Members of the Fine Gael parliamentary party will gather at Leinster House tomorrow to elect a new leader and begin the process of rebuilding the party. In the aftermath of a traumatic general election that saw the strength of its Dáil representation cut from 54 to 31 members, the party is in deep shock and it will take inspired leadership to motivate and reinvigorate the organisation. The decision to fill the position at an early date was taken following two days of discussion last week despite resistance from younger TDs.
The malaise that affects Fine Gael is not a new phenomenon. And blame for the party's showing in the general election cannot be laid solely at the door of the outgoing leader, Mr Michael Noonan. As far back as 1994, a Commission on Renewal established by Mr John Bruton found the party to be "weak, demotivated, lacking morale, direction and focus." Lacking a clear vision of where it stood, Fine Gael concentrated its energies on becoming an anti-Fianna Fáil party, offering integrity in public life and middle-ground economic and social policies and leaning towards alliance with the Labour Party. It clearly wasn't enough.
The election shattered old party alliances and saw more than 40 per cent of outgoing TDs lose their seats. A straw poll taken within the parliamentary party showed three contenders; Mr Richard Bruton, Mr Enda Kenny and Mr Phil Hogan to be tightly bunched. Since then, Mr Gay Mitchell has declared his interest. Leadership may not be the party's major problem, however. Fine Gael politicians took to the airwaves in recent days to complain that the party lacked a hard-edged image. During the election, the party's efforts to attract the support of young couples, stay-at-home wives and those earning less than the minimum wage, through promising a series of tax breaks and childcare facilities, were ignored as irrelevant. The party was seen to be lacking both the imagination and the critical mass necessary to form the nucleus of an alternative government. As a consequence, the floating, middle-class vote drifted to the Green Party and Independents, while Sinn Féin garnered support in working-class areas.
Fine Gael does have the capacity to recover. It won 22 per cent of the vote in the recent election but had the misfortune to garner only 19 per cent of Dáil seats. But it will take hard work, good quality leadership and a clear vision of its place in Irish politics. Competition in the 29th Dáil will be intense and a group effort will be required if the party is to establish its credentials as the major opposition force. Another five years of a Fianna Fáil/Progressive Democrats government, with the inevitable smugness and difficulties that will generate, is certain to provide opportunities for an alert opposition.