PROFILE/Fergus Finlay: The archetypal political 'junkie', Fergus Finlay, is returning to the Labour Party fold. He will try to guide the party's new leader, Pat Rabbitte, to success. But will his input be enough to get the party back on track, asks Mark Hennessy, Political Reporter.
Just a few weeks ago, Fergus Finlay was one of those quietly working in the background of Wexford TD Brendan Howlin's campaign for the Labour leadership. Now, Finlay must advise Pat Rabbitte, the man who defeated his champion. But the new pairing should bond quickly.
"The two men have one thing in common: a visceral hatred of Fianna Fáil. That will be enough to secure the relationship," says one Labour TD.
But Finlay brings much more to the table, as even his political enemies reluctantly concede: "I have to say I went cold when I heard that he was coming back. He is the best adviser in the business," admits one Fianna Fáil figure.
Steeped in Old Labour traditions, Finlay will help to "soothe the worried brows" of some in the party who are concerned that all senior positions are now held by former Democratic Left figures.
If most party members are happy that Finlay is coming back, could the same be said for his bank manager, who must be despairing at his decision to quit Wilson Hartnell Public Relations (WHPR) for the unstable world of politics. Though extremely well paid by WHPR, Finlay was bored: "I think he found some aspects of the PR side of things difficult: the 'have gun will travel' thing," says one senior Labour politician.
"He missed the buzz. There is an incredible buzz associated with politics. Fergus was at the centre of it since 1982. It is hard to walk away from that and not miss it," he adds.
Details of his salary package are not yet finalised. But he is likely to be paid about about €100,000 a year - €70,000 directly from the State through the leader's allowance, along with a top-up from Labour.
Times have changed, however, since Finlay was last inside the Labour tent. His decision to quit in November 1997, in the wake of the Adi Roche Presidential race debacle, was the first signal that Labour's leader for 15 years, Dick Spring, was also about to go.
The relationship between the two was extraordinary, and will not be repeated with Rabbitte. "Dick was just 32/33 years old, with little experience. Finlay was younger too. They were different times," says another Labour TD.
For years, Finlay was his master's voice: "Unlike everybody else, he spoke for his party leader. And he did not even have to check back. I don't know of any case where Dick subsequently contradicted him," according to one source.
The history of the Spring/Finlay relationship has often been told. In 1983, he was working in Cork for a US multinational, Ridge Tool, after stints as an official with the Workers' Union of Ireland and IMPACT. Left without a decent speechwriter, Labour's national organiser Corkonian Pat Magner approached Finlay. Finlay travelled to meet the new party leader . . . And he never left.
Despite Finlay's basic shyness and desire to stay in the shadows, he has become the best-known political adviser in the State - principally because of his role during the Fianna Fáil/Labour government between 1993 and 1996.
Badly wounded by the 1992 general election result, Albert Reynolds's bid to stay on as taoiseach was helped by some early planning and a good result from the Edinburgh European Union Summit.
Caught on the backfoot, Spring gathered some of his closest advisers together in the Berkeley Court Hotel in Ballsbridge in Dublin to seek advice. The included Finlay, Greg Sparks, Willie Scally.From the start, Finlay opposed an alliance with Fianna Fáil. Left in the minority, he served as deputy government press secretary, alongside Fianna Fáil's appointee, Sean Duignan.
For Duignan's tastes, Finlay was, perhaps, just a little too intense - though the two were friendly, even while Reynolds committed political hari-kari by forcing though Harry Whelehan's appointment as President of the High Court.
Even though the Fianna Fáil/Labour administration is regarded by many observers as the best government the country has ever had, Finlay was happier in the Fine Gael/Labour/Democratic Left "Rainbow" coalition which followed.
"My own experience of him in government is good. He was open and helpful. He had a very positive influence on the whole Northern Ireland peace process," says the former leader of Democratic Left, Proinsias De Rossa. "He was very forward thinking in my views. Some people may take a different view. His influence was not just in media relations, but in policy development.
"He was able to reach across," adds De Rossa, who is now Labour's President.
The experience of power during the Rainbow was the high point of Finlay's career to date. Appointed as special adviser to Spring in the Department of Foreign Affairs, Finlay overcame the initial suspicion of the Iveagh House mandarins.
His success is a source of rarely voiced pride to him: "He was regarded as an equal by them. He was really, really impressed by the best that is over in that place," says one Leinster House observer.
After his 1997 departure from Labour, Finlay worked alongside lobbyist Frank Dunlop on RTÉ's Later with Dunlop and Finlay. Though he liked Dunlop, Finlay struggled with stories about Dunlop's past.
Despite his struggles, he stayed with the programme until RTÉ pulled the plug on Dunlop's television career. Until its eventual demise, Dunlop was replaced on "Later" by another lobbyist and former Fianna Fáil official, Jackie Gallagher.
Freelance work with WHPR followed, along with an alliance with journalist, Joe Joyce on the Irish Public Affairs Digest - a highly-regarded, but eventually unsuccessful electronic publication.
In 1999, the head of WHPR, Mary Finan persuaded him to head a new public affairs unit in the company, from which he represented Campus Stadium Ireland, A1 Waste, among others.
Curiously, Finan put up with, or at least could not stop, Finlay having a column in the Irish Examiner - from which he launched regular broadsides against Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats.
In July, he accused the Government of reneging on its election promises. "Of course, the people who will suffer are precisely the people who trusted Fianna Fáil this time." Equally, Finlay did not spare the Progressive Democrats from the lash. "The PDs are well and truly bought now, and they have little choice but to stay bought," he wrote, borrowing words once used by Alan Dukes about Labour.
In particular, he returned again and again to one of his favourite topics: the State's failure to spend enough to educate the country's disabled. The issue is one close to his heart, since he and his wife, Frieda, have a Down's syndrome child, Mandy.
For the next few years, Finlay will strive to bring Labour back to the halcyon days, when Spring was the acknowledged Leader of the Opposition in the months before the 1992 general election.
The omens could be a lot worse. The Government has been making silly mistakes.
Fine Gael is still shambolic. Labour has a new and, presumably, keen leader. The 2004 local elections offer a chance to rebuild.
However, the longer-term is shrouded in mist. Unless Fine Gael improves, Rabbitte and Finlay will be faced with the same sort of Dáil arithmetic that forced Ruairí Quinn to leave the Fianna Fáil option open last year.
"Rabbitte has softened his tone a bit towards FF since he got elected. But they could find that Quinn wasn't so wrong the last time, after all," adds one source. "They'll be lucky to have choices."
The Finlay file
Who is he?
Former special adviser to Labour leader, Dick Spring between 1982 and 1999. Occasional author, born wordsmith. One of the shrewdest political advisers in the business.
Why is he in the news?
He will shortly become the special adviser to newly-elected Labour Leader, Pat Rabbitte, once he departs a position in Wilson Hartnell Public Relations.
Most appealing characteristics
Intelligent, witty, with a self-deprecatory sense of humour.
Least appealing characteristic
Can, in the eyes of some, seem arrogant and condescending if he does not like the tone of a question.
Most likely to say
"Labour's job is to put Fianna Fáil out of office."
Least likely to say
"OK, Bertie. We'll take five Cabinet jobs. You have the rest."