The First "Leaders'" Debate (and a bit about Enda)

[Mousey]

Soooooo... who do you think won, Mr. Martin or Mr. Gilmore?

Unfortunately for us all, I think Micheál came out on top. It wasn't his debate to win, it was Eamon's to lose, and I don't think the Labour boss pushed hard enough. He should have been pointing out FF's corruption and mismanagement in much more outraged terms than he did - why oh why does nobody ever roar in Irish politics?

I also think it was a crazy decision for Enda not to participate. It is not a given that FG will be the majority party in the next Dáil, and he cannot afford not to debate his policies against the other leaders and be seen, at least, to be taking part. Enda's big weakness is seen by people as his inability to talk, and you might think that FG are afraid of him being shown up by superior debaters.

What do you think?