Taking to the stage to the strains of You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet, a hit from fully 50 years ago which later became the signature tune of comic creations ‘Smashie and Nicey’ – two ageing, out-of-touch DJs ready to be put out to pasture – was perhaps not the most auspicious start for Simon Harris in his first leader’s address to the Fine Gael ard fheis.
Although set to become the youngest ever taoiseach, at 37, when he is nominated to succeed Leo Varadkar tomorrow, he already faces an enormous task in a short time to convince voters that after 14 years in power, his party is not as tired and irrelevant as the characters memorably portrayed by Paul Whitehouse and Harry Enfield.
The gathering of the Fine Gael faithful at the University of Galway on Saturday was the ideal opportunity to set the tone for his premiership as the coalition government, lagging behind Sinn Féin in polls, enters the final year of its term.
On the domestic front, Mr Harris made various pledges in his speech to “fix the housing crisis for once and for all”, telling parents he would “move mountains to get children out of the box room and into a home of their own”.
There have been similar promises before, and how much he can realistically achieve in the short time before a Dáil election remains to be seen.
The new Fine Gael leader also tossed out plenty of red meat to the party faithful on touchstone issues like law and order, taxation and farming.
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On Northern Ireland he had disappointingly little to say, in keeping with his record so far in frontline politics. There was a nod to the North-South Ministerial Council meeting he is due to attend with Stormont ministers in Armagh today, and non-committal answers on Irish unity in later interviews. Despite mounting pressure to start to put some shape on what a future united Ireland might look like, it appears to be very much a case of steady as she goes.
Rather than reinvigorating the party ahead of a crucial series of elections, there is a strong risk that voters will conclude they have seen and heard it all before
Much more welcome were strong words on Israel’s murderous campaign in Gaza, which drew a standing ovation from the audience of around 2,000 delegates. Mr Harris stated that Ireland is “repulsed” by Benjamin Netanyahu’s actions and called clearly for a ceasefire and two-state solution.
Ultimately, however, on Israel and the government’s wider policy agenda, Mr Harris and the coalition he will lead will be judged on actions rather than words or fine presentation.
And for the new Fine Gael leader, rather than reinvigorating the party ahead of a crucial series of elections, there is a strong risk that voters will conclude they have seen and heard it all before.
