George Lee resigns from Fine Gael and Dail!!!

efb

FG get to call this election, not BC

jmayo

peasant wrote: »

I've just re-watched last night's frontline episode. In the lead in to the GL interview they showed some old footage of GL's candicacy announcement and his election. Here are the Enda Kenny soundbites from both occassions:


Enda Kenna on announcing GL's candicacy:



Enda Kenny after GL's election victory:

Now ...why shouldn't George Lee have believed that he was in there to roll up his sleeves, to be given a role and a task to help effect change of governement as quickly as possible ....and not to languish on the speaker circuit and on the back-benches until the 2012 elections?

When you were doing your quote bit why didn't you highlight the bit where Kenny said with the support of the people we will affect change of government.
So far the people have done feck all, oh there have been a few marches here and their by the vested interest groups but shg all else except moaning about him or clowen on the other side.
Thus without the people totally withdrawing support for the government or some miracle occurrs were the greens grow a spine or some ff backbenchers desert the ship (which is about as likely as Kenny now being invited around to Lee's for drinks), then there cannot be a change of government beofre 2012.

FFS by all insider accounts we have heard Lee never once pushed himself forward.
He was given an internal party committee which he could have used as his own little think thank to push his own ideas, he eventually on threat of resignation was given a new portfolio on the front bench.
Yet he walked and his reason appears to be because people were not falling over themselves asking for his input over the last 8 months.
He admitted last night that his wife knew before the christmas break that he was thinking about future, that was nearly two months ago.

He never once wrote up a policy document.
He appeared yesterday, but did he actually state in any interview what his ideas were and how the party refused to adopt them ?
Ehhh no.
All he claimed was they never asked for his input.
FFS is he so fecking timid that he couldn't get off his ar** and give it.

Were all the members supposed to wait around for his musing to pour forth and then run off and adopt them as policy ?
So what if he was on the speaker circuit, was he supposed to be so privledged that they daren't ask him to leave Dublin to bolster the party throughout the country.
High profile prominent membrs of any political party in the world do have to ocassionally travel to party meetings to bolster the organisation and workers on the ground.

And as for rolling up his sleeves and affecting change of government he wasn't really up to the cut and thrust of political debate as could be seen when faced with the likes of o'dea (AFAIK). He looked like a bit of a lost child when faced with wee willies onslaught.
The difference between getting in there and fighting your point and delviering scripted non interrupted pieces to camera were clearly shown.

Tricity Bendix

FlashGordon1969 wrote: »

Fianna Fail cant be rejoicing at another battering in Dublin South. It will be between LAB and FG. Anyone who thinks FF can win this seat is utterly delusional. Alex white will prob win it but I cant see Cowen rushing to the polls. Its a strong FG constituency but I think Most FG voters are more angry at LEE than Kenny. Remains to be seen. Look at Paddypower on this..follow the money..

FF will be looking to beat FG into third place. Labour should win, but a good showing by FF could give heart to the backbenches. The FG vote will be disillusioned and the independents will likely desert FG. The sooner Cowen pulls the trigger on these elections the better (for FF). The news cycle is more focused on FG and Enda now, but in a short time we'll have gotten over it and realised the country is still on its knees.

irishh_bob

stumpypeeps wrote: »

So because the people of SD elected him he immediately steps in front of every other politician in FG?

FG made a serious error of judgement in pursuing him. George Lee showed a complete lack of understanding of Politics.

fionan sheehan has a very good article in todays indo about how george came up against old style irish politics and lost

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/fionnan-sheahan/fionnan-sheahan-newstyle-politician-felt--chill-of-oldschool-system-2054119.html

Red_Marauder

It would be interesting to have a fly on the wall observation on the correspondance between Ed Mulhall in the RTE Newsroom and George Lee over the past 36 hours. Remember this particular exchange on RTE's Bye Election coverage?

