Politics more than a vanity project
“Serious times demand serious politics. After a week in which a journalist has been virtually deified for joining Fine Gael, it’s time to get real” said Alex White, the party’s by-election candidate in Dublin South.
“I am putting myself before the electorate because I believe passionately in the power of politics to inspire all of us to bring about change. Politics is not a vanity project. For me, it’s about fundamentally changing the political direction of our country.
“For years we have endured a pseudo contest between two conservative parties. We need to break out of the redundant party mould of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, which is contributing so much to our national paralysis.
“The electorate is entitled to ask what George Lee stands for.
“Fine Gael seems to think that he should be elected simply because he is well-known and new to politics. He himself has said very little. But some of what he has said is astonishing, dangerous and regressive.
“He believes the HSE should be subjected to more competition in order to deliver vital health services. This is exactly the PD philosophy of ‘competition at all costs’ that has led to the madness of co-located hospitals. George also wants to sell off Bord Gais. Has he learnt nothing from the debacle of Eircom?
“There is no doubt that Brian Cowen’s government is discredited. But I do not believe that Enda Kenny’s Fine Gael offers any genuine alternative. Enda Kenny’s leadership has little public credibility while Eamon Gilmore surpasses him consistently in polls, and in the Dail” said White.
“Bluntly put, Enda Kenny is not the leader the country wants. Celebrity endorsements will not change that.
“Nothing captures the emptiness at the heart of the Fine Gael’s electoral strategy in Dublin South more than Brian Hayes’s remarks over the weekend: ‘People are losing their jobs and George [Lee] has huge credibility because he has been on TV talking about it for so long’.
“Is this the best they can do?”
