GLEE-less

Now the resignation of any Fine Gael TD can't be bad. George Lee has cost Fine Gael at least one seat, a whole lot of credibility and he has given a huge shot in the arm to other parties. The only way to analyse this issue is this: who wins?

Happily, the answer is the Labour Party. At least in part. Bizarrely, whatever Lee's motives were, the gain from this goes to other parties -- Labour most of all. Fianna Fail will have enjoyed this immensely. Like it or not, popularity is the currency of politics, and at a time when FF had its first decent bit of opinion poll news in over a year, Lee has handed them a further fillip as well.

Just to be clear at this stage, I will not be a candidate in the by-election. Senator Alex White will. The only task that lies before all Labour Party members is to make sure that he's elected to Dail Eireann whenever the by-election is called. I believe that he will be, and that will be a critical step in ensuring that Labour is in a real position of strength to form a government after a general election. This post is not about me, but for the record, I am determined to be a candidate again, and to be a TD for Dublin South, but the best thing for Labour is for Alex White to contest and win that by-election.

It was said a long time ago that politics takes a particular kind of ego, and that is not the kind of ego that George Lee has. The thing about running for office, be it the county council or Dail Eireann is that it's not about you, and here's why.

People put in a huge amount of effort canvassing, leafletting, putting up posters and all of the other tasks it takes to run a campaign. So when you win a seat (or even if you don't), you can't fail to realise that however hard you work, you "get" something but the effort all those others put in is because they believe in you (partly), and they believe in a cause (party or otherwise) and sometimes just because you're not someone else!

And so, when you walk out on politics as George Lee has, that's what you walk out on: the efforts and hopes and aspirations of many. First of all, all those who vote for you, and then those who work for you. Now it could be said that there's an honesty either to admitting a mistake or accepting that you're not up to the job. That may be true, but George Lee has done neither.

Eight months in any job is unlikely to deliver the seismic shift that Lee seemed to believe he could deliver, either within FG, or in terms of national economic policy. It is a much beloved habit of the media to compare the public to the private sector, so let's do it. Either George has walked out because the job isn't what he thought it was (his view), or because he wasn't up to the job (FG's view). Either way, both are damaged. If Lee's intention was that the economic discourse in the country would be improved by the mere fact of his presence in Dail Eireann, then he was most grievously wrong. His influence was far greater in his previous role, and it was always likely to remain so until he took his place in government (which he probably would). Now, he has neither voice, and the Business desk in RTE beckons.

But it's not the private sector, and there are broader factors to consider in resigning than your personal reasons when 27,000 people bother to go and vote for you because they think you're different from the rest. In resigning, he appears to believe that his personal fulfillment is paramount (his reason). The alternative view is that he is out to damage FG to the maximum extent possible, which brings us neatly back to the question we posed at the outset: who wins from his decision?

If there was some sacrificial element to this in an attempt to bring about reform in the political system, that's doomed too. Like any resignation, you cause ripples, and once they’ve settled in a few weeks, it will be back to business as usual. There is a profound need for political reform in this country, and you don't need to be a newcomer to know it. Of course there's a degree of institutionalisation in Dail Eireann, and God knows, coming from RTE, George Lee should be able to recognise it. But if you want to bring about reform, it’s never a short sharp shock: it’s a process that requires leadership. persuasion, and patience.

I should say in closing that I worked with George Lee in another life: he as a an author and I as an editor. He was one of the most thorough, professional, and talented I did work with over quite a period of years. When he entered politics, it appeared to be with all of that professionalism, and comprehensive vision that he appeared to show. I genuinely like the man, and am sorry to make these comments tonight.