One of the most interesting things about the modern Fine Gael party is that every now and then, you get a sense that there’s still something just there, in the depths of its consciousness, of the old low tax, law and order, centre right party that it once was.
It comes out every now and then as a form of muscle memory, like a long-retired golfer in his eighties who still knows how to hit a driver off the tee, but whose actual muscles have atrophied to the point that he can’t hit the shot any more.
And so it was that we’ve gotten a flash of that, over the weekend, in response to last week’s assault of American tourist Stephen Termini – who may lose the sight of one eye – in Dublin City centre.
Mr. Varadkar was out of the gates to do what Mr. Varadkar usually does in these circumstances – to offer a tough sounding sound bite. It’s time, he says, to get “tough and firm” after “a noticeable deterioration in public order”. People want more Gardai on the streets, he declared.
The Justice Minister was dispatched on one of the most obviously theatrical displays of Government macho in years – sent in full view of the cameras, Paschal Donoghoe trotting along in her wake, in a pair of power heels, steely-eyed and with her lips pursed in determination, into a Garda Station to tell the boys in blue to get the finger out, and put a stop to the lawlessness on the streets. For a moment, she might have been Margaret Thatcher riding in a Challenger Tank, sweeping the ne’er-do-wells before her. Stand aside, gurriers, there’s a new sheriff in town, and she’s fierce.
Of course, it lasted all of five minutes. Because while Fine Gael still remembers, somewhere, at the very back of its mind, that it is a law and order party, the memories are faint. They are more akin to those of an amnesiac, recalling tantalising glimpses of their previous life. A press release here. A photo op with Gardai there. That was something we used to do. And there were other things, too….
But then it fades. And out comes the new Fine Gael:
McEntee: 'You're not going to be safe all the time' in Dublin city centre.
https://t.co/JlkHw6OtT4— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) July 21, 2023
I was trying to think, over the weekend, of a stupider thing that someone responsible for public safety could say, and I struggled. Imagine, if you will, that the CEO of Dublin Zoo responded to news that the Lions had escaped and eaten a tourist with the line “you’re not always going to be safe in Dublin Zoo”.
Or perhaps more aptly, imagine that the Mayor of Paris responded that way after an Irish tourist was brutally assaulted: With a gallic shrug of the shoulders, and a “what do you expect, it’s Paris, you can’t expect to always be safe here”.
It is, of course, one thing to prosecute the fight against crime and come up short: The nature of human society is such that there will always be crime, and always be those who drink too much, or suffer from addictions, and behave badly. Even the best police forces in the world, in the safest societies, have not abolished crime. But it is quite another thing to give up the fight before you even start, and pin the blame around on the victims.
She might as well have said “well, come into Dublin at your own risk”. In fact, scratch “might as well” – that’s exactly what she said.
This is somebody who, in the more ridiculous fever dreams of the you-go-girl mainstream media, is still spoken of in some quarters as a potential leader of her party. These leadership ambitions, to the extent that they have been projected onto her, have absolutely nothing to do with her competence for leadership, as events are painfully demonstrating. She is nobody’s version of an Irish Margaret Thatcher, either on ideological or competence grounds. Instead, the basic idea is that she’s a mammy with a job, and that she takes the views of “civil society” – the NGOs – seriously enough to allow them to write most of the laws for her. That’s always been her strength: that she’s walking validation for the young-women-can-have-it-all columnists in the mainstream press.
And for most of the past few years, that’s been enough: Helen makes history by taking maternity leave. Helen does well on radio show. Helen paves the path for young women in politics. Helen makes brave stand for values of kindness, and compassion: It’s been all vibes, all the time. And until recently, nobody’s noticed the shitshow in her Ministry.
But now, it has become impossible to miss. The hate speech bill has turned into a circus. The streets are patently – and by her own admission – unsafe. The sentencing for crimes is a joke, and the prisons don’t have space. Not all of these problems started on her watch, but each of them has been allowed to fester, while she spends her time bleating out liberal platitudes.
And finally, you sense, the public are noticing. Her reputation is sinking, and her leadership ambitions are holed beneath the waterline.
I’m sure Simon Harris is devastated.