We’re back with a bang and all set to govern
In describing the elections, Mr Moncrieff wrote: “Fine Gael didn’t lose all the seats it thought it would. It’s hardly what you’d call a political turnaround?”
The truth is that under party leader Enda Kenny, Fine Gael performed spectacularly in both the European and local elections. The party increased its number of seats in the European parliament from four to five, when the total number of seats allocated to the Irish Republic had been reduced from 15 to 13.
Fine Gael also managed the spectacular feat of gaining two out of three seats in the East constituency.
Fine Gael is now the largest European party in Ireland, and as a member of the European Peoples’ Party, the largest political grouping in the European parliament, it will have even more influence at EU level.
The result for Fine Gael in the local election was just as impressive. The party has increased its number of local councillors from 277 to a current total of 291, almost level with Fianna Fáil. This was achieved at a time when most pundits were predicting that Fine Gael would lose seats in the local elections.
In the process, Fine Gael achieved 28% of the national vote, up from 22% in the last general election and a clear indication that the party’s recovery is complete.
I appreciate that Mr Moncrieff is a satirist and that he has a job to do.
However, his article showed too many signs of sloppy journalism and demonstrated an unhealthy reliance on received opinions and hearsay.
As the leading opposition party with a renewed mandate, Fine Gael is in pole position to lead an alternative government after the next general election.
Bernard Allen, TD,
Fine Gael environment & local government spokesman,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2.
