...walking into the political headwind

By Mark Little

I kicked off my bank holiday weekend with a trip to Carrick-on-Shannon where I joined Fianna Fail’s Paschal Mooney on the campaign trail. This was home turf for the former radio star and there was a curious lack of dissident voices on the street. But despite the absence of debate, I got a fascinating insight into the psyche of Fianna Fail in the face of a political headwind.

The first thing that strikes you is Paschal’s memory for names and faces - he greets everyone he meets as if they were long lost relative. He comes across a bride and groom at the Bush hotel, arriving in a Rolls Royce. He knows the woman and plants a kiss on her lips before telling her she looks beautiful. He relates her life story as we walk away.

Paschal Mooney has been unfortunate. He had the northern end of the vast North West constituency to himself for a while, but the addition of Donegal native Pat ‘The Cope’ Gallagher to the Fianna Fail ticket has made life very difficult for him, and according to the most recent polls he lags well behind the leading candidates.

Paschal makes no secret of his frustration but he is also a remarkably optimistic salesman. He told me he has been shown remarkable courtesy on the campaign trail, despite the obvious anger out there. His best hope is that people will separate his personal reputation from his party membership, that they will retain their personal warmth for him even if they have fallen out of love with Fianna Fail.

Paschal also wants to shift the focus from domestic issues and recession to broader European issues, where there is clearly less public indignation. It is wishful thinking in my experience, but it provides Paschal with a chance to promote his credentials as a good European.

He is playing the ‘values’ card, emphasising the need to protect Irish and Christian heritage from some unseen threat. It’s a clear pitch to conservative voters of North West, who may not dominate the public debate but certainly turn up on election day.

I have to say I came away from my meeting with him with a sense of respect. If only because of the work he has put in and his commitment to his cause, travelling thousands of miles, criss-crossing this vast constituency. Before I left, he brought me to a local shoe repair shop to collect a pair of shoes. He had worn out the soles while canvassing. The shoes weren’t ready, the shopkeeper said, because he had discovered the heels were worn out too. It’s a tough life. Even tougher when you are walking into the political headwind.