George Lee makes his move
In an insular, tribal, glacial, political culture like that of Ireland, the sudden resignation of the new parliamentary poster boy on the block after only eight months as a public representative is about as great a shock to the system as can be imagine. But that's what happened yesterday. George Lee walked away from it all.
On first reading, this is all about the disillusionment of the idealist at the intransigent, corrupt, ineffectual nature of party politics, Irish style. The brilliant broadcaster, with his MSc from the London School of Economics, was not willing to put up with the incompetence of his party leader and the bovine attitudes of his party colleagues, so he threw in the towel. Life's short, after all.
But there's another reading of this story. According to Rainy Day's impeccable sources on the ground in the Dublin South constituency, George Lee has seen enough of parliamentary politics in his brief eight months to realize that the current revulsion at the Irish political system is about to present him with a golden opportunity. The time for a new dawn in the shape of an Irish Liberal Democratic party is at hand and George is the man to form it and lead it. The major parties will get a hammering at the next election and George's new group, powered by middle class hope and fear, will then be able to call the coalition shots. Instead of being fobbed off with a ministry in a future Fine Gael-led government, George Lee will be Tánaiste (deputy prime minister) instead. Just like that. The power behind the throne.
He's a sharp one, George Lee. Just wait and see.