BRIAN DOBSON:

Well now of course as a commentator, as a journalist, you’ve... you’ve had the freedom if you like... to speak your mind, on issues, in your case particularly economic issues. You’re now a member of a political party; party discipline applies... is that going to be something you’re going to find frustrating, or indeed are you going to continue to push the boundaries, as it were?

GEORGE LEE:

Well now Brian, I know you don’t mean that question because I know like you that in RTE we’re not half as free to speak our minds as people think on the outside... there are plenty of constraints on people in RTE in relation to, the views that they express... and I have done it for seventeen years... I can live within the constraints of any political party... and I think I’ve proven that. So no, it will not be a difficulty at all. All that matters is that we put the Government out and that we put the people first, and whatever that takes in terms of discipline, I’m well up for.

Also in that interview:

BD:

And eh, so you’re quite... you’re not going to be biting your lip, eh, if you find yourself at odds with... with the agreed economic policy of the Fine Gael party

GL:

...Not at all because... up until now I have been fighting... to win the seat and pounding the streets and explaining things, in the course of that I came up with a couple of ideas... somebody asked me what would you do... I threw out five of them and already two of them have become Fine Gael policy.
This party is open, it’s open for ideas, it’s open for people like me, and there will be no difficulty in relation to standing together, or in speaking as one in relation to economic policy in the months and the years ahead.

BD:

Do you expect that you’ll have a... formal role as a spokesman, as a... maybe not necessarily on the front bench but... some kind of formal role... speaking on specific issues?

GL:

I have a formal role now from the people of Dublin South, to represent them, and to speak on the issues that they know, they want me to speak on, which is about our economy, our society and the choices that we’re going to make . That’s the role I went looking for, that’s the role I’ve got and that’s the role I intend to carry out. .. and... you needn’t worry that that’s what I’m going to do.

gleep

Fine Gael, Labour, Fianna Fail, none of these are equipped or geared to run the country.
It's guys like George Lee who are. The people running the country should be verified experts in their field. The Finance minister should be an Economist / Accountant, Health minister a Surgeon/Doctor, we should have top engineers, solicitors, social workers running for seats in the dail. Is it really so far fetched to have a brand new party like this emerging for the next election? Would any of you vote for them?

grenache

I'm most disappointed to see George Lee leave his seat. I felt he went into politics firstly to try and shake things up, i genuinely believe he is an honest and straight individual who wanted to change things, particularly in how the banks operated. Perhaps he thought progress was too slow in coming, although surely he knew what the political game was about - things weren't go to change overnight, he needed to bide his time and wait until the next general election. What a pity.

Red_Marauder

gleep wrote: »

Fine Gael, Labour, Fianna Fail, none of these are equipped or geared to run the country.
It's guys like George Lee who are. The people running the country should be verified experts in their field. The Finance minister should be an Economist / Accountant, Health minister a Surgeon/Doctor, we should have top engineers, solicitors, social workers running for seats in the dail. Is it really so far fetched to have a brand new party like this emerging for the next election? Would any of you vote for them?

So only professional, university educated people should be allowed enter Government? Hmmm.

Deise Tom

Red_Marauder wrote: »

So only professional, university educated people should be allowed enter Government? Hmmm.

Good Point.

hmmm

gleep wrote: »

Fine Gael, Labour, Fianna Fail, none of these are equipped or geared to run the country.
It's guys like George Lee who are. The people running the country should be verified experts in their field. The Finance minister should be an Economist / Accountant,

You do realise Richard Bruton isn't one of your typical teacher or publican TDs?

Wikipedia says
"He was educated at Belvedere College, Clongowes Wood College, University College Dublin and Nuffield College, Oxford.[3] At Oxford he graduated with a MPhil in Economics[3], his thesis being on the subject of Irish public debt.[1] He is a Research Economist by profession,[4] and after university he worked at the Economic and Social Research Institute. "

What has George Lee done in comparison? He ran back to his cushy public sector RTE job when he found out the real world was a tough place.

