Fitzgerald appointment not enough to get Coalition back on track

The appointment of Frances Fitzgerald as Minister for Justice is designed to give the Government a softer, more caring image but, even if the tactic works, it will not be enough on its own to get the Coalition back on the rails.

The Government’s real problem is that in recent months it has started to fritter away its hard-won reputation for competence and decisiveness, and it will take more than the appointment of a new minister to restore it.

Fitzgerald has been a popular Minister for Children. She managed in 2012 to steer through the referendum on children’s rights which, in different hands, could have proved tricky.

Given the Government’s record of losing two referendums, one on more powers for Oireachtas committees and the other on the abolition of the Seanad, Fitzgerald’s achievement in getting her referendum through despite some hitches looks all the more impressive.

One of the major tasks she faces will be to steer through legislation that will provide for adoptions by same-sex couples, among other things, as a precursor to a referendum on same-sex marriage that is due to be held next year.

Political cunning
The bigger task faced by Fitzgerald will be to oversee the reform that is required in the Garda Síochána and the Department of Justice itself. That will take hard work, ruthlessness and political cunning of a high order.

Some experienced Fine Gael TDs privately expressed doubts as to whether Fitzgerald has the experience and the toughness for the task. Ultimately, though, her prospects may well depend on that political intangible, luck, and so far in her ministerial career the luck has been with her.

Another important factor is that the Taoiseach intends to play a significant role in driving through the reforms in justice. Since he was presented by Attorney General Máire Whelan in early April with the details of the widespread recording of phone calls in and out of Garda stations, Kenny has taken a hands-on role in dealing with the controversies stemming from justice.

Kenny had a direct involvement in the events that led to the departure of former Garda commissioner Martin Callinan and he was obviously involved in detailed discussions with Alan Shatter before the minister for justice decided to step down. It is safe to assume that Kenny will keep a very close eye on what happens in justice.

The promotion of Charlie Flanagan to Cabinet should also help to promote stability at the top given his long political experience.

As chairman of the Fine Gael parliamentary party, he took a line that was often independent of Government. That proved popular with Fine Gael backbenchers, most of whom were delighted at his promotion.

Kenny's decision to give him preferment was also politically wise. Flanagan very publicly went against his leader during the heave in 2010, and was overlooked for a ministerial post as a result. Now, however, he has joined other former rebels such as Richard Bruton, Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney in Cabinet.

Internal opponents
Kenny has managed to create a sense of unity in Fine Gael and head off the growth of a strong anti-leadership faction by promoting his leading internal opponents. It is a mark both of his magnanimity and political shrewdness.

His biggest challenge now is to give the Coalition a sense of direction that has been lacking in recent months. The long drawn-out wrangle over the introduction of water charges demonstrated what has gone wrong with the Government, and if other issues are dealt with in a similar fashion, public confidence will evaporate.

The big mistake on water was not to proceed with a flat €400 a house charge in 2012 as agreed with the troika by the previous government. Fianna Fáil would still have taken much of the political flak and the Coalition could have promised to accelerate water metering and bring down charges before it left office.

Troika officials pointed out the experience of Latvia, where a flat household water charge was introduced but people were given the option of installing their own water meters and having much lower bills. The result was that most households had meters installed and water consumption almost halved.

Instead of following that example, the Coalition negotiated a delay of two years for the introduction of water charges and then spent months wrangling behind the scenes about when the charges would be announced – followed by a period of wrangling in public about how the system will be implemented. The result is that the public, angry at having to pay another charge, has begun to lose confidence in the ability of the Coalition to run the country.

There is an assumption in the Coalition parties that their massive Dáil majority will ensure the survival of the Government and enable it to run its full term until the spring of 2016. The departure of Shatter is a timely warning that such assumptions can be turned on their head.

Stephen Collins is Political Editor of The Irish Times