George Lee resigns from Fine Gael and as a TD

[Baron von Biffo]

It's true but he did seem to catch them off guard if you're to believe that he didn't warn them or discuss it with them that much. I didn't hear Mairead but Reilly was very good on VB last night.

McGuinness was very good on RTE. She's a head and shoulders above every other senior FG figure.

[The Field Marshal]

Sure did bring some class to FG. Pity they did,nt know what it was for or how to use it.

The George Lee Class Bidet.

[gombeennation]

Yet he never offered input. And he's never claimed he did. He just "wanted it". So chairing the economic committee wasn't input. Going to the OECD wasn't input.

he was talking about input into the economic policy.
i agree , chairing committe IS input - its just not economic policy input.
thats what he was saying on the telly all day yesterday.
some of it might be on rte.ie iplayer.
have a look.

Isn't it more a case that if the input he wanted to offer (reduce cuts, engage in stimulus) was as well thought out as what he's offered over the past 24 hours then they were right to ignore him?

I dont think they did listen to him - thats what he said.
he corrected VB when VB said "you werent getting as much input as you hoped" - GL's reply was "Just to correct you , i wasnt getting ANY input"

His position is fundamentally opposed to both FGs and FFs. Who's fault is it that FG wouldn't revise their entire financial outlook to suit him? They heard him. They ignored him and went with Bruton's ideas. What else should he have done?

same answer as above.

This is like if Bono joined the DUP, then left in a huff that they wouldn't listen to his 32 counties plan, a plan which he later explained to the media consisted solely of "I'd like a 32 county Ireland"

More like if the DUP asked bono to join with the lure of having an input into the geopolitical make up of the island.
then put bono out chairing meetings.

I think the problem was too much assumptions on both sides.
GL assumed that he would have an input - IMO he would have had to have been led to believe this.
EK + FG assumed he was like all the other benchwarmers , clock watchers and career politicians.

EK assumed GL would be happy doing brain dead shlt like chairing indefinitely
"why wouldnt he , all you have to do is chair - hes able to do it - he gets paid , he gets his pension , he gets his perks - what more would a man want"
problem is , the GL is not a career politician , he wants to be able to do something.
he is not content to play out time like the rest of those FG ( fine gombeens ).

I do have a laugh when people say he couldnt stand the heat!
Yeah ,its SOOO hot there , working tirelessly
GL could do that shlt in his sleep - like most people could.
its a time filler , where you prove yourself.
prove yourself to be a politician , and willing to do anything to climb that greasy pole - even if that means you do nothing for 9 months , 12 months , 4 years , 10 years.
head down boy - your time will come.
it highlights all that is wrong with irish politics.

he didnt walk away cos it was hard , he walked away cos it was too easy , not challenging and a waste of his time.

[imokyrok]

He was offered front bench.
That is not what he wanted.
He was on the telly all day yesterday - I'm surprised you didnt hear him say this. He wanted input.
He was not given the oppurtunity to input.

People say he didnt stay long enough - BS - he was there for 9 months.
He made an assessment that he could be there for 9 months after that and still no change.
He decided to leave because he wasnt happy with playing the charade.
He should be applauded for that.

Easiest thing for him to have done was , sit back , collect the cash , collect the pension - take the front bench , get more cash , get bigger pension.
he refused to do that and yet gets villified?

as for "he couldnt stand the heat" - more BS.
what heat? going around chairing committee meetings?
i suggest he couldnt stand the BS.

should he have known it was going to be like this?
possibly.
but you never know, unless you go.
he might have thought it was a slow process, but when he got there it looked impossible.

the winners/losers?

short term winner - GL
short term lose - FG
short term winner - FF ( easy to take pot shots at FG ).
long term winner - FG (if they get rid of kenny on the back of this fiasco) or FF ( if FG hold onto kenny )
long term losers - anyone who wants to make a difference in politics , ie the next young gun on the block who says "im going to change the system"- will be met by "hes just another GL"
super long term winners - the old political elite - same old same old "these new boys dont realise how difficult it is in politics , you have to be born into the role - now vote for my son , he is steeped in politics"

