Bruton's leadership of FG

Sir - It is not surprising that Fintan O'Toole's article on John Bruton (Opinion, June 13th) should have drawn a swift and loyal…

Sir - It is not surprising that Fintan O'Toole's article on John Bruton (Opinion, June 13th) should have drawn a swift and loyal reply from Jim Mitchell TD (June 14th). However, many party activists, not least those in Fine Gael, will feel a resounding resonance in Mr O'Toole's arguments.

The dilemma for those active in party politics in the current political climate is now acute. There is a deeply hurtful sense of having been betrayed or misled, in working for a political culture that no longer deserves the loyalty it so earnestly craves. It is my view, after 18 years as a party activist, that reform of the culture of Fianne Fail and Fine Gael is a hopeless endeavour in the short term, if ever. The defection of Senator Helen Keogh from the PDs to Fine Gael only underlines the interchangeability that has given party politics the stigma of certain sameness.

There is a need to renew our democracy, according to Mr Bruton, and I agree. But perhaps this is now the time for renewal through the establishment of a new political movement. Whether or not that comes to pass, I am no longer prepared to endorse this culture and have forwarded my resignation from Fine Gael. - Yours, etc.

Desmond White, Beaufort Downs, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14.