Is Enda Kenny really the man to save Ireland?

[rrhf]

Ive listened fairly intently to Enda Kenny over the last 2 weeks with an open mind.   Im sorry to say that Im asolutely convinced that the biggest bluffer I have ever heard in politics is about to be handed the leadership reins in Ireland.  His party are more resemblent to a "Fianna Fail lite" and I doubt their ability to provide anything original or indeed thoughtful in terms of management.  If I was running anything from a family to a business in the South I would be very nervous indeed.  The people who vote FG in can no longer blame the government for wrecking the country.     

[magpie seanie]

Agreed.

The whole thing would make you sick. The biggest issue in the election has been kicked to touch and I don't expect Kenny or anyone else in such a pro-Europe party to stand up for Ireland which really has to be done.

[Denn Forever]

The people of Ireland will save Ireland and the Civil Servants will run the country.  All we can hope is that the new government can direct the Civil Servant in the right direction.

[HowAreYeGettinOn]

Ive listened fairly intently to Enda Kenny over the last 2 weeks with an open mind.   Im sorry to say that Im asolutely convinced that the biggest bluffer I have ever heard in politics is about to be handed the leadership reins in Ireland.  His party are more resemblent to a "Fianna Fail lite" and I doubt their ability to provide anything original or indeed thoughtful in terms of management.  If I was running anything from a family to a business in the South I would be very nervous indeed.  The people who vote FG in can no longer blame the government for wrecking the country.   

There is no 'man to save Ireland'. There is no 'woman to save Ireland'. Ireland is the bitch of the IMF / EU thanks to Micheál Martin, Brian Cowen, Brian Lenihan and all the other clowns that for the last decade and a half and partied in the Galway tent while hiking up public servants' pay, dropping taxes when it wasn't necessary and not bothering their arses to check and see if the bloody financial regulator was doing his job. Not to mention the bank guarantee. Not to mention cosy golf games with half of Anglo Irish Bank. Not to mention setting up the HSE. Not to mention running from the electorate with king-size pensions the second that the going got rough. 

Enda Kenny is a poor public speaker. He is, at the very best, a medicore debater. But the electorate realise that he knows how to build a team around him full of people that know more about their respective policy areas than he does. He also appears - at this juncture anyway - not to be stained by corruption.

Put simply, there is no way he would have lasted 9 years as leader of Fine Gael, dragging them from a mere 31 seats in 2002 to 51 seats in 2007 to maybe 71+ this weekend, if he was as much of a clown as he's being made out to be.

Yes, we'd all love if he was a commanding speaker, a combative debater, and as on top of his brief as he should be. But Ahern and Cowen were all of those things, and were disastrous leaders. Given what has gone before him, Kenny at least deserves his shot.

[lynchbhoy]

inda kenny is going to be the next project coordinator (not project manager or Taoiseach).
He is apparantly a great organiser and will have his best men/women (cronies?) in the top jobs.

he is not a leader but a 'fixer' . Not a supreme statesman, but a brown noser.
he is no worse than many ff men that came before him, but he isnt going to be any better.

i'd have been a hell of a lot more optimistic if the FG mutiny had ended up casting inda adrift.

the recent 'get Ireland working' slogan and its internet game
plus inda mentioning the word 'change' over a dozen times in one particular soundbite a couple of weeks ago made me cringe.
he is a copycat and is trying to emulate obama etc.
he isnt the no BS type of leader this country needs. All bluster and rehearsed lines - that will be some feckin use to us when he is trying to debate and sway the top euro leaders...

hope noonan and brutan over ride him when in gov.
I also hope that labour get in along with fg so there might be some sanity and decent things done..
chances are it will end up a stalemate between them and it will effectively be an extension of the FF policies...

[mylestheslasher]

Ireland is fucked unless someone takes a completely different approach - ie one along the lines of what Sinn Fein/David McWilliams are saying. Enda may be a nice guy and a good guy but he doesn't have the balls for this. People are voting FG because they are afraid of taking the radical action needed. I conclude that Ireland is in for a world of pain created by FF and it will be beyond the efforts of FG to do anything about it.

[thebigfella]

Nope, a complete gobshite (not the only one though).

Can you imagine him stitting around the table debating with Obama, Cameron, Sarkozy .......  any other leader to be exact, talking  about anything more than how FF was at fault for the "economic crisis" in Ireland? I can't and I hate to say it, Ray Darcy may have make room on that boat out of here.

[thebigfella]

Oh and don't get me started on that shower of shite Sinn Fein, I actually would pull out if they get in power 

[Tubberman]

What a load of over the top simplistic shite!

