The decision by RTÉ economics editor George Lee to seek the Fine Gael nomination to run for the party in the Dublin South by-election is an act of “real courage and faith in politics”, the party leader Enda Kenny said.
He welcomed Mr Lee’s decision and his “recognition that Fine Gael is the party that has the ideas and the people to get this country back on the right track”.
“Fine Gael is now clearly the party that can deliver real change in Ireland and George Lee’s decision demonstrates his belief in the capacity for a resurgent Fine Gael to lead a new Government and to improve the lives of all our people,” he said.
Mr Kenny said the party members in Dublin South have an important decision to make at tomorrow night’s selection convention. He said they were “fortunate that a candidate of the calibre of George Lee offering to stand in the forthcoming election”.
Senator Alex White, the Labour Party candidate for the by-election in Dublin South, said today’s announcement by Fine Gael was “intriguing”, given Mr Lee’s “repeated denials” on the matter up to last weekend.
“However, I welcome his entry into the field. George Lee has made a significant contribution to economic debate over recent years and has been a forthright critic of government policy. I have no doubt that he will be a formidable candidate.”
“The real challenge now is not just to describe or explain our economic crisis and its causes, but also to bring forward solutions.
“We are facing a deep economic crisis, but we also have a crisis in the ability of our political system to respond. People are crying out for radical new ideas and also for a clean break with the past.
“I honestly believe that we will never achieve that if our politics continues to be dominated by two parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, whose differences are based on an old and forgotten controversy from the 1920s.”