Election Press

On this beautiful day, there seems to be a good deal of election gossip filling the news pages. Below the fold are the pick of the bunch, it looks like the two weeks back in the constituencies are coming to and end and the ramping up of the national campaign begins next week.

Fianna Fail to announce economic policy next week (Irish Times, subs req’d): Biffo and Bertie will put a nice glossy sheen on that Ard Fheis speech and cast it out into the electoral auction they are so quick to denounce. Backbenchers are worried that the opposition have stolen a march with all the promises and FF want to get out there before the Fine Gael-Labour manifesto launch next week. (Note also the return of big-hitter Mandy Johnston to the election fray as head of FF Media Relations for the campaign.)

No Fine Gael Labour Rift on Manifesto (Irish Times, subs req’d): On the subject of that manifesto. It was speculated almost two weeks ago by Steven Collins that the document was due any day now but it was delayed initially because of the PR coup that was the Paisley handshake and it appears the parties are still struggling to join the dots on stamp duty. Fine Gael want the three year phasing in of the plan while Labour would like it in one go. This is due to worries that the housing market will slow for the three years it takes to reform stamp duty. However Kenny denies any major rift so all going well we should be getting some of the big documents of the campaign next week.

Taoiseach won’t Face Tribunal Before Election (Examiner): Good news for Bertie as he will not face the planning tribunal to give public evidence on Quarryvale II and the uncomfortable questions on his relationship with developer Owen O Callaghan and a sum of £50,000 -£100,000. This doesn’t quite see him skip into the clear as there was never really a worry about him giving evidence, the tribunal will shut three weeks prior to the election. However there may still be time for the opening statement of the public hearings to air allegations and give the press a three week feeding frenzy (again, note above the return of Mandy Johnston and await the media management tactics that ensue).

Kenny Lambasts ‘Tired and Shambolic Coalition’ (Indo, registration req’d); They havent covered themselves in glory with the nurses and consultants disputes, Kenny reckons they have run out of ideas. Perhaps he is right and all they are left to do is ram through the reforms thus far that they have attempted to do, or perhaps they are gunning for a fight to take to the electorate. That theory has been around for a while and it would do Harney et. al. no harm to be seen as the crusaders against vested interests that McDowell promised they would be in 2002. That theory is given added weight by Ray Kinsella on the distrust and adversarialism that pervades relations in the health services. It looks like a lot more to run before the election.

Luntz Focussing on the Northwest (Irish Times, subs req’d): Franky is back and this time he is taking his four and a half hour endurance test to the northwest in an attempt to gauge public opinion. Hopefully without the plants this time. In Roscommon, Frank was told not as many drink and drive, lots of immigration talk and not too much concern for climate change. Sure the warm weather is grand out.