By-election hangover gives Leo rogue candidate conundrum
WHO’D be a politician?’ a punter said at the Wexford by-election count centre on Saturday as a group of journalists formed a semi circle around Fine Gael candidate by- election.
The question was rhetorical but it was a question Verona Murphy must have asked herself over the past week many times as her contentious comments came back to haunt her with calls from senior party members for her to be deleted from the General Election ticket. This newspaper was first to interview the controversial Wexford candidate ahead of her media fire-storm and our article was the main source of grief for Fine Gael and her team.
For Fine Gael there was a warning sign that they had a loose canon on their hands when she made a remark on Virgin Media in April intimating that there was no homeless or housing crisis in Co Wexford – only a few days into her campaign. Her over enthusiasm to defend her party then had all the hallmarks of a callow contender. What followed in her foolish comments highlighted her inexperience and naiveté in what is, afterall, a bloodsport.
But she did manage to pull 23 per cent of the vote and herein lies the headache for Varadkar. Murphy’s straight talking personality and willingness to discuss anything and everything with the media is in total contrast to all Fine Gael TDs who would rather pull their nails out than speak off the cuff. It was refreshing to many people who feel they are prisoners and being told what they can and more importantly cannot say.
Let’s look at what she said because being a public figure words are very important as they can give light to incendiary public comment and spark dangerous behaviour: some immigrant children aged as young as three coming from war zones have been manipulated by Isis, the government’s housing policy is let people on housing lists eat cake, homelessness is a result of addiction and bad personal choices, drink driving laws are too restrictive, Irish drivers are policed more than non national drivers, anon.
Leo Varadkar has been on a see-saw with a ticking unPC time-bomb over the last fortnight, never sure when a clanger would drop and rattle the usually implacable Fine Gael hierarchy.
The question of whether or not his candidate has dragged the party to the right is one the executive council will no doubt be weighing up when they do their post by-election autopsy. Being a haulier and President of the Irish Road Haulage Association, Murphy knows the problems the migrants face and called for empathy towards them. She was speaking from a position whereby hauliers feel under threat, on the back foot, and her instinct was to go on the front foot and argue in a forthright manner for her industry. As a wannabe politician she should have known better, has apologised scores of times and is keen to move on and put her mistakes and stupid words down to inexperience. Having a candidate that is outspoken, female, articulate on Brexit and transport issues, in particular, seemed to add up to a strong candidate in a first passed the post by-election she wasn’t really ever expected to win. But he got more than he bargained for and has been fire-fighting ever since. It remains to be seen if Leo will stand by his woman. Rumour has it he is considering another woman for the job, but having won 23 per cent of the vote, the Taoiseach has been handed a nightmare before Christmas. It will make for an interesting run up to the General Election.