Sulmac

It'd be interesting to compare the front benches of the Government, Fine Gael and Labour to see what sort of expertise (if any) and past experience they have and if it relates at all to their portfolio. A quick check through Wikipedia shows we have a clear oversupply of solicitors/barristers and secondary school teachers in the current cabinet, though the same is true for both the main opposition parties.

As someone mentioned, Richard Bruton (FG - Finance) is an economist, James Reilly (FG - Health) a doctor. A few more I noticed were; Joan Burton (LAB - Finance) who has a degree in Commerce and worked as an accountant, Billy Timmins (FG - Foreign Affairs) who was an army officer. Batt O'Keeffe (FF - Education) was also a college lecturer.

That said, there are many who have portfolios that have little/nothing to do with their background, once again showing it's not what you know, but who you know (or who you're [grand]parents were) in Irish politics...

Anyone got any more, out of interest?

Anonymous1987

Lets look at the points that George Lee doesn't dispute. George did not actively push policy on the party, his defence is that he did discuss economic issues with other back bench colleagues but if you really want to change things you have to push for it and approaching Richard Bruton or Enda Kenny directly would not seem to me to be so unthinkable if traditional channels of communication aren't working. Lee agreed that Kenny was unaware of his discontent which would seem to suggest that Kennys leadership wasn't the issue. Lee seemed to expect to be given responsibility rather than actively seek it.

It's also strange that Lee rejected Kenny's front bench offer with very little consideration I assume somewhere between 24 and 48 hours. Lee seemed uninterested in a front bench position and seemed to want a behind the scene role in influencing policy which was probably at odds with Fine Gaels expectations of him. He doesn't seem to be bitter or resent the party and constantly makes reference to the political system as unsuitable for his objective of influencing policy.

The fact that Lee was only 9 months in the job is also fairly extraordinary and I'm not quite sure what to make of this. 9 months is really a very small time frame, Lee defends this saying that people are suffering this recession now and need effective policy now but if you think about it Fine Gael aren't even in power they can only offer criticism of Fianna Fails policy decisions which while it may offer some influence it really is limited.

Overall it's a pretty bizarre decision and with fairly serious consequences for Fine Gael regarding the questioning of Kenny's leadership and Fine Gael's perceived management of Lee. While I think Lee has let down his party and constituents, given that he did not actively push for policy changes, his own perception of his objectives and his role in the party it may have been the best decision for him as really showed very little persistence which is essential for politics.

jmayo

irishh_bob wrote: »

fionan sheehan has a very good article in todays indo about how george came up against old style irish politics and lost

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/fionnan-sheahan/fionnan-sheahan-newstyle-politician-felt--chill-of-oldschool-system-2054119.html

Did his missus ever get in when she ran in last election for ff ?
Or is she still some sort of advisor to mary hanafin ?

Just thought people should always know the political connections of the journos.

gleep wrote: »

Fine Gael, Labour, Fianna Fail, none of these are equipped or geared to run the country.
It's guys like George Lee who are. The people running the country should be verified experts in their field. The Finance minister should be an Economist / Accountant, Health minister a Surgeon/Doctor, we should have top engineers, solicitors, social workers running for seats in the dail. Is it really so far fetched to have a brand new party like this emerging for the next election? Would any of you vote for them?

BS just because he was a commentator on the news everynight and managed to see that the economy was a crock of sh** don't get deluded that he was some sort of economic genius.


Some of the ministers should be managers, pure and simple, because that is what it is about managing the country.
We have had a surgeon the head of the HSE and he has been a complete failure.
We have harney as health minister and she has been an unresponsible waste of space.
At least Dr James Reilly has some clue of the health portfolio as he also represented doctors organisations in negogiations with dept of health/hse on over 70s medical card contracts.

Red_Marauder wrote: »

So only professional, university educated people should be allowed enter Government? Hmmm.

