George Lee resigns from Fine Gael and Dail!!!

Rb

Just seeing the news report on this at the moment, what a fool, made a complete arse of himself and Irish politics.

I'm just thankful that I've never paid a tv licence.

skearon

Laminations wrote: »

Its a shame. It shows the mans integrity.

You have got to be joking, all it shows is a coward who has no convictions, who has let himself down, and more importantly the people who elected him

Kenny appointed him chair of a committee, yet he failed to call even one meeting.

Other FG TDs asked for his opinion on numerous economic matters, yet he failed to respond to them.

Isn't it lucky for him he can return to RTE at the same salary.

What a waste of tax payers money who have to now fund a byelection.

Guell72

Joey the lips wrote: »

Not at all. He retired on principle and is now out of work. Cannot work for RTE and gave up his seat.

The wrong politician left

He wasted the votes of the people who voted for him.
He's a plank.

Mental Mickey

skearon wrote: »

You have got to be joking, all it shows is a coward who has no convictions, who has let himself down, and more importantly the people who elected him

Kenny appointed him chair of a committee, yet he failed to call even one meeting.

Other FG TDs asked for his opinion on numerous economic matters, yet he failed to respond to them.

Isn't it lucky for him he can return to RTE at the same salary.

What a waste of tax payers money who have to now fund a byelection.

Will RTE take him back though? Doubt it? He's shown himself to be a hypocrite.

Mental Mickey

Guell72 wrote: »

He wasted the votes of the people who voted for him.
He's a plank.

Planks have uses.

Keano

Red_Marauder wrote: »

As was pointed out earlier - he did do nothing.

He detached himself from the party in the four months they dáil has been convening, he didn't approach his party colleagues on policy, he didn't convene any meetings of the economic committee he chaired, he didn't create any motions, he spoke very poorly on NAMA... he didn't give the thing a chance, Lets face it, he just isn't cut out for politics.

He's an economic expert but not a potential economic policy maker. He's shown himself to be a born mandarin.

He probably wasn't allowed to speak out, party rules and all that!

Chairing economic comittee that would influence the FG Budget - ya right.

Kenny just wanted the seat and George was his golden ticket.

BrownianMotion

Red_Marauder wrote: »

The enterprise trade and employment spokesman Leo Varadkar and another spokeswoman Lucinda Creighton were on radio this evening underlining this fact, and said that he detached himself from his party colleagues within Leinster House.

Don't forget Lee's whole argument is that he wasn't consulted. You get the feeling he wanted a red carpet invitation to policy meetings. thats not how politics works.

So your source is Leo Varadkar on national radio?

It's fairly clear that FG are going to sling mud at Lee claiming he did not do anything, was distant etc etc. This is an attempt to limit the damage this whole fiasco will do to their party's image.

Lee is obviously no angel here but at least try to take into account the possibility that everything that comes from a politician's mouth isn't true.

hmmm

Mickey Pearce wrote: »

Will RTE take him back though? Doubt it? He's shown himself to be a hypocrite.

He's on a leave of absence, they have to take him back. We should bill RTE for the cost of a wasted election.

Joey the lips

Guell72 wrote: »

He wasted the votes of the people who voted for him.
He's a plank.

Thats an insane comment. Michael Lowry when in Fine Gael wasted the votes. Ray Burke wasted the votes. They did not maintain the integraty of the office.

George lee ran to make a change he saw no change occuring so left.

He could have been oppertunistic and kept the seat but he did not.

I am guessing this is because he is still at heart a blue shirt.

I applaud the man. As said earlier Killian Forde and Christy Burke did not carry through the same integraty(mis spell i know)

I wish the man well because he is effectivly unemployed in a poor economy.

That is what makes his principles VERY strong

Red_Marauder

Mickey Pearce wrote: »

Will RTE take him back though? Doubt it? He's shown himself to be a hypocrite.

He's on special leave; they have to.

Keano

Rb wrote: »

Just seeing the news report on this at the moment, what a fool, made a complete arse of himself and Irish politics.

I'm just thankful that I've never paid a tv licence.

How has he? Yes, he only gave it 9 month but would you prefer he stayed stum and just did nothing?

Mental Mickey

hmmm wrote: »

He's on a leave of absence, they have to take him back. We should bill RTE for the cost of a wasted election.

Do they?? Wonder what job they'll give him? Hope he gets a crappy position!?

maynooth_rules

hmmm wrote: »

He's on a leave of absence, they have to take him back. We should bill RTE for the cost of a wasted election.

His leave of absence was gone after 12 months. He leaves politics after 9 months. Hmmmmm, why are my suspicions kicking up.

Mental Mickey

Keano A Legend wrote: »

How has he? Yes, he only gave it 9 month but would you prefer he stayed stum and just did nothing?

What did he do in the 9 months he was there??

Red_Marauder

Joey the lips wrote: »

I wish the man well because he is effectivly unemployed in a poor economy.

