Meath FG reps tight lipped on who will succeed Kenny

Paul Murphy
With the contest for the leadership of Fine Gael kicking off at midnight when Enda Kenny retires as leader, local party councillors have proved themselves very shy about giving their views about the forthcoming campaign.
Just three Fine Gael councillors out of 13 in Meath were willing to give any view on the issue. Simon Coveney and Leo Varadkar are the only declared candidates at this stage and Minister for Education Richard Bruton was keeping his powder dry when he told Morning Ireland this week that he would not be making his position clear until there was a vacancy.

 

Minister Damien English as Simon Coveney’s director of elections is clear in his view.
“Whenever the process begins, I will be backing Simon Coveney TD for the leadership of Fine Gael. I have worked with Simon since 2002 in Dáil Éireann and I am impressed by his continuous commitment and work rate for the country.”

'I believe that Simon Coveney is the best person to lead Fine Gael. He is a natural leader – in politics, family, sports and in his work for charity.

'Simon has extensive experience in Europe and is the best person to lead the country during the Brexit negotiations. He has a track record of taking on big challenges and delivering upon them and this is what the country needs.

Simon Coveney has proven to be able to work with all sides of the political divide for the benefit of the country. In the aftermath of last year’s General Election Simon was Fine Gael’s chief negotiator in putting in place a Government.

'Not only is he the best person to lead Fine Gael, he is the best person to keep the Government together. One that will work for the people and the country.

'Most people I meet on a day to day basis tell me they do not want another General Election, instead they want politicians to get on with the job at hand. They want political stability and for this Government to keep working.

'Simon has a strong vision for Ireland over the next 25 years and he is very ambitious for the country. He puts a team around him and gets things done.

'I believe that Simon Coveney is best placed to ensure that Fine Gael remain in this Government and to lead the Party into the next Government.”

Government Chief Whip and Meath East TD Regina Doherty feels the contest will be good for the Fine Gael Party.

 

“I can’t and won’t declare until the Taoiseach makes his announcement, she said just hours before today's statement delivered via An Taoiseach's Twitter account. She said that any of the declared candidates so far would be good for Fine Gael. 

The Meath Chronicle contacted all 13 of the Meath Fine Gael councillors before the weekend, not to ask them how they would vote in the leadership contest (FG parliamentarians will have 65% of the vote, ordinary members 25% and councillors 10%) but how they thought the contest would pan out. By Monday’s deadline, just Cllr Sharon Tolan, the newly-elected whip of FG in Meath, along with Cllrs Noel French and Gillian Toole had replied.
Sharon Tolan said she had recently welcomed Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Simon Coveney and Minister for Housing and Urban Renewal, Damien English, to her local football club, East Meath Utd FC.

 

“I like to take every opportunity I get to show any visiting TDs or ministers, how well spent Sports Capital Funding is in the area, and to outline the importance of this funding for clubs to succeed and provide much needed facilities in East Meath. I also took the opportunity to outline to the Minister, who quite possibly will be our future leader, my own ambitions politically. I’m looking forward to meeting any other candidates and hearing their plans for the country and the Fine Gael party,” said Tolan.
Gillian Toole said she would prefer to see any contest occur during the Summer

Dáil recess. “There’s still too much work to be done by the Dáil and the Fine Gael members of the Government, without distraction! Enda Kenny’s responsibility is ‘home’ management, whilst equally, being an effective networker and negotiator in Europe, in my opinion.”
Cllr Noel French said that an election for leader “offered an opportunity for candidates to set out their visions for the future and that will decide how I vote.

“I think it is healthy for the party to have a contest. I think the Taoiseach should step don in May/June so as not to disrupt the work of the Government and a new leader be in place for the preparations for the next Budget. Enda Kenny has served his country well.”