Madam, – George Lee’s resignation is an act of disloyalty to the 27,000 people who voted for him and to the hundreds of people who canvassed for him (Breaking News, February 8th). More than those, it is an act of gross betrayal to Fine Gael, which invested faith, time, and great energy in him.
Mr Lee’s experience as a television economics reporter and his nine months as a TD do not entitle him to a senior economic role in a party of 31,000 members. Fine Gael secured 605,333 votes in last summer’s local elections.
Yes, he is a qualified economist. But Fine Gael Senator Eugene Regan has vastly superior academic economic qualifications. Mr Lee’s former Fine Gael Oireachtas colleagues Joe McHugh TD, Kieran O’Donnell TD, and Senator Paschal Donohue are qualified economists. And his former colleagues Seán Barrett TD, Frank Feighan TD, and John Perry TD have vast practical understanding of commerce.
In any event, he was given ample scope in debate, through his position as chairperson of the Fine Gael Economic Forum, through his membership of the pre-Budget Fine Gael Business Roadshow, and through his weekly attendance at meetings of the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party.
There will be a few days of media heat, and the same tired anti-Fine Gael media voices will refrain, yet again, that this has “fatally undermined the Kenny leadership”.
When the political lava cools, who will be buried beneath? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – As a student who spent many hours campaigning for former Deputy Lee, I am frankly dismayed at his desertion of the hope he supposedly offered us. It is noteworthy that I never received a letter of thanks for my efforts; perhaps one of apology would now suffice for the lack of effort on his behalf. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – It was with surprise that I learnt of George Lee’s resignation from the Dáil and the Fine Gael party after just nine months.
Did he really expect he would be able to influence any party, or any policy, in just nine months? I think his expectations were too high. I can’t recall a single person in the past 20 years elected to the Dáil at the first time of asking that received a prominent party position within such a short space of time – why would Mr Lee be different?
Perhaps if he had persevered he would in time have found a more prominent role within Fine Gael. I think Mr Lee should have seen out his term before reaching a decision.
Nevertheless, it is a great pity that such an obviously intelligent man who could have offered so much is no longer in a position to do so. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – In the recent past, we’ve had George Lee who didn’t get on with his party, Pat Kenny who couldn’t get on with his neighbours and Charlie Bird coming back to us because he couldn’t make friends with anyone in America! What do they teach them in RTE? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – What is George Lee thinking of? Surely he did not expect to change or even influence in any way the policies of a party which has been in existence since long before he was born?
He has been a member of the Fine Gael party for less than a year and already he is throwing in the towel. A man of his intelligence and experience must know that things do not change overnight. Like all new employees he must take his place and serve his time.
Did he expect to be be the “saviour” of the economy in such a short space of time? What a disappointment he has turned out to be. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Will our political parties ever learn? Parachuting in celebrity candidates does not work. Fine Gael in particular has been doing this at local, national and European level over the past decade. I wish George the best in the future. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – George Lee is a person of enormous integrity who I admired greatly during his time with RTÉ. I was very disappointed when he joined Fine Gael as I felt that his RTÉ role was much more significant than any opportunity that might arise within the party and that he would be compromised by it and the Dáil.
However, his resignation fully restores my faith in him as a person of great integrity and ability and I hope that he will revert to a key reporting position at RTÉ. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Could George Lee’s departure from Fine Gael be the enda Kenny? – Yours, etc,