He is not.. his job is guaranteed with RTE, and provided his old salary has not been effected (I'm not sure if it legally can be), then he's getting a pay rise.

Red_Marauder

Mickey Pearce wrote: »

What did he do in the 9 months he was there??

exactly... and in fact, only about 4 months of Dáil time.

Gardoggle

Fine Gael let the country down by not fully exploiting an obvious talent, in a time when we need people to articulate our problems properly rather than simple political rhetoric which is what we're getting now..

skearon

Mickey Pearce wrote: »

Will RTE take him back though? Doubt it? He's shown himself to be a hypocrite.

RTE have no choice, but if Lee wants to prove he isn't a hypocrite he should seek employment elsewhere.

Tea drinker

Mickey Pearce wrote: »

He quit cos he didn't get what he wanted. Spoilt brat.

It has a little of that in it, but at the end of the day, he left his existing job to pursue this one and to make a difference. Everyone knew his qualifications when he joined FG and expected his input.
I think he was right to leave as there was no framework for him to make any difference in his area of expertise, and it was simply pointless to engage any further. I mean, did FG really expect him to "serve an apprenticeship" while the worst financial disaster since the 30's rolls right over Ireland? Was there no sense of urgency about his inclusion or did they really feel they could sit back and make use of him in the next election? How does this attitude marry with his intention when he took the job. It was untenable.
I'm only sorry he didn't go independant, I think with enough big fish in that pond we could have seen something new emerge, unshackled from old processes.

Mental Mickey

Gardoggle wrote: »

Fine Gael let the country down by not fully exploiting an obvious talent, in a time when we need people to articulate our problems properly rather than simple politic rhetoric which is what we're getting now..

That's all they ever gave us. They're useless. Kenny will be out on his a**e soon, I think?

RoundyMooney

P.ie posters have it that he's on Frontline tonight. We're seeing and hearing more of him now than we ever did.

HQvhs

Red_Marauder wrote: »

As was already mentioned he did take a significant pay cut on leaving RTE.

Many people will look dimly at the fact that his leave of "special absence" expires in a couple of months time.

Yes, I'm aware of that. And now he's taken an even more substantial pay cut because he's on an unpaid leave of absence with no guarantee of the same job if he goes back to RTE.

mrbig

I dont think being a reporter qualifies a person for a front bench position, George Lee may be an experienced economic comentator but he was a novice politician, Imagine Bill O'Herlihy looking to be made Ireland football manager.

We have enough fools in government as it is, thankfully this one can stick to light entertainment from now on.

Mental Mickey

RoundyMooney wrote: »

P.ie posters have it that he's on Frontline tonight. We're seeing and hearing more of him now than we ever did.

Has he taken over the other Plank's job already!!!???

skearon

RoundyMooney wrote: »

P.ie posters have it that he's on Frontline tonight. We're seeing and hearing more of him now than we ever did.

Frontline announced that themselves:

http://www.rte.ie/ie/frontline/entry/change_of_plans

RoundyMooney

skearon wrote: »

Frontline announced that themselves:

http://www.rte.ie/ie/frontline/entry/change_of_plans

Cool, I'll watch with interest.

skearon

mrbig wrote: »

I dont think being a reporter qualifies a person for a front bench position, George Lee may be an experienced economic comentator but he was a novice politician, Imagine Bill O'Herlihy looking to be made Ireland football manager.

We have enough fools in government as it is, thankfully this one can stick to light entertainment from now on.

'More respect for Enda' ??

Surely the reverse as his desperate policy of doing anything to get power, such as celebrity candiates, has backfired on our former Minister for Tourism.

Rb

Keano A Legend wrote: »

How has he? Yes, he only gave it 9 month but would you prefer he stayed stum and just did nothing?

By all accounts he did nothing while he was there, to the disappointment of the other members in the Dail and to the party as a whole.

He got a seat to represent South Dublin, which he could have done had he stayed. Yet, instead of being content with what he had run for in the first place, he had ideas of grandeur and power which involved usurping those who've actually worked to get where they are, and when Enda said "Eh, not yet buddy" he threw the toys out of the pram and quit.

He was given a chance and did f*ck all, so it's a huge mistake of FG's for taking him on in the first place, especially as they had an extremely good and well liked councillor in the area lined up to run for it before GL appeared.

He's just disappointed that he's not the centre of attention any longer really, out he walked from the Dail, strutted up to the press and gave them some soundbites including one attempt at indicating unrest in the party over its leadership, instead of leaving with some dignity intact. Now he's whoring himself out to every other media outlet that will have him. Desperate, attention craved little man. Hopefully he'll be content with his previous job and stay the hell out of things he has no place in, in future.

After this he has given interviews where he has made a further arse of himself, complaining about his lack of power and even admitting to Dobbo that no agreement between himself and Enda ever took place over a front bench position. He has proven that he can get on TV and waffle with conviction, but when sat down and given a chance to do some work he prefered to do nothing and point the finger at everyone else.

