Real positives for Fianna Fáil

Posted on 16/02/11 by Tony Killeen

Two polls in two days, one looking at Dublin, the other at the National picture. I won’t pretend either of them were unadulterated good news for us, but looking behind the headlines there are real positives for Fianna Fáil.

The first thing to say is that Micheál Martin’s message of new politics and real reform is connecting with the Irish people. Just three weeks into the job as leader, he is already the most popular leader, with a satisfaction rating of 42%.

I believe this figure is a real measure of how people have responded to Micheál as the new kind of leader that the country needs now. He is the only one demonstrating the kind of positive vision the country is calling for. He is the only leader, who has set out in detail, an honest and ambitious plan for Ireland. On election day, I think people will want to deal Micheál, his team, and his new approach to politics the strongest possible hand in the next Dáil.

Returning to the polls, before anyone takes them as a foregone conclusion, people should remember the quality of the candidates standing for Fianna Fáil up and down the country. These are people who have strong records nationally and locally. These people are embedded in their communities, working hard for ordinary working people on the ground. They are people, who know the needs of their communities, have delivered for them in the past, and who have plans for the future of their local areas. This isn’t wishful thinking, these are hard political facts and I think they shouldn’t be discounted.

Make no mistake about it, the rag bag of independents and crackpot socialists are ideal if you want the next Dáil to be a four year screaming match. But when it comes to keeping recovery in focus, they just don’t have a clue.

What we need is a way to constructively reform this country. The only leader who has put forward a plan to do that is Micheál Martin, and we need him to have as strong a team as possible in the next Dáil.

Before I finish, I want you to recall a similar series of polls in the Evening Herald and the Irish Independent at the same point in the 2007 election. Despite those poll predictions, we finished seven points higher on election day itself.

We are in a similar position now. No one has voted yet, the country wants a new approach to politics, and it is up to all of us to deliver that.

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