Enda Kenny, the red squirrel, has finally found his nuts

Sunday Tribune, 25 October

A red squirrel has been spotted in Kilkenny. This is good news: the native red has been almost wiped out by the aggressive grey. Now, after years in decline, it's back, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
Enda Kenny is a lot like the red squirrel: in recent times he has been in decline. He too is gingerish and has a tendency to nibble and run away. Last week he finally stuck his teeth into something and called for the abolition of the Seanad.
This is a subject close to my heart. I wrote about it a month ago when senator Ivor Callely crashed his yacht. I wanted to know why we should have to indirectly help pay for its upkeep. The Seanad's meaningless, sponging existence should be put to a referendum. Our politicians must radically overhaul the system.
I received a gracious email from a popular senator who offered to bring me in and show me around (I'll get back to you when the Kevlar vest arrives). I don't know if his 59 colleagues read my attack on them. I don't know if Kenny read it either. I'm certainly not suggesting that he picked up the Sunday Tribune and was moved to tear down the Seanad. Mind you he hasn't convincingly explained why he suddenly shifted from reform to abolition. To hell with it, I'm taking the credit. Give us a shout Enda, I've LOADS more ideas for you.
The proposal scored well with the public but, typically, Kenny fluffed the follow-up. He was dreadful on Prime Time. During that interview he waffled on about a willingness to grasp "radical" solutions through "strong leadership". He reiterated the 'L' word in the Irish Times, name-checking his hero, JFK. "Decisive leadership". The sound of loins being girded was deafening.
The question is: was he talking to his party or us? Recently, I put it to a prominent Fine Gaeler that Kenny would never be taoiseach. The people don't want him, I said. He's too wishy-washy. The reply surprised me. "We'll sell ourselves as a team." There was no contradiction, no indignation, no loyalty. The word "coup" wasn't mentioned, but it was there, skulking in the corner.
Nobody was more shocked by Kenny's announcement than his party – notably the front bench. Was the surprise revelation of his Damascene conversion intended to flush out his enemies? Did he want to gauge loyalty by their reaction to a crotch-shot? Probably – at least as much as he wanted to regain popular ground from Eamon Gilmore.
Like a clutch of other senior politicians last week, Kenny was just throwing David Brent-like leadership shapes. Noel Dempsey acted like he was rehearsing for party leader when he squared up to his backbenchers over his drink-driving law. Brian Cowen was all "bring it on" with the unions over pay cuts. Gilmore told The Week in Politics that Kenny would make a good Tánaiste – ie "I'm your future leader".
What a shower of poseurs. Who do they think they're fooling? It's been a year since the economy fell off the cliff and still nothing has been done to lower down a stretcher. NOTHING. The rest of the world is recovering and we haven't even begun to tackle our banking crisis. We began talking about Nama in April and then the Dáil went on holidays. Last week it made it to the Oireachtas committee stage and, guess what, the Dáil is about to go on leave again. All of our leaders have disgraced themselves with their response to the recession. We should have had something in place months ago.
Real leaders tackle problems, they don't just flex their puny biceps. So, Brian, Enda, Eamon, stop telling us what great leaders you are/will be. We'll decide what you are after the dole queues begin to shorten.
Kenny cocked up on selling us Fine Gael's recovery plan and Nama now appears a fait accompli. To date he has yet to land a blow on this staggering government. Even the stunt of getting George Lee aboard hasn't been effective as he has yet to make his mark. The Seanad proposal hasn't wrong-footed them either – Dempsey has actually backed it.
That said, a good idea is a good idea, regardless of what you think of the instigator. It's already had an effect on our senators who are now begging to be reformed. Stunt or not, Kenny made an impact. A politician who is willing to attack a system that has lost the confidence of the people should be encouraged.
He now needs to move further to show he's commited to reform. He can do this by requesting that those senators who agree with him about the Seanad, for example Frances Fitzgerald, resign to save taxpayers' money. There are 15 Fine Gael senators earning €70k each plus expenses. If the Seanad is powerless as he says (which it is), they won't be missed. This would be a radical move with immediate effect, as opposed to something potentially years down the line.
If he does this, maybe the public will forgive the previous wishy-washiness. He's given us a hint that he may be capable of being a pragmatic leader. He still has some way to go but he's on the right track. Like the Kilkenny red squirrel, he may finally have found his nuts.

dkenny@tribune.ie