats. Some suggested that there would be blowback against the party’s general secretary, John Carroll, with some looking for his head on a stick.

One senior minister suggested that this was a “little over the top”, but the anger that many in the party were feeling suggested that change may have to come.

Others decided to blame Fianna Fáil for not doing better. This is rich, to say the least.

Jim Gavin’s decision to pull out of the race was cited as a reason Ms Humphreys did not do as well as she could have done.

Fine Gael argued that it was “always going to require” both coalition parties running “viable candidates” who would transfer to each other. It was expected that one would elect the other.

In the end, both crashed and burned.

Ultimately, Fine Gael has no one to blame for this but itself. It had a respectable candidate, but it did not run a good campaign.

As the dust settles and Fine Gael picks itself up, it must reflect on the fact that its campaign was far from perfect.

But, most importantly, the party must accept that it did not give Ms Humphreys the chance she deserved.