The decision by George Lee to not only resign from his seat in Dáil Eireann but to resign from the Fine Gael party has thrown Enda Kenny’s leadership of the party into question. Deputy Kenny was to meet with the front bench of the opposition party this morning at 11am to discuss the fall out from the resignation of Lee.
The decision by the former Economics Editor of RTÉ to run for election in the Dublin South constituency was seen as a coup for the party, and Lee was elected with a landslide majority in a bye election last June. However the decision by such a high profile candidate to resign after such a brief tenure as a party member and TD will be a missive blow to the Fine Gael leader.
Reports have been rumbling for some time now that Kenny’s position as leader of the party could be under threat and Lee’s decision to walk away after less than year, will further increase the pressure on the Mayo TD. In his statement Lee, said: “I have done my best to play a positive role in contributing to the national debate and to efforts to find a solution for many of the country’s economic problems. The reality, however, is that despite my best efforts I have had virtually no influence or input into shaping Fine Gael’s economic policies at this most critical time. The role I have been playing within the party has been very limited and I have found this to be personally unfulfilling.
“When I entered politics last May I made it clear that I was doing so because I wanted to try to play a new role contributing to economic policy formulation. After nine months of trying within the political system it is now my considered view that the role available to me within Fine Gael is not a role I am happy to play.”
Deputy Kenny didn’t attend a special meeting in Castlebar on Monday night organised by the local branch of the party to discuss head shops after Lee’s resignation. He said: “I'm greatly saddened by George Lee's decision to resign from Fine Gael and politics just eight months into his new Dáil career.
“In July I appointed George to chair the Parliamentary Party's Economic and Business Affairs Committee which all members of the party could attend, and which was designed to act as a core group in developing Fine Gael economic policy for the next general election. I had anticipated a very important role for George in the coming period with Fine Gael after a time of settling into a new career in politics.”
