FG ousting of Bruton 'a mistake', says his brother

Dunboyne native and deputy leader of the Fine Gael party, Richard Bruton, says that he thinks it was a mistake for the party to oust his brother, John, as leader in 2001. In an interview with the latest Hot Press magazine, the Dublin North Central deputy and FG finance spokesperson was asked did he think it was wrong for the party to make the move. "He was struggling in the polls," Mr Bruton said. "But I think it was a mistake. I think when it came to it at the next election, we would have had, with John, a Taoiseach who had been a success, competing with another Taoiseach who presented himself as having been a success, and I think we would have had a reasonably credible contest. Instead, Fine Gael seemed to be just seen as irrelevant. On balance, it was a mistake." Richard Bruton says that he thinks his brother, now the EU's Ambassador to Washington, does miss being involved in Irish political life. "He loves the camaraderie of politics. He loves having a pint after a meeting with a few cronies, and discussing what's going on. You don't have that in Washington. Everyone is measured and they give only so much time to people, whereas John would like to have a few pints the odd time and have the expansive sort of lifestyle that you would have in the Irish political arena," said Mr Bruton. "But, on the other hand, who wouldn't give their right arm to be there as an ambassador for the EU when Bush is handing over to Obama, and the changes that are happening? So he is well compensated for what he has left behind." The younger Bruton says he would love to have won the party leadership in 2002, when Enda Kenny took over from Michael Noonan, defeating him in a leadership election. "And I still, I think, have a contribution to make." But he says he is absolutely committed to the team that Enda Kenny has built, and he sees his strengths, even if they are not always apparent to the public. However, he agreed he can be a bit wooden in the Dail. "People say that his 30-second soundbite is not crisp enough, and I think that's probably fair comment. But 30-second soundbites were never the test of a good leader - and I don't think they should be now. But that's not to say he couldn't polish up his 30-second soundbites. There's always room for doing that," said the FG front-bencher Richard Bruton says that he wouldn't be putting a lot of money on the Green Party lasting a full term in government. The party leadership will probably be inclined to stay in and try to show that they can go the full term. Whether the grassroots baulk at that, he doesn't know. "There's certainly the potential in the renegotiation of the Programme for Government that the grassroots of the Green Party and the leadership suffer some dislocation. And this might provide a banana skin for the Government," said Mr Bruton.