Dublin Opinion

Dublin Opinion Exclusive: The view from inside the mind of the chief political correspondent at the Irish Times as he writes his piece on the Fine Gael ardfheis.

“THE PROSPECT of power permeated the Fine Gael ardfheis at the weekend. TDs and delegates alike were enthused by the belief that their hour is coming round at last after almost a quarter of a century in the wilderness.”

Hmmm nice start. I think this is going to be a good one.

“Enda Kenny brought the crowd to its feet on Saturday night when he made his first reference to what he would do as taoiseach. The naked desire for victory, and the belief that it is possible at the next election, infused the mood at the ardfheis.”

Is the heater on…it’s getting warm … I seem to be building up a bit of a sweat.

“Fine Gael has been riding high in the polls for the past six months as the biggest party in the country, a position it never occupied before in Irish political history.”

Picking up the pace. Getting the rhythm.

“There is now a real belief in Fine Gael that it can hold on to that status and translate it into seats in the next election.”

Yes, belief you can hold.

“The prospect of overtaking Fianna Fáil in the Dáil is tantalisingly close. That would be an incredible achievement for a party whose obituary was written by so many people after its disastrous performance in 2002.”

Tangibly – teasingly - tingling –ly, too too too close.

“No government in living memory has been as unpopular as the Fianna Fáil-led coalition, and it is hard to see how it can avoid being swept out of office whenever the next election comes.”

Very hard now. Harder than quartz.

“In the meantime, Fine Gael will have its work cut out to maintain its new-found status as the biggest party in the country.”

Oh-oh-oh its big, very big.

“It has a very delicate line to walk by convincing one segment of the electorate that it is capable of leading an alternative government while….

Even something as delicate as a silken thread…

….simultaneously harnessing the anger of those who want to see full-blooded opposition to everything the current Government attempts.”

…can be used to secure a blood-throttling harness. Goodness me, my temples are thumping like kettle drums.

Kenny is extremely lucky in his deputy leader Richard Bruton. Not only is Bruton an honourable man who has never sought to take advantage of his leader’s difficulties, he is a huge asset to Kenny in that he gives intellectual weight to the party’s policy positions.

So honourable, so lucky – so so so immaculate. Haven’t finished yet. Must end with a big slash..

“The real objective on June 5th is to damage both Fianna Fáil and the Greens so badly that their coalition cannot survive. The sooner the next election happens the better for Kenny and Fine Gael. Coming back to ardfheiseanna next year and the year after to wind up the attack on the Government one more time is not an inviting prospect.”

…oh sweet mary jane…

“As things stand Kenny is in a strong position to cap his political career by occupying the taoiseach’s office but the sooner the next election happens the better his prospects are of pulling it off.”

Aaaaggggghhhhhh, he won’t have been the only one.