McGuinness arrival leaves Martin with a dilemma
The Fianna Fail leader is doing nobody any favours with his indecision and waffling, writes Celia Larkin
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MICHEAL Martin looks like a man trying to knit an Aran sweater out of overcooked spaghetti. It would be fun to watch if it wasn't so tragic. For Fianna Fail and for the man himself.
Crisis meetings running for hours. Leaks and splits. The party's been through this before, most notably in Charlie Haughey's time. Except that in CJ's time, Fianna Fail had something to fight over, and enough numbers to create two or even three mutually opposing teams. At the moment, if you put all its elected members into a scullery, it wouldn't be that crowded. And there's nothing to fight over. The presidency should have served as a golden opportunity for Fianna Fail to let Fine Gael and Labour spend a fortune fighting each other while the new minority party gets its act together. Now, it's difficult to lead a party that's diminished, distraught and in disarray. But that's Micheal Martin's job: to command attention and respect. To be decisive. In control. With Sinn Fein constantly nipping at his heels, the kind of -- dare I use the word -- 'waffling' he employed in the last 10 days when asked about support for David Norris has done neither himself nor his party any favours.
Having been burned badly in the Gay Byrne debacle, it seems his confidence is gone when it comes to nominations for the presidency.
He said the party may take a decision to support a candidate already nominated after nominations close on September 27. What is that all about? What difference will it make at that stage? It's not as if an endorsement from Fianna Fail will carry a massive amount of weight with the electorate. The only difference the party can make is in supporting a candidate's nomination, which will increase the choice available for election. After that, what it says will have diddly squat significance. The party is hardly going to farm out its canvassers like mercenaries to an outside candidate it endorses. Assuming it has canvassers. Anyway, it'll need to rally all its own depleted troops for the by-election in Dublin West.
Having made the decision not to field a candidate of its own, and bitterly disappoint at least one of its own presidential hopefuls, Brian Crowley, for the party, as a block, to support an Independent would only serve to further inflame tensions. Tensions Micheal himself created with his Gay Byrne solo run. That solo run smacked of playing cute politics. An image the party would do well to lose as fast as it can. But it wasn't even smart cute politics. The one thing Micheal should have done was sound Gay out confidentially. At least then he would have known if Gay would run or not. Instead, Gaybo dropped the Fianna Fail leader in it from a great height, and Martin was left with egg all over his face.
Has the man no sense? As leader, he should have adopted a decisive line on the issue following the party think-in in Tallaght. Realistically, the only choice open was to give a free hand or not, to the TDs and senators should they wish to support an individual, then step back as a party. How many meetings does he need to come to that conclusion? His long-winded answer to the direct question did nothing to hide the fact that he does not support David Norris. If that's the case, then call a spade a spade. The public are tired of long-winded explanations, they want straight talking and straight answers.
Norris did himself no favours during his last run for the nomination, if, as has been claimed by some Fianna Fail TDs, he spurned offers of support from them. It just goes to show that in politics, today's foe can be tomorrow's friend. Poor Norris, that's twice in one campaign the past has come back to haunt him. But at least he knows the public still love him. Martin no longer has that comfort blanket.
Martin is more than a politician. He's a political historian. He should have foreseen problems for the party
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in relation to outside nominations and had the matter closed off in advance. He should have his eye firmly on the next issues that are important for the party: strategy for the upcoming Dail session and the by-election. Focus. Clarity.
As it is, Sinn Fein is whipping his ass, and looks likely to do so again having nominated Martin McGuinness for the presidency. Let's face it; with a good political candidate, as Mr McGuinness is, it will hoover up disenchanted republican Fianna Fail voters. Gerry Adams may have played cute about past participation in the IRA, McGuinness has faced up to, and faced down, all criticism in relation to the same. He makes no bones about having been a senior member of the IRA in Derry. In fact, having been an active member of the IRA and gone on to successfully negotiate peace and participate in power sharing in the North, his past may well be an asset rather than a liability. With the DUP and UUP accepting his past it will be very difficult for his opponents to make a convincing argument against him on those grounds.
It's a very clever move on Sinn Fein's part. A masterstroke in cross-border manoeuvring, playing perfectly into the republican vote. But, like all elections, it's never over until the votes are counted; anything can happen. Politics is a tough game and a presidential campaign is the toughest of all electoral jousts.
Micheal Martin's flip-flopping on decisions and squabbling ineptitude on radio and TV has done nothing to enhance the electoral position of Fianna Fail. As president of Fianna Fail and the public face of the party, Martin needs to radically smarten up his act. There is no doubt he has an unenviable job, one few would covet. But great leaders surmount tough times.
For Fianna Fail to have any hope of keeping its head above the political parapet, he needs to shape up or ship out.
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