Does anyone believe that Brian Lenihan would have survived this election if he hadn’t turned his back on Brian Cowen?
His move against his leader would, at another time, have led to swift political termination. Fianna Fáil stands for nothing if not loyalty. (Actually, Fianna Fáil had come to stand for pretty much nothing except loyalty.) Yet now it seems likely that the only remaining FF representative in Dublin, the sole survivor of the Lenihan/O’Rourke dynasty, will be the one who turned on his leader.
Wait a while. Micheál Martin is wounded now by these election results – fatally so, I would imagine. How long before Lenihan attempts to reclaim the party for himself and his dynasty?
FF’s only TD in Dublin. I have to say that out loud. That still isn’t conceivable, even though it’s actually happening.
Under Bertie Ahern, FF attempted to portray itself as a party of the working class. Ahern even called himself “the last socialist”, though the claim was met with a mixture of laughter and blank incomprehension. It’s interesting though that once he went, that whole costume was sloughed off – as if Bertie was the only credible working-class Dubliner in the whole party.
Well now he is.