By Kate Manning
Oh Fine Gael – when will you ever learn? Fool us once, that’s fair enough but fool us again? Sorry but no can do.
Imagine that you’re sitting down to watch Eastenders and to your amazement and disgust the storyline bears a striking resemblance to a storyline the previous year. While you found that storyline to be great entertainment, once is enough thank you. The beauty of a good storyline is that it is unique. Take note Mr Kenny.
In 2004 Ireland East became a battleground for two Fine Gael candidates, Mairead McGuinness and Avril Doyle. It was always going to be a tough election with two candidates from the same party vying for two out of three seats in the same constituency. The competition appealed to human natures natural instinct to relish a good row. Neither candidate disappointed. With talk of defaced posters, sabotaged canvasses and general mudslinging, Ireland East became the hub of all media attention. There is no doubt that their public differences were a big part in their election to the European Parliament, regardless of how exaggerated it all was.
Fast forward five years and low and behold another Fine Gael face off explodes onto the scene in the East Constituency. Oh and just in time for a European Election – fancy that? This time Avril Doyle has been replaced with Senator John Paul Phelan and set boundaries have been established for canvassing and posters. I sure hope no one breaks those boundaries – that would just draw attention to the candidate’s right?
On Wednesday reports surfaced that Ms McGuinness had breached Fine Gael's “strict boundary and vote management strategy” by putting posters up in Senator Phelan’s assigned area. Senator Phelan publicly condemned this behaviour by saying, “today, I find that Maireád McGuinness posters have been erected across South Kildare and Portarlington, again contrary to the party agreement.” “The strategy included clear and unequivocal rules on advertising, postering and canvassing. I was disappointed to find that less than two days after the party agreement came into action, my running mate had adverts in various newspapers in the South East. I am angry that this has happened but it will be a matter for party headquarters to deal with”.
Yawn. Has nobody informed Deputy Kenny that lightening never strikes twice and neither should a storyline in Fine Gael's soap opera. Originality is rewarded. That is why Mairead McGuinness and Avril Doyle’s campaign saga was of interest to the public.
Maybe now we should have a love triangle in the East – Senator Phelan, Ms McGuinness and Big Phil ‘The Hulk’ Hogan. Now that would be interesting.
