Which conservative brand will the new leader of Fine Gael follow?

THE maverick Conservative MP Enoch Powell is often quoted when a politician is at his or her end: “All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and of all human affairs.” Has Enda Kenny’s political life ended in failure? It is too early to say, not least because it has not yet ended. The late Conor Cruise O’Brien’s observation on Charles Haughey is relevant: “If I saw Mr Haughey buried at midnight at a crossroads, with a stake driven through his heart — politically speaking — I should continue to wear a clove of garlic round my neck, just in case.”

This time, it really does appear as though the end is nigh. Well, in three months. Perhaps Kenny’s political life is best summed up, to paraphrase Beckett, that he has failed better than others, which includes half his 13 predecessors as Taoiseach — no mean achievement, but not a great one either. *** Powell was best known for his infamous ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech in 1968, which pointedly criticised immigration into Britain from Commonwealth nations. The main political issue addressed by the speech was not immigration as such, but the introduction by the Labour Ggnation on grounds of race in certain areas of British life, particularly housing, where many local authorities had been refusing to provide houses for immigrant families until they had lived in the country for a certain number of years. The findings of a Kantar Millward Brown opinion poll, published elsewhere in this newspaper today, generally find that the immigration issue raised in such incendiary fashion legacy to any political party or ideological brand of thought, though plenty have tried to appropriate him either wholly or in part, not least the likes of Stephen Bannon. *** At the Conservative Political Action Conference in the US last week, Bannon took a run through the various brands of conservatism to which Trump has extended his dubious appeal: “populist”, “limited-government conservative”, “libertarian” or “economic nationalist”.

It will be interesting, indeed, to see which conservative brand of thought the new leader of Fine Gael will follow, now that the torch is to be passed. Young Simon Harris, at 30, would be the first to quote Burke that “the arrogance of age must submit to be taught by youth”. Donald Trump is 70. Harris also raises a time-old question, however. Is a mere lad of 30 too young to lead a country? Leo Varadkar is 38 and Simon Coveney will be almost 45 when Enda Kenny has departed. For the first time, it would seem I will find myself to be older than a Taoiseach, which is a disconcerting realisation. *** This raises an interesting question all the same. There is compelling evidence that generations carry with them the imprint of early political experiences.

A recent paper by two Columbia University researchers identified five main generations of US presidential voters, each shaped by political events during their formative years: New Deal Democrats, Eisenhower Republicans, Baby Boomers, Reagan Conservatives and Millennials.

So, which political events have shaped the conservative views of Leo and the two Simons?

Answers on a postcard, please.