Choosing Humphreys for presidential election was 'cardinal mistake', says retired Fine Gael TD

David Raleigh

A former Fine Gael TD and Senator, launched a scathing criticism of the party’s handling of its nomination for president and subsequent presidential campaign.

While the Fine Gael leadership tried to put a brave face on its election result, party officials in Limerick, where it holds two Dáil seats, were blunt in their assessment of the heavy loss.

“Look, we fucked up,” is how one long-time Limerick Fine Gael official put it.

Others left reeling from last Saturday’s presidential election result were former Fine Gael TD and Senator Michael Finucane, who held a Dail seat for the party in west County Limerick at general elections across 1989, 1992, 1997, and who served in the Seanad from 2002-2007.

Mr Finucane said, even though he canvassed for Heather Humphreys, he felt the Fine Gael leadership made a “cardinal mistake” by putting her forward for the Aras, and he complained the party grassroots had “no say” in the presidential nomination.

“People in the party won’t like what I’m saying, but, I’m very annoyed and very cross, because I do believe they picked the wrong candidate, and we had no say,” Mr Finucane said.

Last weekend’s election result left Finucane “more depressed” than after any other election, including when he eventually lost his Fine Gael seat by the narrowest of margins - a single vote - to his then running mate Dan Neville, in 2002.

He had “anticipated” a tough election for Ms Humphreys following the pre-election polls putting Catherine Connolly well ahead, but, he said, out of loyalty to Fine Gael “I canvassed for the party and I campaigned for Heather Humphreys, and I'm bitterly disappointed”.

Finucane, who is also a former chair of the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee, said that, in his opinion, the Fine Gael leadership should have backed the party’s MEP Sean Kelly.

“As far as I was concerned, Sean Kelly, didn't get a chance. They didn't seem to recognize that he contested the European elections last year, and he got close on 130,000 votes — So, he proved he was a vote getter,” said Mr Finucane.

“Sean Kelly is fluent in Irish, and I believe that the party made a cardinal mistake in their nomination,” he added.

The Fine Gael stalwart acknowledged that last weekend’s election result reinforced signs of a political “sea-change” from the progressive centre to the left.

“In actual fact, you see the sea change (Saturday), where Connolly did extremely well in County Limerick, and we (Fine Gael) got just around 30% of the vote, that’s it.” “There's a message in that in relation to how the electorate think out there.”

“But the fact is this, certainly, left-parties will be a lot more joyful as a result of this election than the mainstream parties.”

Fincuane who was part of the Fine Gael tally group at the Limerick Count Centre last weekend, said the party will have to conduct an internal review of the “strategy” it adopted “in relation to the type of procedure that exists with regards to the selection of a candidate”.

Mr Finucane argued that the upper echelons of Fine Gael should remember the ordinary grassroots members are the life-blood of the party: “They're the people who slog the countryside for the party, there's a lack of recognition for them.”

If “lessons are to be learned” the party’s internal review ought to be conducted, by “sensible” people and “not people who are inside as part of the inner circle”.

Finucane added, the leadership must “change the strategy with regards to the selection of people, whether it's the leader or for the president or otherwise”.

“The day should be gone where the Oireachtas members have an undue influence — They're part of the inner circle, and in this case, Heather was part of the inner circle as well,” he said.

Party member, Jim O’Farrell, Limerick, said he would also have supported Sean Kelly for the party’s nomination if he had been given a vote, and called for a review of the party’s nomination process.

Limerick Fine Gael TD and Minister for Communications, Patrick O’Donovan, defended the party’s management of the nomination process and subsequent performance by the party’s replacement candidate, Heather Humphreys.

“I wouldn't say it was a colossal failure of Fine Gael, Fine Gael was the only party to contest this election. The winning candidate had the backing of six different political parties,” said Minster O’Donovan.

“We have, as a party, retained our share of the vote, and we had an excellent candidate,” he added.

Minister O’Donovan said Fine Gael had selected Mairead McGuinness “who, for health reasons, couldn't contest the election, and Heather Humphries stood forward”.

When it was put to minister O’Donovan that some within Fine Gael had said they would have preferred if Sean Kelly had been the party’s presidential candidate, he replied: “We have an internal process for selection. We went through a process, and ultimately that process resulted in our candidate being selected.”

Mr O’Donovan said that, while Fine Gael’s vote share in the presidential election had increased, he said there would be a review of the party’s management of this campaign.

“We'll always examine results of elections,” he said.