to choose a successor to the party’s outgoing leader. The rapid rallying of the parliamentary party behind Simon Harris brings to mind the selection by Fianna Fáil of Brian Cowen to succeed Bertie Ahern in 2008. Cowen became taoiseach within days of taking the party leadership; Harris is almost certain to follow the same path.
Harris would benefit from a contest. While he has been ubiquitous for more than a decade, there is a great deal that remains opaque about his world view. It was striking that all of the Fine Gael TDs or Senators who endorsed his candidacy this week spoke only of his personal qualities – diligence, ambition, hard work, strong communications skills – but not once about his views or any broader shift his leadership might bring.
Harris has been an admirably strong advocate for some of the most vulnerable in society and he is an exceptional communicator, but he is also untested in several areas. On the biggest issues that a taoiseach must handle, including the economy and Northern Ireland, his experience is limited and little is known of his opinions.
A new leader will give Fine Gael a lift, at least in the short-term, and enable it to re-position itself for the electoral challenges ahead, starting with the local and European elections in June. But the party would be mistaken to think a change of leader is the solution to its problems. Any party in its 13th year in power would show signs of fatigue; Fine Gael certainly does, and the new leader’s biggest challenge is to reinvigorate it.Pints at the Aviva, dinner at Roly’s and the Dart home.
Harris’s energy will help. But the much more basic question is what Fine Gael will stand for under his leadership. Varadkar was known all his career as a centre-right, fiscally conservative Christian Democrat – and that is where he remained as Taoiseach. But he also reacted to changes in society, and in his own views, by drawing Fine Gael towards more liberal social positions than many of his predecessors.