Yeah that would rule out any undesirables like bertie
Of course he did visit a few universities.

hmmm wrote: »

You do realise Richard Bruton isn't one of your typical teacher or publican TDs?

Wikipedia says
"He was educated at Belvedere College, Clongowes Wood College, University College Dublin and Nuffield College, Oxford.[3] At Oxford he graduated with a MPhil in Economics[3], his thesis being on the subject of Irish public debt.[1] He is a Research Economist by profession,[4] and after university he worked at the Economic and Social Research Institute. "

What has George Lee done in comparison? He ran back to his cushy public sector RTE job when he found out the real world was a tough place.

Listen the "George Lee is a genius bandwagoners" think Lee was an economics expert since he was probably the only one they ever heard talking about the topic. Of course they have seen mr ginger or bought one of his books for christmas.

of course they also probably called him a spanner when he was "talking down" the economy and then when proven right he was a hero.

Sulmac wrote: »

It'd be interesting to compare the front benches of the Government, Fine Gael and Labour to see what sort of expertise (if any) and past experience they have and if it relates at all to their portfolio. A quick check through Wikipedia shows we have a clear oversupply of solicitors/barristers and secondary school teachers in the current cabinet, though the same is true for both the main opposition parties.

As someone mentioned, Richard Bruton (FG - Finance) is an economist, James Reilly (FG - Health) a doctor. A few more I noticed were; Joan Burton (LAB - Finance) who has a degree in Commerce and worked as an accountant, Billy Timmins (FG - Foreign Affairs) who was an army officer. Batt O'Keeffe (FF - Education) was also a college lecturer.

That said, there are many who have portfolios that have little/nothing to do with their background, once again showing it's not what you know, but who you know (or who you're [grand]parents were) in Irish politics...

Anyone got any more, out of interest?

Dr Leo Varadkar is a doc and got slated last year for working as such building up his hours.

Bertie was an accountant.
Oh wait no he wasn't :rolleyes:


PS you forgot it is where you are from.
Thus o'dea and cullen are ministers since those cities have to have one.
Calleary was made junior minsiter since Mayo has 3 FG TDs.
The only other option in the constituency was bev and that was a step too far even for ff.

Anonymous1987

Sulmac wrote: »

It'd be interesting to compare the front benches of the Government, Fine Gael and Labour to see what sort of expertise (if any) and past experience they have and if it relates at all to their portfolio. A quick check through Wikipedia shows we have a clear oversupply of solicitors/barristers and secondary school teachers in the current cabinet, though the same is true for both the main opposition parties.

As someone mentioned, Richard Bruton (FG - Finance) is an economist, James Reilly (FG - Health) a doctor. A few more I noticed were; Joan Burton (LAB - Finance) who has a degree in Commerce and worked as an accountant, Billy Timmins (FG - Foreign Affairs) who was an army officer. Batt O'Keeffe (FF - Education) was also a college lecturer.

That said, there are many who have portfolios that have little/nothing to do with their background, once again showing it's not what you know, but who you know (or who you're [grand]parents were) in Irish politics...

Anyone got any more, out of interest?

I'm not so sure expertise in a given area is essential to hold a ministerial position. More important is the ability to the ability to absorb complex information from different viewpoints and formulate a reasonable decision. After all CEO's of major companies hop from one industry to another with little and sometimes no experience and are often quite successful. The fact that solicitors/barristers make up a large proportion of politicians isn't all that surprising if you consider this and the fact that after all politicians make the law (i.e. propose/debate legislation).

hmmm

Anonymous1987 wrote: »

Lee seemed uninterested in a front bench position and seemed to want a behind the scene role in influencing policy which was probably at odds with Fine Gaels expectations of him. He doesn't seem to be bitter or resent the party and constantly makes reference to the political system as unsuitable for his objective of influencing policy.

I saw someone elsewhere suggesting that GL had watched too much West Wing. You don't get to walk in off the street and become the Kissinger in a party.

