If Coveney has any sense he won’t go near it. He’s in pole position at the moment to be next leader of Fine Gael. That’s more than likely gone for good, if he goes to Brussels. The only Commissioner who ever came back to domestic politics was Michael O’Kennedy.
Leo might not be quite as secure as a lot of people seem to think he is. Leo presided over a disastrous election for Fine Gael, which got buried pretty quickly by Covid. Lowest percentage share of the vote since 1948, worse even than Noonan in 2002. Down to 35 seats from the 76 that Big Phil delivered as Director of Elections in 2011.
Leo shafting Big Phil is likely to play out very badly with the FG rank and file, particularly rurally. It’s seen as a Dublin centric party now amongst members with Leo a leader put in place against the wishes of the rank and file by a voting system gerrymandered in favour of the parliamentary party.
O’Kennedy should be a salutary tale for Coveney. O’Kennedy had served as Minister for Finance and Foreign Affairs before he went to Brussels and was widely tipped as the man who would ultimately succeed Haughey. When he came back from Brussels just over a year later after nearly dying of boredom as Commissioner for Administration, Personnel and Statistics, Minister for Agriculture and Labour was as good as it got.
The narrative has moved now this morning to Paddy fretting that he mightn’t have a Trade Commissioner anymore in Frau Ursula’s revamped cabinet. Paddy needs to send a heavy hitter seemingly. Simon Coveney, Frances Fitzgerald and Richard Bruton are some of the names getting bandied about.
The president has had enough of trouble making paddies now, Varadkar and Martin put her in an awful position with their meddling, they need to be thought a lesson, you simply cannot have and Irish person anywhere near a powerful position in Europe
You would have to question the Oireachtas Golf Society membership criteria; Big Phil is no longer a member of the Oireachtas and if the society had stricter rules in place limiting membership to current Oireachtas members he would never have got caught up in this kerfuffle
Without MOK, CJH probably never would have made Taoiseach. Think he was the only minister to publicly support CJH. Then, in typical Charlie fashion, he stabbed him in the back and fucked him off to Europe.
