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I'd say there is gonna be another general election before the year is out.
Dermot Ahern isn't going to take Cowen as Leader quietly. Cowen could be leader for a long time to come. I also reckon Dempsey's gonna push too. There will be an election, as I believe a lot of the electorate went for Ahern over Kenny, rather than Fianna Fail over Fine Gael in the election.
Correction: FG would like an election for that very reason, but FF won't call it unless they're polling really strongly.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kingdom
Who will take the job now?
http://www.recruitireland.com/job/?jobID=10012942
Won't get fooled again...
I'm likewise.Quote:
Originally Posted by Block G Raptor
Not that confident if he is resigning :D;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Billsthoughts
Correct decision to resign although a few months earlier than predicted.
IMO he was under too much pressure to explain the recent inconsistencies relating to the sterling lodgements. I also believe he won't be able to explain a credible reason which is why he is stalling. He is hoping he wins the High Court action which will mean he never has to answer the questions. His claims that the Mahon Tribunal had no affect are bull. I get the feeling however that not many people care about this which is not a surprising Irish reaction.
- Bertie highlights would be Northern Ireland which I don't think many others could have pushed through.
- All Irish leaders have done well in Europe (CJ basically sold his vote for billions which we were happy about) so I don't feel he did any better than others would have achieved.
- Social Partnership will be mentioned as another success but that is open to debate.
Cowen will likely take over without a contest & he really does have a poisoned chalice. Health in chaos, Wobbly construction Industry, Tax revenues plummeting.
I am going to get a t-shirt like this guy but with a big R instead. :)
Micháel Martin has just announced he's backing Cowen for leader. There'll hardly be a contest now.
Bertie just recieved this week another load of documents the Tribunal want to go through (Source: The Mail). Writing on the wall for him, hence the resignation, and the devil was in the detail of his speech - "I never recieved a corrupt payment". Approx €800,000 (in todays terms) of unexplained lodgements in two years in the mid 90's is okay then?
He deserves some credit for the North (but not the total writing out of history of others which has happened in the last 24 hours), and Social Partnership (at the behest of the unions at the very start) which provided the basis for our economic growth. However, his legacy is one of wasted boom times - crippled health services, crippled road infrastructure, little transport infrastructure, people commuting into Dublin from practically the whole country because of failure to either develop the regions, and properly regulate the building/ planning process in the capital. We perhaps never had it so good, but it could've been so much bloody better.
Surely it was Mick Clifford, Fintan O'Toole, Frank Connolly, the Irish Times and the rest of the meeja? Doesn't matter that Independent News and Media were unflinching in their support, RTE similarly held over a barrel because of their fear of privatisation and need for licence fee increases and the News Corp papers also fully behind him.Quote:
Originally Posted by noby
I think it was Philip Boucher Hayes on the radio yesterday that was talking about leaked stories. Every time before Bertie came out with a new explanation, Hayes would get an anonymous phone call from St.Lukes, putting the story to him, to kind of sound out the credibility of it. The other day he got a phone call saying Bertie was going to explain away the sterling lodgements as winnings on bets placed in the UK.
If that's the best they could come up with then I guess it was time to throw in the towel.
Good post. I won;t knock him for what has been achieved under his leadership, but with planning and foresight it could have been so much better.Quote:
Originally Posted by Macy
10 years of a boom and all we have to show for it is 2 Luas tracks that don't meet, a couple of motorways that only go half the way to their destination, an overpriced tunnel and a plan for a metro. The surplus was spent on an overstaffed (and dare I say overpaid) public sector that will prove to be a huge burden in the next couple of years (it already is).
The Sindo was unflinching in its sycophancy, but Senan Moloney did break ranks in the daily a couple of weeks ago when he (all but) called Bertie a perjurer following Carruth's evidence.Quote:
Originally Posted by Macy
That does not surprise me at all - Senan Moloney's piece the day after the one I refer to above said that they were going to explain that he converted his salary to sterling before lodging it. It read so much like a kite fly - print this and see how it goes down before we decide to use it.Quote:
Originally Posted by noby
Big wins on the horses - ha ha we're they seriously thinking of trying that line?
Bought the Indo today for a laugh. I'd listened to drivetime on RTE radion 1 last night and their coverage was excellent. Some FF TDs, some opposition, random people on street, and the usual political commentators. seemed pretty fair and their was one excellent piece on the time line of the Mahon tribunal and the various inconsistencies. last word had soemthing similar
Indo only refered to his "dealings" with the mahon tribunal without actually deliving into it. And this witha 30 odd page pull out
I hate to call a halt on the parade at the forecast end of the Bertie years, but I am kind of worried.
Yes, I know that the evidence amounts to something pretty damning, but in reality, would you really expect Bertie to amble off so easily over it, albeit "In the National interest"?
I suspect that there is a big burst waiting around the corner - mostly a combination of all the stuff we have all spotted over the last little while, but the synergy of them amounting to a tidal wave.
Plus the fact that Mick Martin, the man who is possibly most capable of transforming FF into a political party and has a strong interest in taking over, has backed a Bifo - surely the antithesis of what he believes? Mick Martin is no schmuck and is possibly best connected at the mo to see certain aspects of the economic future. The phrase "Duck and Cover" comes to mind there.
Bertie has been through this rigamorole before and somehow got away with it. If he is jumping now, he is jumping before something huge, I fear.
In case you are wondering, politically speaking, I am at the front of the parade with an effigy of a man with a cheap suit and no "th"s
To run against the man that is going to walk any leadership contest could only damage your future career. To back him is a good way to smooth your path into the Tanaiste's seat, where you just have to wait your turn a little longer.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluebeard
That was my read on it.Quote:
Originally Posted by noby
Tanaiste is between Lenihan, Martin and Dermot Ahern, imo.
That makes sense alright, though I always got the impression that Mick Martin and the Bifo were mortal enemies within. Certainly Bertie feared MM more than the others and was palsy with Cowan, and I would imagine that that they shared a distrust - I would think that Cowan would be unlikely to name him as a Tanáiste, and I would reckon he'd go for Lenihan if he has a choice, to use the family name to pull in some of those who doubt him.Quote:
Originally Posted by noby
Is Ahearn likely to mount a challenge - I think I heard someone from Louth on here saying he might?
Deligthed Ahern is gone. It's a pity it won't damage Fianna Fáil though. I would love to see them pegged back for a few years.
I won't miss Bertie.
My take on it is that for the past few days Bertie's been getting advice from his lawyers on what the contradicting evidence will mean when he goes back to the Tribunal. He's thought about it and he doesn't want to be in power when he has to go back as it'll be too damaging. I don't buy this crap that he's been thinking it over for a while.
I would like it if there's an election but I don't think it'll happen for awhile unless Cowen makes a complete balls of it.
And do you really think that Cowan making a complete balls of things (I'm taking that eventuality as a given) would be any cause for FF to go to the polls? I'm reckoning that even if there is meltdown with the Greens, a deal between the independents and FF will be thrashed out. And who better for a good sound thrashing than Cowan?Quote:
Originally Posted by superfrank