YESTERDAY'S MEETING of the Fine Gael front bench was billed beforehand by supporters of former deputy leader Richard Bruton as the moment when they would declare their hands, writes HARRY McGEE
The strategy was that a succession of frontbench members would confront party leader Enda Kenny and tell him that he no longer enjoyed their confidence.
The peremptory decision by Kenny to sack Bruton on Monday evening might result in sharper exchanges, but the party leader would be left in no doubt as to the seriousness of his position.
The dissenters were confident that they comprised a majority of the front bench.
There was concern on Monday night among the group that one or two who had rowed in behind Bruton in the past week – Olwyn Enright was mentioned – might be getting cold feet.
But a secret meeting of the group convened in the Green Isle hotel on the southwestern outskirts of Dublin city yesterday morning confirmed that all were “onside”, as one of the group put it.
Some later claimed it was no more than an information meeting where Richard Bruton briefed them about the developments that had taken place over the weekend and during Monday.
However, one of their number, speaking on an anonymous basis, also accepted that they discussed their tactics for the frontbench meeting.
However, like many of best-laid plans within Fine Gael in the past week, the reality did not pan out like that.
It was clear, since the sacking of Bruton, that Kenny and his advisers were determined that the other side would not be allowed seize the initiative.
The meeting, which began at 11am, was expected to last an hour, with Kenny addressing the meeting before others had their say.
But the Fine Gael leader short-circuited the process. He began a speech that lasted for a little less than 20 minutes, according to those present.
He outlined the reasons why he had sacked Bruton and then launched a sustained attack on his former deputy leader, contending that Bruton had not pulled his weight, had not made himself available for sufficient media appearances, and had not done enough to defend the party and his policies.
He also suggested that Bruton had wanted to undermine his leadership.
According to his spokesman, Kenny had told the front bench some “home truths”.
One of those present who opposed his leadership later described it as a “sustained rant” that was “blunt and sometimes crude”.
“He essentially laid into Richard and accused him of being disloyal, not pulling his weight and not being up to the job. He also said he was to blame for the view that Fine Gael is not strong on economic policies. That was a ridiculous suggestion.”
Kenny continued by saying he was effectively suspending the front bench until a planned reshuffle next Monday.
To the surprise of his colleagues, he then announced suddenly that he was bringing the meeting to a close.
He immediately made to leave the frontbench room on the fourth floor of Leinster House.
The development caused a minor commotion as colleagues protested that it was not fair and that he could not do it that way. Kenny half-turned as if to argue the issue but was then ushered out the door by Phil Hogan and Paul Kehoe.
One or two frontbench members continued to protest loudly, saying he could not leave without allowing colleagues air their views on his leadership.
Senator Frances Fitzgerald and James Reilly also left the room.
One of the “dissenters”, the foreign affairs spokesman Billy Timmins – clearly unhappy at the way that events had unfolded – followed Kenny to his office at the other end of the corridor, where both men had an exchange of views that lasted some time. Earlier, Mr Kenny had remarked at his disappointment at Timmins’s decision not to back him.
The nine “dissenters” then retreated to a private office to discuss their reaction to the development.
They decided that because they had been denied an opportunity to express their views at the shadow cabinet meeting, they would do so together on the plinth of Leinster House. The group of nine – Denis Naughten, Leo Varadkar, Olwyn Enright, Olivia Mitchell, Simon Coveney, Brian Hayes, Michael Creed, Fergus O’Dowd and Billy Timmins – assembled on the plinth a little over an hour later. Mr Naughten was their chief spokesman.
He charged that Enda Kenny had “shut down” the meeting.
“If we had the opportunity to speak to Enda we would have asked him to withdraw the motion of confidence, to consider his position and step down as party leader in the interests of the party.
“I had hoped that I would have the opportunity to express my reservations to the party leader, ask him from my own point of view that in the interests of the party to actually step aside and not have what I believe will be a very damaging leadership contest,” said Naughten. On the other side of Leinster House, at the Merrion Street entrance, Hogan and Kehoe were telling reporters that Bruton had the knives out for Kenny for quite some time.
They also alleged that a plot had been under way for quite some time.
The dissenters made much of the fact that not all of Kenny’s declared supporters had left the room with him, suggesting that one or two might have switched allegiances.
Charlie Flanagan and Alan Shatter were being mentioned.
Flanagan did little to quell speculation by refusing to state his position, saying only that he would make it clear to colleagues at the meeting of the parliamentary party on Thursday.
Neither Michael Ring nor Jimmy Deenihan left the room but both are viewed as solid Kenny supporters. Although the front bench is now in abeyance, the vast majority of its members, from both camps, sat in the first row on the Fine Gael benches to hear Kenny deliver his opening speech in the party’s no confidence motion in the Taoiseach and the Government.
The exception was Richard Bruton, who sat on the back benches.