He is still a member of the Oireachtas .
Kenny will be hugely reassured to have the support of the heavyweight senator.
He is only a Senator and at that only by the gift of Kenny.
He is toast if there is enough back bench TDs to go for it TBH . Fwiw he could still have appointed Reilly as Minister .
He can appoint anyone he likes as a Minister. The little fucker has more lives than a cat. I expect him to stay on while the FG party rips itself apart picking a new leader to replace him.
Leo reminds me of Michael Portillo - long assumed heir but destined not to get the job and something of an undercurrent against him. Boris Johnson probably another valid comparison in that regard. Of the the two main FG contenders, consensus seems to be that Simon is the one who was âbornâ to lead the party while Leo is trying to argue he should get it on merit. Thereâs little doubt which characteristic would most endear itself to FG party electors.
I always found it curious how Franny Fitz became such a hotshot in FG and was elevated so swiftly following her return to the DĂĄil in 2011. She spent the guts of 9 years out of the DĂĄil before that and in her previous spell, after losing her frontbench seat for voting against John Bruton in 1994 â she wasnât especially front-rank. This wouldnât go down well in some quarters and the Kids job in 2011 smacked of needing a token woman in the Cabinet from the FG side. Her background pre-politics was as an agitator for womenâs representation in politics, similar to the likes of Monica Barnes, Helen Keogh and Liz OâDonnell. I was amazed she subsequently got the Justice gig and always felt talk of her a contender for the top job was tongue in cheek on the part of political commentators.
Much of the blame for what happened this past week goes back to Minister Shatterâs time in the job and to the ostrich approach that was taken. However the cleanup (or lack thereof) has happened on Fitzgeraldâs watch.
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The question is, which potential lame duck Taoiseachâs stalking horse moves first.
Itâll be Varadkarâs, of course.
Heâs impetuous like that.
For what the issue is worth, which is nothing, my imaginary bet is that Coveney will be the next FG leader.
I concur. Heâs a career politician but much more polished than Kenny. Hasnât stuck his snout out as much as Varadkar either. Also doesnât suffer from the minister for health noose. Harris is too young for this round.
Has the no confidence motion been put to the Dail?
Didnt piss off the farmers either.
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The rules allow the government to override that by putting forward their own âconfidenceâ motion in themselves apparently.
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Guys, does Varadkar have any major achievements in his ministerial positions so far?
His major achievements to date are:
- Presentable
- A competent public speaker
- Gay
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That sniveling little wretch Harris is hovering around in the background as well. I wouldnât be surprised if he threw his hat in in the ring as well.
Dublin started winning All-Irelands after he took over as Minister for Sport. Thatâs about the sum of it.
Coveneyâs recent movement on housing was clearly an attempt to beef up his CV in this regard.
I threw my ring in a hat once.
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How close was his father to ever being leader
He was close to being Commodore of the Yacht Club once. He was about as far away from being leader of Fine Gael and Taoiseach as it was possible for a lazy, indolent, Cork Bon viveur to be.
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The independent alliance have got agreement from Kenny that there will be an independent review of garda operations. This will be done by someone from outside the state.
The shredders will be working overtime now in garda HQ.
Leo is the first out of the blocks. He must be smelling blood in the water.