Newly-elected Fine Gael leader Simon Harris has denied being “woke”, saying that such a label was not “helpful”.
The comments were made on RTÉ’s The Week In Politics programme this past Sunday, in response to a question by interviewer Áine Lawlor.
“The ‘back to basics’ calls from Michael Ring and Charlie Flanagan – do you agree with them?” she asked, referencing two Fine Gael veteran TDs who had recently called for the party to reset to its core values under Harris’ new leadership.
“I think I’d word it slightly differently – I think it’s about reconnecting on core priorities,” he said.
Lawlor interjected, asking: “Are you too woke to do that?”
“You see, I don’t know what ‘woke’ means – it’s the opposite of being asleep, isn’t it?” Harris replied.
“I don’t think these sorts of labels are helpful.”
Harris went on to say that Fine Gael needed to reconnect with people who formerly voted for the party, but who now are “not pleased” with them.
“We need to reconnect with a number of people, and a number of parts of society, that perhaps used to vote for Fine Gael, and perhaps currently are not as pleased with us,” he said, specifically mentioning farming communities, small businesses, those impacted by crime, and those unhappy with housing.
It was put to Harris that he would have to tilt to the right politically in order to win back support from independents, who are surging in the polls.
“How convincing can you be, for example, as the man who brought in abortion?”
“I’m very proud of our record, by the way, in relation to women’s reproductive health,” Harris replied.
“…but I do think that now is the time to work on real bread and butter issues.”
Harris’ comments about ‘woke’ ideology seem to echo those of his predecessor, former Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar, who denied being woke in the aftermath of the defeated Family and Care referendums.
Asked if he considered himself to be woke last month, Varadkar replied: “I don’t think so. But I’ve never really been fully sure what woke and anti-woke means.
“Like, people who say they’re anti woke, just seem to be against whatever new idea or new concept is, but it’s popular at the time. But ‘no’ is the short answer.”
Notably, both Harris and Fine Gael Minister of State Jennifer Carroll MacNeill came under fire from campaigners over the weekend after it was found that they had ‘he/him’ and ‘she/her’ gender pronouns in their social media bios.
‘Woke’ ideology has explicitly come under fire in recent weeks from within government, including from Fianna Fáil TDs Willie O’Dea and James O’Connor, who agreed that their party needs to “stop playing to the woke gallery.”
Couldn’t agree more with @willieodeaLIVE. https://t.co/PyDHARhtZT
— James O'Connor TD (@JamesOConnorTD) March 11, 2024