Fine Gael advisers warned Kenny over party identity

Senior Fine Gael advisers warned Taoiseach Enda Kenny, in a memo just months after the party took power, that it needed to "maintain a strong identity distinct from its role in Government" to prepare for the next general election.

The memo, written in May 2011, said Fine Gael needed to be “recalibrated, populated, managed and established” to ensure it succeeded.

The document, which sources said was never fully “implemented despite some good initial intentions”, went through several changes. One source said it “went through other iterations, later, in dumbed-down versions”.

The initial draft was written by Frank Flannery, a former senior adviser and Rehab director who resigned earlier this year, general secretary Tom Curran and Mark Mortell, another senior strategist.

The memo, seen by The Irish Times, outlined a series of measures needed "to ensure Fine Gael succeeds in Government and sets itself up for re-election in 2016".

Identity crisis

Mr Flannery, at a speech at the MacGill Summer School last week, said Fine Gael’s performance in the recent local elections had been “one of the worst” and said it does “not govern with political intelligence”.

He also said the party, while in power, has traditionally “got sucked into the system” to the detriment of its identity as a party with the “exact same” happening in this Government, to his “surprise”.

The report from 2011 contained similar warnings.

It said: “Fine Gael is now in Government and the structures of the party need to be recalibrated, populated, managed and established to ensure the party can maintain a strong identity – distinct from its role in Government – deal with the day-to-day political challenges, respond to any “crisis” situations that emerge and exploit opportunities that arise.

“Ongoing revitalisation of the party organisation and image has to be managed and, if the party in Government is to lead on issues and on the reform agenda, it needs ongoing policy development while it sets about the task of dealing with the country’s economic challenges.”

Among the report’s recommendations were the creation of a “strategic hub” to ensure the “party in Government gets the benefit of political thinking that is ‘party-centric’ rather than Government focused, a strategic hub that is forward looking- to the next electoral battles, to emerging trends and to what is happening with our political foes”.

While there is a strategy committee in the party, sources said it was not as broad as had been planned and has only met irregularly instead of at defined times, such as once a month, as had initially been intended.

Other proposals included establishing regular meetings of the party’s special advisors in Government, which sources said had only happened regularly in recent times.

However, it did note the position of party chairman becomes “significantly more important” in Government as the “holder of this role is a now a key player representing the party”.

Limerick TD Dan Neville is the current chairman, taken over when Charlie Flanagan was promoted to Cabinet.

The memo for Mr Kenny said the chairman should be a spokesperson and representative for Fine Gael as well as a “facilitator . . . mediator” and “unifying force”.