VARADKAR COVENEY VS
THE FINE GAEL PARTY IN WICKLOW WEIGHS UP THE CANDIDATES
County Councillors in Wicklow will have a say in the Fine Gael leadership contest as their votes along with elected councillors across the country will form 10 per cent of the overall party vote.
Wicklow-based member Irene Winters was straight to the point when she declared her support for Simon Coveney and said that she believes he is the best man for the job.
‘I will be voting for Simon Coveney. I believe he was an excellent Minister for Agriculture and I think that he did a good job in housing. I think that he has been faced with many tough decisions in his career but he has always had the courage of his convictions and didn’t go the populist route,’ she said.
She added that Coveney ‘stood by his decisions when he believed they were right’.
Cllr Winters shared the view that she wants a leader who ‘will take the long view’ and said ‘we are only barely out of recession and we need someone who will ensure that we don’t end up back where we were before.’
Reflecting on Enda Kenny’s career, Cllr Winters said that he was a man who ‘ruled by concensus and who was prepared to stand up and be counted’.
‘He trusted his team and was into micromanaging them. He gave people a brief and checked up on it, allowing them to do their job.’
In Arklow, Cllr Sylvester Bourke was on the fence when asked how he intends to vote.
‘I’m still undecided. I could be swayed either way but I want to consider both their manifestos before I fully make up my mind,’ Cllr Bourke said.
Cllr Vincent Blake who serves on Baltinglass Municipal District council said that he wants ‘ to be fair to both candidates’ and will be waiting until after they address councillors before he makes up his mind.
Greystones councillor Gráinne McLoughlin was quick to declare her preference saying that she was plumping for Leo Varadkar.
‘I had actually been favouring Simon Coveney but I changed my mind in the last two weeks. I’ve listened very carefully to both of them, to their policies and vision and I felt that Leo articulated himself very well.
‘I feel he’s the stronger candidate for the party as a whole and can bring it forward.
‘It is important that we build a base on the East Coast again and I think we have a better chance of doing that with Leo.
‘Saying that I’d be happy with either Leo or Simon as leader but my preference is for Leo.’
Cathaoirleach of Baltinglass Municipal District Edward Tmmins is also hoping to see Leo Varadkar win the race.
‘I’ll be supporting Leo. I just think he is a more capable candidate and would be better for the party and the country.’
Newtownmountkennedy’s Shay Cullen said that he won’t be making up his mind about which candidate to vote for until he meets with Simon Coveney.
‘I haven’t made up my mind yet. I met Leo Varadkar on Monday in the Glenview and he was very impressive. We are to meet with Simon Coveney today ( Wednesday). I want to hear both before I make up my mind. I have questions for both that I want answered before I decide.
‘I haven’t any preferences at the moment. I think they are both very, very credible candidates. At the end of the day I will be making my decision on who I feel is the best person to lead the country. Leo was very impressive but I want to hear from Simon before I decide.’
The Fine Gael leadership contest will be decided by an electoral college which is split three ways between the parliamentary party – TDs, senators and MEPs – councillors, and rank and file members.
The parliamentary party holds the whip hand with 65 per cent of the voting strength, with councillors allocated 10 per cent and rank and file members 25 per cent.
Given that there are 73 members of the parliamentary party at present, each member represents 0.9 per cent of the total electorate.
There are around 230 or so Fine Gael councillors around the country, although their voting strength is nowhere near as strong as members of the parliamentary party. Each councillor counts for just over 0.04 per cent of the total vote.
The remaining 25 per cent is for the rank and file members which number in the region of 25,000.