No one man runs the country ffs.
Enda Kenny is a poor debater and he doesn't have much of a notion when it comes to economics from what I can see.
But he's not (and won't be) the Minister for Finance or even the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, so that doesn't bother me.
He doesn't have an ego, he is not out to be seen as the all-powerful. Instead, he assigns the most capable and most suited people to each portfolio and lets them get on with their job.
That is what is needed now. Not a dictator which is what some of you seem to think a leader is.

Just have a look back at where FG were when he took over, in every way - organisationally, financially (as a party), locally (town and county councils) and nationally (in the Dáil).
And look at where he has led them (and is likely to lead them after tomorrow).
That is how he should be measured.
I would have thought people would judge the man by his achievements, not his charisma or soundbites.

[boosabum]

Once Enda delivers an international airport in castlebar, a motorway network around the county and appoints me to the board of the ESB, i'll be more that happy with him.

[lynchbhoy]

What a load of over the top simplistic shite!

No one man runs the country ffs.
Enda Kenny is a poor debater and he doesn't have much of a notion when it comes to economics from what I can see.
But he's not (and won't be) the Minister for Finance or even the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, so that doesn't bother me.
He doesn't have an ego, he is not out to be seen as the all-powerful. Instead, he assigns the most capable and most suited people to each portfolio and lets them get on with their job.
That is what is needed now. Not a dictator which is what some of you seem to think a leader is.

Just have a look back at where FG were when he took over, in every way - organisationally, financially (as a party), locally (town and county councils) and nationally (in the Dáil).
And look at where he has led them (and is likely to lead them after tomorrow).
That is how he should be measured.
I would have thought people would judge the man by his achievements, not his charisma or soundbites.

so good that a large rump of malcontents tried to overthrow him last year...

being great in mayo and his local electorate wont cut the mustard in economics or europe

[Billys Boots]

Given what has gone before him, Kenny at least deserves his shot.

That's my reasoning too; he can't be worse than the last shower.  Irrespective of his debating skills. 

I still feel dirty. 

[johnneycool]

Given what has gone before him, Kenny at least deserves his shot.

That's my reasoning too; he can't be worse than the last shower.  Irrespective of his debating skills. 

I still feel dirty. 

All the same its hardly a reason to vote for someone.

I know he's crap, but he's not as crap as the last shower!!

[Tubberman]

What a load of over the top simplistic shite!

No one man runs the country ffs.
Enda Kenny is a poor debater and he doesn't have much of a notion when it comes to economics from what I can see.
But he's not (and won't be) the Minister for Finance or even the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, so that doesn't bother me.
He doesn't have an ego, he is not out to be seen as the all-powerful. Instead, he assigns the most capable and most suited people to each portfolio and lets them get on with their job.
That is what is needed now. Not a dictator which is what some of you seem to think a leader is.

Just have a look back at where FG were when he took over, in every way - organisationally, financially (as a party), locally (town and county councils) and nationally (in the Dáil).
And look at where he has led them (and is likely to lead them after tomorrow).
That is how he should be measured.
I would have thought people would judge the man by his achievements, not his charisma or soundbites.

so good that a large rump of malcontents tried to overthrow him last year...

being great in mayo and his local electorate wont cut the mustard in economics or europe

The thing is, he's isn't considered a 'local TD' in the sense that Michael Ring would be.
Enda Kenny isn't the type that goes to every funeral, or promises to tar the road up to the house etc
And as I've already said, he won't have an economic portfolio, so you won't have to rely on him in those matters.
You will have to rely on him to appoint the most capable people to those portfolios. And I think his record in that respect is very good.

[Billys Boots]

Given what has gone before him, Kenny at least deserves his shot.

That's my reasoning too; he can't be worse than the last shower.  Irrespective of his debating skills. 

I still feel dirty. 

All the same its hardly a reason to vote for someone.

I know he's crap, but he's not as crap as the last shower!!

No, that's not what I meant.  The next Government is going to be led either by Kenny, Gilmore or Martin.  I despise Martin; to me he's a fawning, sleeveen gobshite, with no bottle.  I don't rate Gilmore, and I don't think he's going to be in a position to be the country's leader come Sunday.  So I'm left with Kenny; essentially the only choice I (or we) have, irrespective of whether I vote for him or not - so I'm left with the non-choice; do I support him or not.  I, as a generally positive soul, am leaning toward supporting him, and f**k the begrudgers.  I don't feel terribly comfortable about it, but that's life.