Screw him.

Cicero

Can't believe he commented on a rumoured leadership push against Kenny just hours after resigning.......he's lost a lot of credibility IMO...you don't quit at the first hurdle...politics is a slow burning career, not an instant success thing...interesting to see what job RTE give him.....

Red_Marauder

HQvhs wrote: »

Yes, I'm aware of that. And now he's taken an even more substantial pay cut because he's on an unpaid leave of absence with no guarantee of the same job if he goes back to RTE.

What are you talking about? He can go back to RTE now, there is no more leave of absence Same job or not, there's a job there for him in News.

There is no legal reason to think he's in line for any pay cut since typically one's pay is frozen not decreased during a leave of absence. The fact is that he is likely to take a pay increase from this compared to his Dáil salary.

Furthermore, like was said, the fact that this "special leave" was due to expire soon is very suspicious.

skearon

Least we forget his promises

See http://irishelectionliterature.wordpress.com/2010/02/08/george-lee-fine-gael-dublin-south-by-election-2009/

Cicero

he's on rte 1 with Kenny (the other one) now

HQvhs

Red_Marauder wrote: »

What are you talking about? He can go back to RTE now, there is no more leave of absence Same job or not, there's a job there for him in News.

There is no legal reason to think he's in line for any pay cut since typically one's pay is frozen not decreased during a leave of absence. The fact is that he is likely to take a pay increase from this compared to his Dáil salary.

Furthermore, like was said, the fact that this "special leave" was due to expire soon is very suspicious.

So, are you implying that George Lee left politics in order to make more money at RTE?

147kevin

He was hyped up by FG Media Machine, He certainly seemed passionate and just what Irish politics needed, but obviously Enda didnt have the brain to use him properly

Kenny will never be Taoiseach, smarmy git

Red_Marauder

HQvhs wrote: »

So, are you implying that George Lee left politics in order to make more money at RTE?

No, not at all. I'm saying that's why he's gone now as opposed to waiting around. If he waited around, there's no doubt he would have progressed.

Mental Mickey

147kevin wrote: »

He was hyped up by FG Media Machine, He certainly seemed passionate and just what Irish politics needed, but obviously Enda didnt have the brain to use him properly

Kenny will never be Taoiseach, smarmy git

Wouldnt call him smarmy. He just doesn't know how to put his points across without dithering.

Rb

Kenny's asking some good questions, in fairness to him. George Lee is going out very badly, he's making an even bigger arse of himself and exposing himself as an ignorant, naive, self-important fool who had notions about himself seemingly unmatched by any other ego in the Dail.

He's rabbling and making excuses. This is great. Doesn't reflect well on the party for selecting him and I hope Leo Varadkar comes on and destroys him soon.

skearon

HQvhs wrote: »

So, are you implying that George Lee left politics in order to make more money at RTE?

Fact: His salary as a TD was less than his in RTE

RGS

Lee joined a party in Opposition to effect change.!!!!

To effect change you need to be in government, therefore Lee must have felt a general election was in the offing and we would be in cabinet after the election.

Major political mistake.

skearon

RTE have announced new reality TV show staring George Lee and Charlie Bird, it is called 'Celebrity Big Baby'!

stumpypeeps

Rb wrote: »

Kenny's asking some good questions, in fairness to him. George Lee is going out very badly, he's making an even bigger arse of himself and exposing himself as an ignorant, naive, self-important fool who had notions about himself seemingly unmatched by any other ego in the Dail.

He's rabbling and making excuses. This is great. Doesn't reflect well on the party for selecting him and I hope Leo Varadkar comes on and destroys him soon.

I think Bruton and Kenny are coming out of this terribly. They have an economist and the unqualified Bruton won't use him! Crazy.

Red_Marauder

stumpypeeps wrote: »

I think Bruton and Kenny are coming out of this terribly. They have an economist and the unqualified Bruton won't use him! Crazy.

Eh, explain what you mean by unqualified?

He has a Masters in Economics from Oxford University

Shayman

Look, he was paid more at RTE and if he wanted his job there he HAD to be back before 1 May or he would have lost that. So. Does he get a Dail pension now?

Red_Marauder

Noel Whelan just said shít hot to the housewives of Ireland. oops.

Someone buy that man a drink.

Rb

Ivan Yates just hit the nail on the head.

Mental Mickey

Rb wrote: »

Ivan Yates just hit the nail on the head.

??

Prionsios

Another pathetic waste of tax payers money holding another by-election

Pudzianowski

Lee's ideas may not have been practicable. It'd be easier for him to flog them on six-one news.

Rb

Mickey Pearce wrote: »

??

On frontline. He said that being elected to the Dail is a priviledge and should be treated as such, and that going in with an attitude thinking you'll change the world in the space of 9 months is nothing short of a farce.

Which is spot on. Lee made an arse of himself, now the other guests are making a show of him. It's fantastic.

thetonynator

no one will ever take him seriously again . . . .