Country mouse roars at leaders’ ‘obsession’ with urban voters… at their expense
As rural TDs of all parties fear threat from independents...
A GROWING number of rural Fine Gael TDs fear the so-called ‘posh boys’ have taken over the party and that they are in serious danger of losing their seats.
The sense of widening unease in the party comes after a significant number of backbenchers missed this week’s Dáil vote on the new reopening restrictions.
Despite the coalition’s comfortable majority, the emergency legislation was passed by the embarrassingly thin margin of 74 votes to 68.
Among those who missed the vote are Michael Ring (Mayo), John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny), Alan Dillon (Mayo) and Junior Minister Peter Burke.
And it follows sharp criticisms at last week’s meeting of TDs and Senators by Minister Burke and Seanad leader Regina Doherty over the party’s tweet on the Dublin Bay South by-election polling day about the high Sinn Féin voter turnout.
The failure of the party to retain former housing minister Eoghan Murphy’s seat in Dublin Bay South has been largely contained by the retention of Fine Gael’s core vote.
‘Fine Gael will just be a memory in rural Ireland’
Privately though, unease is growing among an increasing number of backbenchers over the direction being taken under leader Leo Varadkar and his Dublin-centred inner court.
One veteran Fine Gael figure told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘The real concern as regards the future of the party is not that we don’t have a seat in Garret’s [former leader Fitzgerald] constituency [Dublin
Bay South] – it is that we have none in the constituency of Michael Collins [Cork South-West].’
One Fine Gael minister told the
MoS: ‘A couple of shots were fired across Leo’s bow this week – missing TDs is the start of it.
‘The interventions by Regina and Peter were significant. The leadership were tip-toeing nicely away and then Regina threw in the bomb,’ the veteran added.
Another senior party source said of Minister Burke: ‘Peter is not a natural rebel. When he is openly hostile to the tweet and the attitude it represents, it absolutely means something.’
Rising unease at the ‘posh boy’ takeover is informed by the 2020 General Election, which left Fine
Gael with just 17 rural TDs.
The party’s other 17 seats are in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Kildare and Wicklow.
Fianna Fail’s 21 rural seats are also believed to now be in serious jeopardy, especially in constituencies like Cavan-Monaghan, CarlowKilkenny, Laois-Offaly and Longford-Westmeath.
One senior Fine Gael figure said: ‘There is no empathy for rural Ireland there. They see the role of the countryside as providing carbon credits and holiday homes.’
Another veteran TD noted: ‘Leo may be obsessed with the city, the Portobello set and all that, but what happens when old war-dogs like Charlie Flanagan and Michael Ring go? ‘Who will hold the line then?
‘We will be utterly vulnerable if any sort of sensible rural Independent party comes together: people like [Denis] Naughten, [Marian] Harkin, [Michael] McNamara and [Michael] Fitzmaurice.’
The source warned: ‘An Independent surge would see us being taken out from Cork East to Donegal, Sligo-Leitrim, Mayo, Laois-Offaly and maybe even Wexford. Fine Gael will just be a memory in rural Ireland.
‘We are equally vulnerable to Sinn Féin, a border sweep from Louth to Donegal and across to Galway and Mayo. Three Sinn Féin seats in Donegal, Louth and CavanMonaghan, two in Sligo-Leitrim and Mayo would clean us out.’
Meanwhile, despite relative calm at Fianna Fáil’s parliamentary party meeting last week, up to 21 rural seats are believed to be even more vulnerable to a twin Sinn Féin-Independent assault.
The party is even nervous about the threat from Aontú – which holds just one seat.
Party leader Peadar Tóibín has publicly claimed many former Fianna Fáil supporters have joined Aontú because they ‘no longer stand up for their core values’.
One Fianna Fáil TD told the MoS: ‘The situation is so bad even Aontú are a threat. We are the Titanic — people are looking for lifeboats and they’re not finding any.
‘If Aontú continues to trend at 4% to 6% in the polls, they will acquire five or so seats — and it will be at our expense.’
Fianna Fáil are believed to be especially nervous about their second seat in Cavan-Monaghan, where ex-Fianna Fáil Aontú councillor Sarah O’Reilly topped the poll in Bailieborough at the local elections.
A Fianna Fáil figure warned: ‘There are concerns about anywhere where we have two such as Longford-Westmeath, CarlowKilkenny and even Laois-Offaly. New TDs grow like mushrooms – overnight. Look at Sinn Féin!’
Another party source said: ‘Our head is under attack in urban Ireland and now in the country we are being attacked from the rear.’
Another rural Fianna Fáil TD told the MoS: ‘Micheál has been chasing the urban sophisticated vote for a decade now and he is going nowhere. Put simply, they are not Fianna Fáil voters.
‘We are leaving our dinner behind us in rural Ireland trying to please those who live in Dublin.
‘We will end up being relevant to no-one,’ the TD added.
‘We are equally vulnerable to Sinn Féin’