(Written 3:30pm Friday 27th February, autopublished 8:30pm 28th February)
Not long ago I wrote about the stubborn resistence of pesky reality to conform with the conventional wisdom of a political media class that only knows how to tell the old stories. Coming off the back of another disasterous poll, it is safe to say that Brian Cowen faces a tough first Ard Fheis as Fianna Fáil leader. One might almost call it, if one was a political journalist, a “make or break” moment. Down in the polls, demoralised, all but written off…what a story it would be if Brian Cowen rose to the occasion, hit it out of the park, answered his detractors, blah blah cliche cliché blah. It would be the kind of story so familiar that I expect many political pundits will be unable to restrain themselves from telling it, irrespective of how it compares to reality.
In that spirit, I offer my advance review of Brian Cowen’s address to the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis 2009:
“An attendee of Fianna Fail’s Ard Fheis who had only known Brian Cowen for the past few months might have been forgiven for asking “Where is the Taoiseach, and what have you done with him?” For it was a different Brian Cowen who addressed the faithful in City West last night. In the speech of his political life, Brian Cowen vowed to take decisive and effective action to deal with the financial crisis which has plunged the country into uncertainty, and his party’s polling numbers into a tailspin. Speaking passionately and from the heart, he rallied the weary Fianna Fail troops last night in the City West hotel, vowing that his party “would not be afraid to take the tough decisions necessary”.
Gone was the sullen, sluggish Cowen of recent months. In it’s place was something more like the Biffo of old, energized and vigorous, a man who suddenly seemed game for the fight that is no doubt far from over. Promising “unflinching” leadership, he brought delegates to their feet with a rousing defence of Fianna Fail’s achievements over the past decade.
The initial reaction was good, at any rate. “That’s why he’s party leader, and that’s why he’s Taoiseach”, one man said to me. Another was more guarded “it’ll take more than a speech to get the country back on it’s feet” he said, but added “it was a hell of a good way to start though”
Cowen needed a big speech, an Obama moment, and last night he delivered. Last night’s address was a half time talk to a demoralised team, firing them up with a bang of the hurley on the dressing room table and urging them, daring them almost, to go out and grab the game by the scruff of the neck. And it may just have been enough to make them believe they can go out and win it. Only time, and the voters, will tell if that belief is justified.”
Update: As today’s Sunday Independent indicates, I got the tone right, but should have used a rugby analogy instead of a hurling one.
7 Comments
[…] Earlier I asked which Cowen might show up, the party’s man or the leader of the nation and whichever one did what could he possibly say to the country? I should have listened to Fergal. […]
Maybe it’s the wine, maybe it’s the lateness of the hour, but I just pissed myself a little.
That is the kind of comment every blogger dreams of getting
You did mention a “tailspin” though, which ties in nicely with Harris’s aircraft analogies.
Oh and I pissed on myself too. Great stuff.
Settled then. Eoghan Harris IS on crack.
The Harris piece reaches an almost Waters-ian level of icky weirdness at the end, where he characterises Cowen as father to the nation, who loves her very much but can’t always find the words to tell her. Uck.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Simon McGarr, Fergal Crehan. Fergal Crehan said: Almost two years ago I wrote about Cowen comebacks, which even then were a regular occurrance: http://bit.ly/hfHYxf […]