Anonymous1987

hmmm wrote: »

I saw someone elsewhere suggesting that GL had watched too much West Wing. You don't get to walk in off the street and become the Kissinger in a party.

Even at that 9 months on the job and the first time you approach the party leader he offers you a front bench role. That is a pretty decent offer and shows Kenny's willingness to include him in the party which is contrary to the claims in some of todays paper that he was given the cold shoulder. The envy must have been killing Vincent Browne on his show last night.

sceptre

hmmm wrote: »

I saw someone elsewhere suggesting that GL had watched too much West Wing. You don't get to walk in off the street and become the Kissinger in a party.

Kissinger effectively did:) And a reasonable number of TDs have been appointed to senior ministries on their first day. And FG (in the case of Garret Fitzgerald with James Dooge as minister for Foreign Affairs) have previously appointed to the Seanad specifically to give someone a senior post.

Leaving that aside, do people actually see a benefit in anyone with ability and expertise in a field like economics and finance doing their time as a foot soldier (the equivalent of accountancy trainees getting the milk for the office until there's someone more junior than they are) largely merely for the recursive justification that there may be an attitude of having to spend your time as a foot soldier? I'm ignoring the specifics but in a general sense if that is actually the reasoning behind appointing or not appointing someone or listening to or not listening to someone, then that doesn't make any sense to me. Even as someone who worked in the accounting area in IT management and hence, unlike the accountancy trainees, I never had to get the milk. Without considering the specifics of George Lee and FG, if someone is good enough, I don't see why someone who's "done their time" on the doorsteps or the back benches should get any role ahead of someone who hasn't, merely by virtue of past service.

tipperaryboy

very predictable.suppose he thought he could bring major change overnight and when he realised he could'nt he decided to go.

Anonymous1987

sceptre wrote: »

Kissinger effectively did:) And a reasonable number of TDs have been appointed to senior ministries on their first day. And FG (in the case of Garret Fitzgerald with James Dooge as minister for Foreign Affairs) have previously appointed to the Seanad specifically to give someone a senior post.

Leaving that aside, do people actually see a benefit in anyone with ability and expertise in a field like economics and finance doing their time as a foot soldier (the equivalent of accountancy trainees getting the milk for the office until there's someone more junior than they are) largely merely for the recursive justification that there may be an attitude of having to spend your time as a foot soldier? I'm ignoring the specifics but in a general sense if that is actually the reasoning behind appointing or not appointing someone or listening to or not listening to someone, then that doesn't make any sense to me. Even as someone who worked in the accounting area in IT management and hence I never had to get the milk. Without considering the specifics of George Lee and FG, if someone is good enough, I don't see why someone who's "done their time" on the doorsteps or the back benches should get any role ahead of someone who hasn't, merely by virtue of past service.

In fairness no I don't see the benefit in principle but it could cause internal problems that may emerge from appointing an effective outsider to a high ranking position. In George Lee's case I think he commanded enough respect and celebrity power to avoid a situation such as that so I guess that point was a failing of Fine Gael and Kenny that they didn't appoint someone earlier.

tipperaryboy wrote: »

very predictable.suppose he thought he could bring major change overnight and when he realised he could'nt he decided to go.

I have to say it was fairly predictable that he would be dissatisfied by his position in the party at least initially but I didn't think he would throw in the towel so early and in the way he did so.

hmmm

sceptre wrote: »

Kissinger effectively did:)

Ah now let's not compare George Lee to a Kissinger If memory serves me right Kissinger was influential in US thinktanks long before getting into politics directly.

Leaving that aside, do people actually see a benefit in anyone with ability and expertise in a field like economics and finance doing their time as a foot soldier (the equivalent of accountancy trainees getting the milk for the office until there's someone more junior than they are) largely merely for the recursive justification that there may be an attitude of having to spend your time as a foot soldier?

