I don’t have to write about Endless Enda anymore. What a relief. The sun has been shining, Guns N’Roses are coming and our new Slane Whiskey is out in the market place. What’s not to like, except we will now have several weeks of the Blue Shirts dominating the news cycle. Leo or Simon. Cork or Dublin. Metro types or rural types. The Merchant Prince versus the Doctor, who they are selling as having the political x-factor, whatever that is supposed to be. An old fashioned Blue Shirt who believes in Social Justice, or a flashier progressive who seems to have more right wing views. Leo has been to Slane and likes going to gigs. My connections tell me Simon is earnest, and on top of his brief. The bookies are currently favouring Leo but if I were them I wouldn’t underestimate the Coveney clan. This race will be tight and as I said last week, it is a numbers game.
If I had a vote, my decision as to who to back would be governed by calculating who is best suited to deal with Brexit. That is going to take a steady hand and somebody who may have to get down in the political mud to cut a deal. Whether Brussels likes it or not we are going to have to talk directly to the Brits. If we want political cover we can do it under the umbrella of the Good Friday Agreement. So, who is best equipped to front these negotiations ? From what I’ve learnt so far from various sources, the Merchant Prince seems to have the edge and from what I’ve heard is prepared to get into the political bear-pit to fight to protect our national interests. He is a man prepared to cut a deal and strikes me as methodical enough to deal with the detail. Certainly that seemed to be the case with his involvement in putting together this current government. So far in this respect Leo seems more focused on the effective sound bite and positioning himself in the best possible light. My conclusion so far on Brexit. Coveney. However, Leo has momentum and although expected, Pascal Donohoe’s support is significant. He may be on the money.
I must conclude this week with the astonishing events in the States. With Trump it is hard to know where to start. This Russian story will simply not go away and the Donald is beginning to appear more deluded, irresponsible and possibly dangerous by the day. Impeachment is beginning to look like a possibility but it will not happen until the Republican Party decides that he has become such a liability that he must be removed from office. They are not there yet but his administration is starting to unravel.