I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm trying to figure out why when it appears that negotiation towards achieving his goals was feasible just recently, he opted not to give it extra time to see if he could make a difference. Yes FG should have made that happen from the start. They didn't and they didn't get a second chance. I'd like to have seen what that second chance would have achieved. However if, as I postulated, his career break was coming to a close I can see why he wasn't prepared to give it a second chance. Overall though it is us the people who are the losers here because it's now politics as usual and I imagine it will be a long time before any other dynamic individual from outside the political cartel will take the same chance.

[gombeennation]

I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm trying to figure out why when it appears that negotiation towards achieving his goals was feasible just recently, he opted not to give it extra time to see if he could make a difference. Yes FG should have made that happen from the start. They didn't and they didn't get a second chance. I'd like to have seen what that second chance would have achieved. However if, as I postulated, his career break was coming to a close I can see why he wasn't prepared to give it a second chance. Overall though it is us the people who are the losers here because it's now politics as usual and I imagine it will be a long time before any other dynamic individual from outside the political cartel will take the same chance.

I see what you are saying alright.
He did say that he wasnt interested in having a front bench.
This is probably beyond the realm of comprehension of all career politicians and those people who have been instituationalised.
He wanted to contribute - NOT get his as.s on a comfy chair , nor have a merc at his beck and call.
It must be completely beyond belief from the fine gombeens in there.
I think thats what EK would have thought " let that upstart rot in the chair and if push comes to shove i will give him the ultimate prize - a front bench - no one can resist the power of the front bench"
EK would have thought like that because he deals with gombeens day in day out and has done for 35 YEARS!!! yes 35 YEARS.
most gombeens would sit backwards on a chair in a clown suit for 10 years if it meant getting a front bench.
GL aint a gombeen tho.
that was EKs mistake.


I know what you are a saying about the second chance - and it would have been interesting but did george really want to work in a place that you only get what you want by threats?
people can say "thats irish politics" - and maybe they are right - and THATS where the real problem is.

[meriwether]

I see what you are saying alright.
He did say that he wasnt interested in having a front bench.
This is probably beyond the realm of comprehension of all career politicians and those people who have been instituationalised.
He wanted to contribute - NOT get his as.s on a comfy chair , nor have a merc at his beck and call.
It must be completely beyond belief from the fine gombeens in there.
I think thats what EK would have thought " let that upstart rot in the chair and if push comes to shove i will give him the ultimate prize - a front bench - no one can resist the power of the front bench"
EK would have thought like that because he deals with gombeens day in day out and has done for 35 YEARS!!! yes 35 YEARS.
most gombeens would sit backwards on a chair in a clown suit for 10 years if it meant getting a front bench.
GL aint a gombeen tho.
that was EKs mistake.


I know what you are a saying about the second chance - and it would have been interesting but did george really want to work in a place that you only get what you want by threats?
people can say "thats irish politics" - and maybe they are right - and THATS where the real problem is.

Can you please tell me what kenny should have done?

Spare athe polemics about gombeens, I'm not interested in that.

[Rocky]

I see what you are saying alright.
He did say that he wasnt interested in having a front bench.
This is probably beyond the realm of comprehension of all career politicians and those people who have been instituationalised.
He wanted to contribute - NOT get his as.s on a comfy chair , nor have a merc at his beck and call.
It must be completely beyond belief from the fine gombeens in there.
I think thats what EK would have thought " let that upstart rot in the chair and if push comes to shove i will give him the ultimate prize - a front bench - no one can resist the power of the front bench"
EK would have thought like that because he deals with gombeens day in day out and has done for 35 YEARS!!! yes 35 YEARS.
most gombeens would sit backwards on a chair in a clown suit for 10 years if it meant getting a front bench.
GL aint a gombeen tho.
that was EKs mistake.