I think lots of people are dancing around the issue that GL is just not all that qualified to be a major contributor on policy issues. Sure he has a masters in economics but there is no shortage of them running around the country, it's very hard to get any job in an economics field without one. GL happened to be in a very public position and while his views probably held more weight than many in the country, his qualifications are not exceptional. Watching Vincent Browne just now he read out a text from someone who was disappointed that GL now "isn't in a position to save the country". This isn't Celebrity Economist but some people seem to think it is.

His interview with Vincent Browne was instructive for the lack of clarity in exactly what these special policies were he wished to be the puppet master for.

Red_Marauder

sceptre wrote: »

And a reasonable number of TDs have been appointed to senior ministries on their first day

There is precedent, but of course that is not to indicate it is best practice.

Anyway I can only think of two senior positions offered to first timers: James Dooge and Alan Dukes.
In both cases they were not just academically qualified individuals, but were also heavily immersed in administration in both of their respective industries. Alan Dukes in particular had a close association with policy making and negotiation, and he had experience of the political stage in Europe and from running as an MEP.

George Lee on the other hand, spent the last 17 years working solely as a journalist. He is (was) a very fine economics journalist, and undoutbtedly a man of his calibre would be an enormously beneficial addition to Fine Gael. But on the other hand I'm not so sure about his 'training' in terms of administration and policy negotiation - he mentioned many times himself that simply being in the Dáil was a huge learning curve.
Who is to say he didn't need that adjustment time to develop, beginning with the economic committee he chaired? I don't necessarily think he's the one who gets to decide that alone.

I don't see why someone who's "done their time" on the doorsteps or the back benches should get any role ahead of someone who hasn't, merely by virtue of past service.

It obviously depends on the individual. There is a reason why PhDs or University lecturers don't always get elected into office, or why they may not make great administrators.
Being an expert in a given discipline does not infer that one will be a good Minister in the relevant Department any more than good football players make good managers or good racehorse jockeys make good racehorse trainers. The two regularly fail to translate.

Why should it be any different in politics? At the end of the day, George Lee has no experience of public administration or policy formation. Sometimes 'experts' are better off working as departmental advisors. I think, in retrospect, this may have been a preferable option for George Lee.

bytey

you useless fcuking quitter George !

you put yourself to the people , and they elected you
now you turn your back on them ?

you could have at least tried to make a difference as an independent
but I guess having to mix with the the great washed in dundrum was too much for you , so its back to your 150 k a year and NO credibility for ever more.

something to tell the kids later on eh ?

yes son , I am a quitter .

you usless fcuking waster

jimmycrackcorm

Anonymous1987 wrote: »

More important is the ability to the ability to absorb complex information from different viewpoints and formulate a reasonable decision. After all CEO's of major companies hop from one industry to another with little and sometimes no experience and are often quite successful. .

Generally they don't get the job because they can get your potholes fixed.

Gerry1995

I'll start by admitting I am not and never have been a Fine Gael supporter or voter, and I am not a member of any political party or grouping. I do t5hink Enda Kenny is a twat, I have always believed he will not lead Fine Gael for the next election and this was before George Lee.
If I am not mistaken Frank Flannery invited George to run for the party and he first met EK on the day he announced his intention to run in the election. He said he had no discussion on his role and had not been offerer anything to run, clearly he thought he would be though. For a guy so intent on saving the country he apparently never made even one attempt to arrange a meeting with Richard Bruton to discuss policy, he never circulated even one policy paper on the economy, he seem to sit there saying "I'm George Lee they know where I am if they want my opinion". When RB did't beg he just ran away to his higher paid job safe in the Public service.
Well done George, what a plank.

