LAST UPDATE | 6 Apr
IN A BID to come across retro and cool, Fine Gael harked back to the good old days with 1970s merchandise on offer at the Fine Gael Ard Fheis in Galway this weekend.
Stickers with the Fine Gael logo from that era with the slogan “Fine Gael Will Win” were slapped on to every 2,000 strong attendee who came along to the University of Galway to see their new leader.
It contrasted with another slogan that was donned across the podiums that ministers and speakers took to throughout the day: “A New Energy”.
Since Leo Varadkar announced he was stepping down as party leader and as Taoiseach, there has been talk of a “reset”, “renewal” and “getting back to basics”.
The aim appears to be a nostalgic one, whereby the party gets back to its core values, all the while doing so with a new, fresh, and much younger looking faces on the front benches.
There was whooping and hollering from the crowd as Harris sprinted by them as they queued to get in to hear their new leader’s speech today.
Fine Gaelers cheer Simon Harris as they queue up to get into hear his speech. pic.twitter.com/mdArQ2ALFX
— Christina Finn (@christinafinn8) April 6, 2024
There was a vibe of getting the old band back together, with former minister and EU Commissioner Phil Hogan, who is said to have been advising Harris, arriving into the auditorium during the warm up speeches. He was followed by a special video message from former Taoiseach Enda Kenny being beamed in on the big screen from New Zealand.
“Hope. Enterprise. Equality of opportunity. Integrity. Security. That is the Fine Gael I intend to lead, with a new energy,” Simon Harris said in his speech this evening.
When he walked into the auditorium this afternoon, the Wicklow TD was swarmed by people. The hand was shook off him by members, wishing him well.
There was another person attracting the crowds and back-slapping today. Former Dublin Bay South TD Kate O’Connell.
She was embraced by Harris, who posed with her for photographs, a clear sign that she was being brought in from the cold. Members came up to her welcoming her back into the fold and telling her they’d back her all the way.
She told The Journal today that Varadkar was a “barrier” to her returning to the party.
O’Connell unceremoniously was shown the door by the electorate in 2020 when she lost her seat, but she’s looking for a path back. It seems like a sure thing that the next Taoiseach will add her to the ticket in the next general election.
While the Ard Fheis seemed to be very much looking to the future of the party, there was also a final farewell underway today.
Varadkar arrived at the Ard Fheis in the afternoon and everyone had the same question for him. Why was he in a sling?
“Bursitis,” he replied to the countless Fine Gaelers posing the same question.
He then entered into medical speak, explaining that it is a condition where small, fluid-filled sacs that cushion the joints become inflamed.
Varadkar said it was at the Fairyhouse Races during the week that he realised something was amiss with the elbow.
It sure is one way to avoid all the handshakes at your final Ard Fheis as Taoiseach.
Before entering the auditorium, photographers gathered to get the shot of Varadkar arriving.
“Who’s coming?” asked one attendee. “Yesterday’s man,” another replied.
He received a muted applause, but countless people approached him.
“Thanks for all you have done,” said one man. “Thank you for your service,” said another.
“It was a privilege,” Varadkar responded.
Varadkar took to the stage in his final speech to members, telling them that it was time for a change.
“Now is the time for the next chapter under Simon Harris a man who has the energy, empathy, experience, and campaigning skills to bring this party forward and to bring our project to the next stage,” he said.
There was loud applause. Later Harris took to the stage, full of that energy that he says is going to reignite a party.
He got a standing ovation when he stared down the barrel of the camera to give a direct message to Prime Minister Netanyahu: ‘The the Irish people could not be clearer. We are repulsed by your actions.”
One of this main pledges is to deliver but pledge to deliver 250,000 homes over the next five years, which would require increasing the government’s housing targets to 50,000 per year – something Varadkar, as well as other experts, have already said is required.
However, Varadkar has said it won’t be an achievable target this year or next.
So, not something Harris is likely to achieve in the last year of this government, but something your more likely to see blazoned across the Fine Gael manifesto when the next general election rolls around.
According to ESRI research examining the National Development Plan, the government’s housing targets are too low to meet population growth.
The government housing targets have been under review for some time now, with the announcement of a re-jig of the target, which was expected to be around 50,000, being pushed out until after the local and European elections.
Harris made a lot of promises in his speech this evening on taxation, housing, law and order, childcare, to name but a few. But can he deliver?
While Fine Gael is focusing on its future, the country is eager to see what this new, young, fresh Taoiseach will bring.
Can he bring this ‘new energy’ or will it be the same old, same old. It’s really up to Harris as to which way this goes.
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