Opposition leader Enda Kenny distanced his party from Labour today when he told a news conference in Dublin that a vote for Fine Gael was the only guaranteed way of getting Fianna Fáil out of office.
Reflecting the rivalry with Labour which is seen by some analysts as the other main contender in the Dublin Central and Dublin South byelections, Mr Kenny said it was obvious to him from travelling around the country that the people wanted change and that meant they wanted Fianna Fáil out of government.
“The only guaranteed way of doing that is actually by voting for the Fine Gael party and the Fine Gael candidates and that’s part of our message right across the country,” he said.
Flanked by the party’s byelection candidates, Paschal Donohoe from Dublin Central and George Lee from Dublin South, Mr Kenny said: “I expect that on June 5th, the people will give a verdict, both nationally and in a European sense but also specifically in these two constituencies where the will of the people being asserted through the democratic system of the secret ballot cannot be ignored by this government and that in fact these elections are a watershed and are a critical element of getting rid of this government.”
Referring to the late Tony Gregory TD whose death led to the byelection in Dublin Central, he said: “I respected the work that the late Tony Gregory did over many years in Dublin Central.”
Commenting on the decision by the former RTÉ economics editor to stand in Dublin South, Mr Kenny said: “The decision made by George Lee sends out a message right across the country that that mood for change which we have identified for quite some time is getting stronger and stronger and I admire his courage in stepping out of a safe, secure environment to stand in the rainstorms of politics as it might be to effect change.”
Mr Kenny said he disagreed with Taoiseach Brian Cowen’s assertion that the byelections were unimportant: “Far from these elections being irrelevant or not being of any consequence I believe that they will in their own way determine the fate of the future of the current government.”
