2 posts tagged “fine gael”
Snakes alive! After a recent question in the Dail (Irish Parliament) about Government Ministers snorting the marching powder, another Minister (and I'm wondering why I chose to capitilise that word...) has been accused of verbally abusing members of the public. In a pub. In Limerick.
Simon Coveney, A Fine Gael TD, challenged Bertie Ahern to respond to allegations that a serving minister regularly enjoyed coke. (And not out of a bottle...). He quoted the minister:
'Yes, I take drugs, only coke, and I am not the only one'.
Obviously, this question was swept aside my Bertie's monkey-in-a-suit, Ceann Comhairle John O'Donoghue (you can see Johnny-boy in action here) and went unanswered. Frankly, I wasn't surprised at Coveney's question at all, considering some of the reprobates Bertie has in his party.
Which brings me to the one and only Willie O'Dea. Ah Willie. The Irish Examiner is reporting he got into a bit of a kerfuffle in a pub in Limerick, when challenged on his inability to turn up for votes in the Dail. Specifically, the vote concerning Aer Lingus pulling out of Shannon, an area O'Dea represents in the Dail.
"DEFENCE Minister Willie O’Dea verbally abused two people during a pub row over Shannon Airport and offered to fight one of them, it was claimed last night.
John Fahey, chief executive of the Meet Limerick/Shannon conferencing promotion group, and Geraldine Morrissey, spokeswoman for Aer Lingus workers at the airport, are demanding an apology from the minister over the remarks they say he made.However, Mr O’Dea claimed last night it was he who had been abused and denied he offered to fight.
People asked him to explain himself on Shannon. When he tried to speak, Mr Fahey interrupted him only for Ms Morrissey to say, “Let him make his petty point”. Mr O’Dea admitted telling Ms Morrissey to “get lost”, but denied using stronger language or challenging anybody to a fight.The row happened after Mr O’Dea called to South’s pub in Limerick last Saturday night with Tánaiste Brian Cowen. Mr Fahey, a prominent hotelier in the mid-west, was there with his wife and Ms Morrissey.
Ms Morrissey said she was stunned at Mr O’Dea’s behaviour. However, Mr O’Dea insisted the allegations were “rubbish”. He said he returned to the pub to collect his wife only to be “roundly abused”.
“Mr O’Dea was there with the Tánaiste,” said Mr Fahey. “Then they both left together. As they did, a number of people said, ‘What about Shannon, what about Shannon?’”
A short time later, Mr O’Dea returned. Mr Fahey said when Mr O’Dea approached their group, Ms Morrissey challenged him over not being present in the Dáil for a vote on the Shannon issue.
“She asked him why he did not take part in the Dáil debate,” Mr Fahey said. “He said he was the minister for defence and I said, ‘You did not defend the interests of Shannon very well’. At that, he turned around and said, ‘Who is that big p***k?’ and asked me out saying he would like to hit me. I told him, if he was any bigger I might. He then turned to Geraldine Morrissey and said, ‘I don’t give a f**k about you’.”
Some might argue his first mistake was to go out for a drink in Limerick at all, never mind with Brian Cowen, a man whose face invites abuse from the general public. I would argue it was Willie's moustache that got people riled up. It's incredibly ridiculous, potentially stuck on with glue, and is obviously a feeble attempt from a small man to appear more important. I think we'd all agree that he has failed in that attempt.
An alternative explanation could (emphasise could) be linked to the story above and the potential for some of Bertie's boys to be high as kites. I mean, coke is known for its ability to get people riled up, super-confident and a bit fighty. (Yes, fighty in a word). Could these two senior ministers have popped out of the pub for a few lines, and returned confident in their ability to take on the entire pub?
Just asking, that's all.
Sits back awaiting threatening letters from Leinster House...
Yes, I know I know... all the news media are reporting there will be weeks and weeks of negotiations before a new government will be formed in Ireland. Between the voting the system and the number of parties, a coalition is a certainty.
However, regardless of the make-up of this new government, Bertie will be leading it. How do I know this? Not due to any deep understanding of the political system in Ireland or any personal connections in Fianna Fail. No.
It's because I just noticed that Paddy Power (bookmaker to toffs and gentry) is paying out on bets placed on Bertie being Taoiseach.
So who will be getting into bed with Bertie? According to unofficial polls, the Progressive Democrats (PDs) have been virtually wiped out. They were Bertie's pre-election coalition partners, for the past 10 years. And there are reports today that the leader of the Labour party has said he's willing to enter into negotiations with Bertie, if only to keep Sinn Fein out of government.
Hold on (I hear you cry). Didn't Bertie promise not to go into government with Sinn Fein? He did indeed, but that was before the election. And as we all know, a politician's pre-election promise isn't worth spit. So we may see another outing of the famed FF-Labour coalition of the 90s. As I recall, that one ended in Bertie's election as leader of FF (as Labour knifed then-leader Albert Reynolds in the back).
But what about Fine Gael? They and Labour were set to form a 'Rainbow' government, possibly with their good friends the Greens. I'd put this on in the same bucket as Bertie's pre-election promises. And if it weren't for the absolute lack of talent waiting in the wings, Enda Kenny would be a dead man walking.
My prediction? If Bertie increases his number of seats, he may keep the PDs close (as you do with your enemies) and maintain the present coalition.
If the PDs can't make up the numbers, Bertie will rely on Labour, form a government and after a brief period of shock, Ireland will go back to work saying that it's what we wanted/intended all along. Plus ca change.
If (and it's a big if) Bertie uses Sinn Fein votes to stay aloft and perhaps even go into government with them, I and a large number of my democratic countrymen (i.e. people who don't believe in blowing shit up to get our way) will be suitably outraged. But relatively powerless.
Suggestions welcome.
And stay tuned, because this could go in a completely different direction in the days ahead.