noblankski

George says he didn't want a front bench job, just input into policy. loads of "sound" people here and on other forms of media are twisting that to say he wanted a front bench job. if he says he didn't, then he didn't. Why are some people intent on putting words in his mouth.
he's spoken from the heart, why can't some get their heads round that?
there's less than a handful of people involved/(were involved) in politics who one could say spoke from the heart and was genuinely interested in what is best for the common good. smaller handful now.
I so really wanted to be able to say hand on heart that a vote for a fine gael/labour government would be an marked improvement for the country, a fairer country. I can't say that. Enda Kenny is himself, and Gilmore ... I just find a bit slimy - I see similarities with Mr B Ahern(please donate me a calculator/truth serum /i'm really good at winning on the horses even though i don't bet on em).
Finally, who is worthy to a seat in the dail, Joe higgins and George lee, maybe pat rabbit and patricia mckenna. I hope this post might help in some way, cos we are completly wrecked here at the moment with our economy

noblankski

Ivan yeats, who sayin he make a gud t-shock? mmmm, he's a bookie, wow, thats up there with head shops in my opinion. i hope he's been putting some of his profits towards helping people with gambeling addiction.

jmayo

sceptre wrote: »

Kissinger effectively did:) And a reasonable number of TDs have been appointed to senior ministries on their first day. And FG (in the case of Garret Fitzgerald with James Dooge as minister for Foreign Affairs) have previously appointed to the Seanad specifically to give someone a senior post.

Leaving that aside, do people actually see a benefit in anyone with ability and expertise in a field like economics and finance doing their time as a foot soldier (the equivalent of accountancy trainees getting the milk for the office until there's someone more junior than they are) largely merely for the recursive justification that there may be an attitude of having to spend your time as a foot soldier? I'm ignoring the specifics but in a general sense if that is actually the reasoning behind appointing or not appointing someone or listening to or not listening to someone, then that doesn't make any sense to me. Even as someone who worked in the accounting area in IT management and hence, unlike the accountancy trainees, I never had to get the milk. Without considering the specifics of George Lee and FG, if someone is good enough, I don't see why someone who's "done their time" on the doorsteps or the back benches should get any role ahead of someone who hasn't, merely by virtue of past service.

Except the guy who is in charge of finance and economics in FG is not just some guy who has done the time.
He has done his time alright, but he has also been a top minister, he has masters in economics, has actually worked in the real world, was in an economics think tank of sorts (ESRI) and has been the finance spokesman for the last 8 years.

I highlighted your section above that actually might be a lot truer than any of us think.
If soemone is good enough then yes they deserve promotion or to be listened to.
Look how Dr James Reilly had become Health Spokesman within 4 months, look how Dr Leo Varadkar had gotten a portfolio even though he has been very busy still building up his surgery hours as a GP.

Now does that tell you that FG refuse to give good people promotion.
Nobody can accuse Kenny of holding these people back so I think it is cr** that poor ould George was held back by bad boring Enda.

Maybe Goerge isn't as good as George thinks, as some of us did think before this or as some of the great unwashed who are still lauding his abilities and honesty ?
Did George spent too much of his time in RTE hanging out with Charlie Bird picking up his traits or was he spending more time reading Morgan Kelly's paper on the irish construciton bubble ?

simonj

I think GL failed in his public duty by leavig so quickly, and he should have stuck it out until the next general election as an independent to make his point - and look after the interests of his constituents as best he could.

But it is a reflection of how out of date our system is that he felt he had to leave, as even after winning the seat, that he felt he had no way of achieving anything.
It was asked how he would take to the party whip after his election, and it shows that within the political caste that we have that FF/FG are really two cheeks of the one arse.

Much as I distrust the Montrose luvvies commentary, the liveline poll showing such support for his decision on a nation wide basis is a reflection of how people feel - unhappy with the Government, unsure of the opposition.

Cork Boy

mike65 wrote: »

I hope people are listening to Liveline.

Really?

dixierip

George, Just like his old friend Charlie Bird came soon to the realisation that life outside the bubble of Montrose is hard work. The dangers of believing your own hype. I'm waiting for the ' My 9 months in politics' documentary.