Kenny set to lead new-look Opposition
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny is expected to mark five years at the helm of the party next week with an enhanced mandate from his party.
After running a confident and energetic General Election campaign, Mr Kenny helped recoup 18 of the 23 seats it haemorrhaged in the 2002 drubbing at the polls.
The longest-serving TD in the Dáil parliament admitted his party was “on a life-support machine” when he took over as leader.
However, the party organisation was stripped down and completely rebuilt while Mr Kenny began touring constituencies to rally demoralised members.
Fine Gael later staged a remarkable recovery in local and European elections in 2004 when it returned five MEPs to Brussels.
More electoral success followed when it successfully retained the seat of former leader John Bruton in Meath a year later.
The Mullingar Accord alliance with Labour offered voters a real alternative to the Government and both parties began to roll out joint policy documents.
As 2006 began, a fresh-faced Mr Kenny, 55, fronted ten election-style rallies across the country in the run-up his national conference.
He unveiled his controversial 'Contract for a Better Ireland' and vowed not to seek re-election as Taoiseach if he didn’t deliver on specific pledges.
He promised 2,300 extra hospital beds, free GP visits for children under-six and 2,000 extra gardaí on the beat.
Mr Kenny claimed he personally met and shook hands with 10,000 people during the three-week election campaign.
He embraced old-style campaigning by launching into ’soapbox’ speeches in town centres and brisk walkabouts on high streets.
Fianna Fáil criticised him for his lack of Cabinet experience compared to Mr Ahern.
The party’s work rate in Opposition paid off this weekend when senior party figures like Alan Shatter and Sean Barrett won back their seats and newcomers triumphed in former strongholds like Senator Joe McHugh in Donegal North East.
Unlike his Dublin rival Mr Ahern, Mr Kenny has to criss-cross the country every week between his Mayo home and the Dáil.
But when he is away, the devoted family man makes sure to speak by telephone to his wife and three children every morning before his day begins.
Mr Kenny’s wife Fionnuala is a former press officer for disgraced ex-Taoiseach Charlie Haughey, whom she speaks of fondly as a boss.
A good performance on the Opposition benches and more gains at the next General Election could usher Mr Kenny into power as Taoiseach before he turns 60.