I know what you are a saying about the second chance - and it would have been interesting but did george really want to work in a place that you only get what you want by threats?
people can say "thats irish politics" - and maybe they are right - and THATS where the real problem is.

The issue is that policy is made by the Front Bench. There are staff behind them, but in general that's the case and Lee was offered a new economic position on the Front Bench, which would have been the perfect place to develop Fine Gael's economic policy.

Like being Taoiseach, being a member of the Front Bench isn't or shouldn't be an end in itself, but it is the place where policy is generally made. Enda Kenny made the exact same point on the radio. It wasn't a title he was offering Lee, it was a position where he could do what he claimed he wanted to.

[cyberianpan]

Is Enda Kenny telling porkies ?

RTÉ News: Kenny disappointed by Lee's departure

Speaking on RTÉ's News At One, Mr Kenny said the first he had heard of Mr Lee's unhappiness and disillusionment with the party was when he told him of his decision to step down last Tuesday afternoon.

Lively Lee refuses to go with the Kenny flow: ThePost.ie

Sun Jan 3rd
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny is enjoying continued popularity in the polls, but some of his brightest backbenchers are showing signs of restlessness.

Judging by an interview with his shining star George Lee on RTE’s News at One last week, pressure on the Fine Gael leader in 2010 may not come from the polls, but from within Fine Gael’s ranks.
...
The former RTE economics editor was especially frustrated at Fine Gael deciding to allocate him just ten minutes of a total 1,740 minutes to debate the crucial National Asset Management Agency (Nama) Bill in the Dáil.
...
The 47-year-old made his long-term plans clear during the interview. ‘‘I don’t want to spend my 50s waiting to have a say, in fact I’ll tell you, I won’t spend my 50s waiting to have a say,” he said.
...
Lee is on special leave from RTE without pay for the first year, and when that elapses next May he’ll be on leave of absence ‘‘until the political thing runs its course, if it ever does’’.

‘‘Until next May, I guess, I haven’t left RTE yet. Iha ve a way back, Is uppose, i f I wanted to come back.” Asked if he might go back, he replied:
...
Kenny’s resolution for 2010 could be to find Lee a suitable outlet for his talents - because party loyalty alone won’t keep him in Leinster House.

Either he's telling porkies... or not at all good at his job.

cYp

[Rocky]

Is Enda Kenny telling porkies ?

RTÉ News: Kenny disappointed by Lee's departure


Lively Lee refuses to go with the Kenny flow: ThePost.ie


Either he's telling porkies... or not at all good at his job.

cYp

There's a big difference between saying all that and resigning. I'd say and hope every FG TD wanted more speaking time on NAMA. The bill was guillotined, so if they didn't, they should have. There was a bigger role for Lee coming in FG. That has been established now.

The thing within this is, despite talk of Lee being a bit unhappy now, no one saw it coming. There were no rumors of Lee resigning and everyone from the media, to FF to every FG TD was shocked.

[gombeennation]

Can you please tell me what kenny should have done?

Spare athe polemics about gombeens, I'm not interested in that.

The way i see it is EK it like a manager.
He should make sure his workers are happy in order to be productive.
EK who has been in the fine gombeens for 35 years should have been a bit more accomodating to his new signing.
regular meetings , asking for input , asking how GL was doing.

spare me the "GL is a big boy , he should have known blah blah blah".
EK should have made sure that GLs was listened to.
he should have recognised that GL was not a regular gombeen - the big mistake EK made was in thinking GL was in it for himself , like all the rest.
he should have spotted that and worked with GL closer.
EK has shown to be reactive rather than proactive.
we dont need any more reactive types in power.
i will still vote for the fine gombeens , not because they are perfect , but because they will be less corrupt than the thieves that are in their at the minute.
EK makes it hard , but I will do it anyway.