IT’S V FOR VICTORY..
Varadkar is backed by 36 tds and senators defiant Coveney vows to battle on for top job
LEO Varadkar was last night on the brink of becoming the youngest ever Fine Gael leader and next Taoiseach. After a whirlwind two-day campaign the Social Protection Minister soured into a seemingly unassailable lead over rival Simon Coveney. After securing the support of more than 36 TDS and senators, as well as cabinet ministers, he left the Coveney camp struggling to find backers. As more and more of the Fine Gael parliamentary party declared for him, Mr Varadkar said: “I’m really humbled, really grateful for that.” Setting out his stall he said: “I want to take the country forward. We’ve been through a really difficult recession which is now over but the wounds caused by the recession are still real and many of them are open. “We are now at a crossroads. We can repeat the mistakes of the past, allow ourselves to lose control of public spending, fuel the property market ... or we can get it right.” As his rival’s support grew, Mr Coveney rejected the idea of cutting short the contest. In Ennis, Co Clare, he said such talk would not distract him and he was the kind of person who always finished what he started. But ominously, his two Dail Clare colleagues Deputy Joe Carey and Minister of State Pat Breen who stood by his side, refused to say who they would support. Mr Coveney told Clare FM: “They have got an early head start. We expected that. “There’s still about 20 parliamentary colleagues who haven’t declared and we think we can do well among those people. “This is also about asking the 20,000 members of Fine Gael who have a say in this contest when we have hustings next week as to what their view is as well as the 232 councillors. “The combined voting say of both councillors and membership is actually 35% of the vote which is quite a substantial portion.” Almost 21,000 party members will vote at 26 polling stations from May 29 to June 1. The parliamentary party of 73 TDS, senators and MEPS will make their decision in Dublin on June 2. Housing Minister Mr Coveney has supporters including Health Minister Simon Harris and Senator James Reilly. But with heavyweight backers inluding Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe, Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan and Education Minister Richard Bruton, Mr Varadkar’s lead looked like an unassailable one. Mr Donohoe said: “He is the most substantial and capable politician of my generation. He has a rare combination of intellect and judgment that, I believe, make him the best person to lead Ireland as we deal with new risks, and make the most of some great opportunities.” Junior Minister Paul Kehoe also backed Mr Varadkar. He said: “He has shown openness and honesty in his personal life, breaking new ground in Irish politics. “As the political landscape continues to shift at home and abroad, his forthright style and ability to effect change, makes him the best-placed candidate to deal with the challenges facing us.” The candidates have been warned to sign up to a code of conduct to govern their behaviour in the campaign. They are also obliged to abide by data protection rules governing the use of membership details. Nominations close this evening and with the contest appearing to be down to two men, four hustings have been planned for Dublin, Carlow, Ballinasloe and Cork over four nights from next Thursday and will be streamed online. While Mr Coveney refuses to concede, bookies can’t see anything other than a win for Mr Varadkar with Boylesports making him an unbackable 1/9 shot to be the new Taoiseach. His rival drifted back out to 5/1. Boylesports spokesman Liam Glynn said: “We have been bombarded with support for the Dubliner over the past 24 hours.”
We can repeat the mistakes of the past or we can get it right LEO VARADKAR DUBLIN YESTERDAY
IF the bookies are right, and they usually are, Leo Varadkar is on course to be the next Fine Gael leader and Taoiseach.
With the support of most of the Fine Gael parliamentary party the Social Protection Minister has surged ahead of Simon Coveney and now appears to have an unassailable lead. Despite all the hype this is a race between two very ordinary ministers who so far have done very little to show they are Taoiseach material. While he might be a medical doctor, Leo Varadkar came to a health service which was in a critical condition and when he left it was on life support. His tenure as Transport Minister was also unremarkable and he has alienated a good proportion of the public. Under Simon Coveney the homelessness crisis went from bad to worse and he has now been forced to move families out of hotels into “family accommodation hubs”. This is being done to beat a promised deadline to have all families out of emergency accommodation by July 1 next. He at least tried to deal with a desperate situation while there is the perception his rival has been more inclined to use soundbites instead of dealing with intractable problems. With uncertain times ahead and going on past performances, the public can have little confidence in either candidate to meet the massive challenges posed by Brexit.