RTE 5-way

Close to kick off, this could be fun.

Adams is doing a lot better than usual it must be said. The contributions are so short there are no real blows being landed.

I wish everyone would stop going on about the bloody GAA.

Gerry is putting up his best show yet. Eamon Gilmore is coming over as very weak.

Micheal Martin makes the DUP sound like altarboys, oh yes!

I keep thinking of Monty Burns when I look at Micheal Martin.

Oh no, FG and Labour set up Monty Martin for a snipe at them. This is not looking good. Enda looks irritated and not solid. John Gormley has just returned to Germany, mentally.

Monty was pure FF reptile just before the break - he dropped to the lowest level to take the wind from GA's sails and largely failed, looking like a total tos@pot. EK is warming to the task, EG is still not doing as well as he should, GA is MOM so far while JG is not there.

Originally Posted by Spudulika

Gerry is putting up his best show yet. Eamon Gilmore is coming over as very weak.

Gilmore can't debate, Gormley has nothing to offer. Kenny just has to hold his own, and he'll be fine.

Originally Posted by mypost

Gilmore can't debate, Gormley has nothing to offer. Kenny just has to hold his own, and he'll be fine.

Agreed, though I'm surprised with EG, I thought he might just get it going.

Gerry Adams won overall - but some loon on the 11th hour said he came off worst? Shocking. Enda for Taoiseach, Labour to stay in opposition.

Thought Kenny won overall, stuck to his points and didn't get involved with bickering (which worked well on the last question about parties not bickering for the common good)

Gilmore doesn't come across well on screen, but he nailed Martin about him being a wolf in sheeps clothing, pretending he wasn't part of Fianna Fail the past few years

Martin was a joke, a stereotype of a crooked politician

Adams came across very well, as he always does, but again, as always, his policies are just populist

Gormley, well at this stage he should be happy he didn't just fall over

Originally Posted by Spudulika

I keep thinking of Monty Burns when I look at Micheal Martin.

You're wrong, more like this

Originally Posted by Spudulika

Agreed, though I'm surprised with EG, I thought he might just get it going.

He can get his opening statements going, full of soundbites. "We're f'd....FF f'd us...we will do it better."

Then it comes to the nitty gritty debate, he's lost for words. You need a few more rockets to launch at your opponents than "you both voted for the bank guarantee".

It's an election, people want policies, not flashbacks.

Originally Posted by mypost

It's an election, people want policies, not flashbacks.

Agreed, which is why I think Kenny won too, he consistantly stuck to FG's 5 point plan and what it will do for the country

That said, what was that good line about Martin he used during the healthcare question 'you're a fraud of a shadow of an existance of a health minister' or something like that, anyone remember?

The consensus last night, was that Kenny did what he needed to, and is Taoiseach-elect. Finally, people got to see the authoritative figure that he's always had, if not always shown. And don't forget, unlike the others, he had just come from a day-trip to Berlin!

The debates though are sorting out the contenders from the pretenders. Gilmore can forget about Taoiseach, but will probably do enough in the election to prevent FG getting the 83.

From what I saw of it (missed a bit in the middle) Gormley seemed to come across best. He seemed reasonable, calm and honest. He was helped of course by the fact no one saw him as a threat and therefore didn't attack him.

Overall though, the format didn't really work and there were no real winners or losers. And because of that Adams and Kenny were probably happiest because they're seen as the most likely to implode.

Hopefully the remaining debates will see them get a chance to develop their points and engage in real debate a bit more. Also, it would be good if the debates didn't try to cover every topic every night but rather tackled a few things in more detail.

Mr A I felt the same about Gormley, despite my dislike of the Greens behaviour, he was one person who I would vote for from the lot of them. It played out pretty much the way it should - the minors squabbling for survival (FF and SF) with FF going to the lowest common denominator to win points. Kenny was good though, he was annoyed with Gilmore (who has been poor) but let it slide. Monty was cringeworthy, yet he'll probably be re-elected on the first count. What is it about Labour that they've become FF-like in their wish to scream and shout?

Been impressed with the Fine Gael campaign. FG and Labour have had the country in good shape when they were last in power. I don't think FG will get to have a single-party government.

As someone working in IT, commenting on an IT level, FG should be put up against a wall and shot for gross incompetence.

They're trying to be Obama, but they're actually being your grandad.

Dahamsta, can you enlighten us on your view point - not wumming, just asking honestly. From the soundbits from Varadkar they seem serious about upgrading infrastructures etc, though I've not seen anything solid. What should they be doing?

If they can't manage their own website, they can't manage the IT of the country. So far they've exposed their own followers data to the world, which is actually in breach of the law; and they've added an open proxy to their site for spammers (the valentine's day debacle). It demonstrates a gross lack of care about IT.