Quidnunc's mole at the British Labour Party's HQ in London tells of an intriguing phone call from FF in Dublin. The caller wanted to know all about the organisation of People's Question Time, Tony Blair's successful way of interfacing with the electorate.
The forums were held about twice week as the PM traversed the country during the election, and they now occur every couple of months. Between 50 and 70 local worthies, not necessarily of a Labour persuasion, are invited to a local hall, Blair sits in the middle and a chairman presides. "The audience is not vetted on politics. Tony does this better if the questions are a bit hostile; he tackles them directly."
The mole presumed that since the idea is such a success in Britain, FF want to follow suit and get Taoiseach Bertie Ahern out on a similar meet-the-people mission. And did Millbank help? "Not really. We were not unfriendly but we were not helpful. The Irish Labour is our sister party after all. Anyway his principal concern was to know how we managed to keep unruly elements out."
Then the mole asked Quidnunc if our Government was unstable and if an early election was likely.