‘Leo is cleaning the floor with you’

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Taoiseach Micheál Martin has once again been the subject of sustained and fierce criticism for his lack of leadership in his party from his own TDs.

A palpable feeling of frustration was expressed by TDs within the game, even among those who would be seen as loyal to Martin.

“We have lost people, the party is in a bad place and Micheál is not listening,” said an angry TD.

At a zoom teleconference meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party, Mr. Martin was directly challenged by several of his party members, including some of his own ministers, who expressed concern about the party’s current low position.

Many expressed anger that the meeting was being held at Zoom and not at the Convention Center as originally planned.

Martin said the decision to hold the virtual meeting to allow senators sitting at Leinster House to join, but several said they saw it as an attempt by the leader to avoid criticism or media leaks.

“I didn’t want tweets in the media saying this TD got a standing ovation for putting the boot in. There was a lot of anger at the zoom meeting,” said one TD.

Several sources present at the meeting said that Robert Troy, the junior trade minister, apparently criticized the lack of inclusion by Martin and his senior ministers of input from fund TDs and even junior ministers in shaping policy. governmental.

It was also said that MEPs Barry Andrews and Billy Kelleher criticized the lack of a review of the result of the “disastrous” general election for the party in February.

Several TDs of the FF say that the mood within the party is “very bad” and one says that if the country were elsewhere “something would have happened already.”

Several others said they agreed with direct criticism of Martin from Marc MacSharry, who told Martin that he was failing on several fronts to lead.

He asked Mr. Martin to stop giving joint press conferences with Tánaiste Leo Varadkar.

He compared the relationship between the party leader and TDs to that of a teacher and a student.

According to various sources, he said that there is no leadership in the party, there is not even management and the Parliamentary Party is expected to be empty vessels eager to learn from the teacher.

Mr. MacSharry is believed to have said: “Leo is cleaning the floor with you and making circles around you. Every time you do it, you’re losing. “

MacSharry also asked Martin to stop the acting medical director from appearing on television every night saying he is “scaring people.”

Kilkenny TD John McGuinness reportedly told its leader that the game is in serious trouble and they have “lost people” to walking events in recent weeks, including the ‘golf-gate’.

McGuinness reportedly told colleagues that a new party executive is needed that would involve replacing current president Brendan Smith.

He said that while it was nothing personal against Mr Smith, the parliamentary party should elect its own president at the beginning of each Dáil and not by acclamation as has been the case.

Mr. Martin is said to have told his members that the selection of a president and executive is a matter for him to decide.

Martin tried to highlight his strong stance on Brexit during his talks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

There were also expressions of support for the Minister of Education, Norma Foley, for her handling of the Leaving Cert qualification issue and the reopening of schools.



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