POLITICAL FALLOUT:FIANNA FÁIL will have to improve its "disastrous" communications strategy before a general election, former minister Willie O'Dea has said.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that the news about the IMF coming into Ireland was disastrously mismanaged by a total lack of a coherent communications strategy,” he said.
Mr O’Dea said in advance of the parliamentary party meeting tomorrow that “a general election can’t be far away, so we’ve got to sort our communications strategy before then”.
However, while speculation mounted over the weekend about Taoiseach Brian Cowen’s future as leader of Fianna Fáil, a number of TDs canvassed for their views did not believe there would be a challenge against him.
Some TDs who declined to be identified said that while they did not want Mr Cowen to lead them into a general election, they believed it was too late now for a challenge.
One TD, who also declined to be named, believed that once a general election was called Mr Cowen would step aside anyway.
Cork South Central TD Michael McGrath said: “It’s not the time for mudslinging either between or within parties.” He added: “I think the priority for all is to get the best possible deal for Ireland from the negotiations” with the EU institutions and the IMF.
Darragh O’Brien of Dublin North was equally clear that there should be no change in party leadership. “It’s been a difficult week but these things are never easy and now in particular.”
He acknowledged that communications could have been handled differently but said the Government could not negotiate over the airwaves.
He criticised what he called “this Armageddon overhyping of the situation completely” by the media and was equally annoyed by “off the record” comments by his parliamentary colleagues.
“It’s not just down to two people, Brian Cowen and Brian Lenihan, but it’s the responsibility of everyone who’s any bloody use.
“They should be putting their shoulder to the wheel. All 166 TDs should to be able to inform their constituents and put their own views.”
Mr O’Brien added: “Ten weeks ago I said that if the cost of borrowing remained prohibitive, I didn’t see any difficulty with the IMF coming in. This is bigger than us. A lot of the comments were that this is specifically Irish but it’s not. There’s Portugal and especially Spain.”
Niall Collins of Limerick West said: “I don’t see a challenge to him because if you’re to be challenged, you’re straight into a general election and I don’t think most TDs want that or, for that matter, most people.”
Another TD said we had to be practical. “If the EU fund and the IMF will give us cheaper money, that’s fine.” He added that it was “irrelevant who the next party leader is. Whether TDs get elected will be determined by their own individual performance, not on their party leader.”
While he was in Donegal on Saturday, Mr Cowen rejected claims that he should be ashamed to be on a remote island off the west coast trying to save a Fianna Fáil Dáil seat rather than on the spot in Dublin heading talks with the IMF.
He insisted he was kept fully briefed on the “urgent issues” in Dublin but that the people of Arranmore and the northwest were also entitled to meet their Taoiseach to discuss issues that were important to them on a daily basis.
Defending the Government’s stance, Minister for the Environment John Gormley said Irish sovereignty was already eroded when it joined the EU.
He was defending the Government’s role amid criticism over the loss of sovereignty once the IMF and EU loan agreement is in place.
Mr Gormley said: “There is legitimate talk about an erosion of sovereignty but I think it’s important to remember that our sovereignty was eroded when we joined the EU.”
As he arrived for the Cabinet meeting, Mr Gormley said he welcomed the “pooling of sovereignty” involved in EU membership.
The speculation continued as the latest Red C poll for the Sunday Business Postshowed that support for Fianna Fáil had dropped by 1 per cent since last month, to 17 per cent, another record low.
Fine Gael is up one to 33 per cent, Labour is unchanged at 27 per cent, the Greens drop one to 3 per cent, while Sinn Féin support is up two points to 11 per cent.