Very little to celebrate as Enda bids politics farewell

ENDA KENNY’S throwaway line – ‘Let the games begin’ – as he forfeited the Fine Gael leadership on Wednesday evening reminded me of another political line by the late Fianna Fáil press secretary PJ Mara on the eve of the 2002 general election when he quipped ‘Okay, folks, it’s showtime!’

Maybe the Fianna Fáil slogan of ‘A lot done, more to do’ for that general election, which gave them a whopping 81 seats, is an apt epitaph for Enda Kenny. This week marked the 15th anniversary of that momentous election. Fine Gael was decimated – left with a dismal 23 seats, the resignation of Michael Noonan as leader and the election of Enda Kenny to replace him.

It was another world. The economy was booming, unemployment was low, but little did we know that it was all built on a sand.

So when it all came crashing down a few years later and the economy went into freefall, it fell to Enda Kenny to crawl into the economic rubble and try to rescue the country. In fairness to the Mayo man, he was the right man in the right place. He was calm, fit, bright and did cut a dash on the European scene with his easy way and affability.

Today, the battle for the taoiseach’s office takes place during a UK general election which it now seems will see a landslide for Theresa May on June 8 as the Labour Party implodes with a giveaway manifesto that promises that others will pay for it.

All the omens for a hard Brexit are getting worse. Even Englishborn ‘remainers’ I spoke to this week have given up all hope of a change of mind or even a prospect of a reasoned debate on the issue

True, we have had a few glimmers of hope this week with companies such as Standard Life, hinting that they will create new jobs in Dublin.

On the other hand, the massive resistance in other EU countries to our campaign to get the 900 jobs when the European Medicines Agency decamps from London is an indicator that there will be no sweetheart deals for Ireland.

This agency is a perfect fit for Ireland with our massive pharmaceutical industry as well as the point that English is the first language of the industry. But 14 other EU members are fighting hard for the prize.

Bizarrely, it now looks like Strasbourg will get the 900 jobs simply as a consolation prize as the EU parliament ends its bureaucratic and costly bi-location and stays in Brussels.

This crucial decision will be the litmus test for Ireland but the omens are not looking good. Neither does the leadership hiatus in the next two weeks help.

But then again, maybe as Enda Kenny bids adieu to the EU leaders he has built up such a good relationship with, they might decide that the 900 jobs will be a good going-away gift. It’s exactly the medicine we need at this time.