THE MODERN MAN VARADKAR GOES FOR CORE VALUES
THERE’S no accounting for tastes of course but in my book you’d have to either be a hardcore Fine Gael member or soft in the head to attend the Fine Gael hustings on the most sweltering night of the year.
Presumably, the hundreds of well-spoken people who journeyed to the Red Cow Moran hotel last night belong to the former group, although it has to be said that the lads who peered down, mystified, from the Red Cow flyover, at the army of young men running below in colourful T-shirts emblazoned with one word, Leo, did not look too convinced.
The geography of the hotel, practically on the city limits, the line beyond which no self-respecting ‘born ‘n’ bred’ Dub would dare to dwell might explain why the buzz in the foyer was so resolutely pro-Leo.
Leo merchandise – T-shirts in assorted colours of blue, green and orange – were on display on trellis tables, as were bottles of water decorated with Leo badges.
Outside the mahogany doors of the massive Pearse Suite, where the townhall style meeting took place, Leo’s parents, Dr Ashok and Miriam, and his sister Sonia held a ‘#CampaignforLeo’ placard between them and smiled for the cameras.
Party grandees like Nora Owen and Mary Banotti bounced around delightedly, meeting old friends and party colleagues, while Fine Gael veterans like Bernard Durkan, Richard Bruton and James Reilly filed inside expectantly, to hear both Leo and Simon set out their stalls.
Confirmed Leo supporters Regina Doherty and Josepha Madigan were also in the stalls while Team Simon was represented by Jerry Buttimer and Health Minister Simon Harris, among others.
The Pearse Suite, with its heavy swag drapes, swirly carpets and chandeliers, is obviously tailormade for weddings but last night it was the venue for a temporary divorce between the two brightest stars of what was often termed the great ‘Fine Gael family’.
But before the two statuesque stars in their perfectly ironed shirts and contrasting ties – red for Simon and blue for Leo – could prove who could burn the brightest, praise was lavished on the outgoing leader Enda Kenny. The party chairman Martin Heydon, the loquacious moderator Gavin Duffy from the Dragon’s Den, and indeed the two contenders paid heartfelt homage to Enda’s outstanding virtues and leadership. The applause was so rousing on each occasion that I began to start wondering why they had got rid of him at all.
But as Simon, who for my money emerged the more sincere and passionate of the candidates, with a strongly developed social conscience, reminded us, we are now in a new era, at a crossroads – and a new driver is needed at the wheel.
But for the duration of last night’s meeting we made do with a folksy Gavin Duffy at the wheel, regularly announcing the size of the event’s Facebook audience.
He seemed to be in the mood to wring maximum enjoyment out of the occasion, despite the room becoming so stultifyingly hot and uncomfortable that members of the audience began fanning themselves with election literature.
Doors were thrown open as the Fine Gael family wilted, while the Leo and Simon show continued full of high hopes and good intentions for the party and the country’s future.
SIMON had a good-natured stab at Leo when he waxed on about his great interest in health and providing the country with a first-class health service. ‘I’ll remember that when I’m Taoiseach,’ he quipped to wild applause.
Simon’s supporters, flaunting yellow placards, made sure to make their presence felt during the meeting, cheering and whooping for their golden boy.
His vision for a more egalitarian society that cared for the dispossessed, whether or not it voted Fine Gael, was a sharp contrast to Leo’s conviction that the party would have to represent its core supporters rather than transform into a catch-all party like Fianna Fáil which, he said, stood for nothing at all.
How Coveney’s inclusiveness, modelled on the Just Society philosophy, plays with the Fine Gael membership who will vote in the new leader is hard to say. They may be more enthusiastic about Leo’s skills as a campaigner and his professed ability to turn the party into more powerful force.
Who knows? The party members have three more hustings around the country to look forward to. Let’s hope, for their sakes, that the night-time temperatures drop in the meantime.