There were flurries and minor incidents, but nothing to send the heart racing. It could have been worse, writes MIRIAM LORD
FIVE GO Down To RTÉ.
No lashings of ginger beer for them in the Green Room after last night’s big adventure.
But while it wasn’t exactly a ripping yarn, it could have been worse.
Enter a cast of men in dark navy suits, oozing empathy and sincerity, doing their smiling best to filet each other. You could feel the love in Studio Four. (And yes, it was Valentine’s night.)
This was the second leaders’ debate of the general election, and the only one featuring five party leaders. There wasn’t a clear winner after the ninety minutes. After the debate, were we any the wiser?
Contenders drifted in and out of the game. And a game it was. There were flurries and minor incidents, but nothing to send the heart racing.
Micheál Martin, manfully turning a blind eye to his fourteen years in government and putting in another a robust performance. He wasn’t as commanding as he was last week against Eamon Gilmore.
But he got stuck into Gerry Adams with relish. The Sinn Féin leader accused him of “making the DUP look like altarboys.” Martin looked quite chuffed.
Enda Kenny had most to lose, it was said. He dodged the first leaders’ debate. He’s a TV woodener. Debating is not his strong point. With Fine Gael well ahead in the opinion polls, this was not a time for their leader to falter.
But Kenny did very well last night – given that the bar wasn’t set very high for him. Looked regal, positively aglow, even if his eyebrows seem to have disappeared.
After his visit to Berlin yesterday to meet the German chancellor, maybe he was benefiting from a sprinkling of Angela dust.
Or perhaps his trip to Germany was just an excuse to get in some high-altitude training before the big match.
It was expected that the other three would gang up on Enda, Piggy in the middle. We all tuned in hoping for some sort of Lord of the Fliescalamity.
Didn’t happen.
Eamon Gilmore began very slowly, as he did in the TV3 debate. But his performance was much improved. He did well on the banks and he followed through with attacks on Micheál Martin’s political pedigree, something he failed to do last week.
“The Great Pretender” he called Micheál.
John Gormley sounded very reasonable. But the most notable thing about him last night is that he wore a blue tie when everyone else was decked out in the requisite shade of red.
And then there was Gerry Adams. Sure Gerry hasn’t a clue. Bombed out in every big interview so far – not a clue about matters about the statelet in the South. As the for the economy, very poor.
Gerry did very well last night. His grasp of economic matters may still be in the “fairytale” league, as one participant told him, but he more than held his own.
The five way debate didn’t encourage any great engagement and there was scant hope of a decent row. Moderator Pat Kenny came in with the fire blanket at any hint of a flare up.
They contenders arrived like Oscar nominees, stepping from their cars into a blaze of light. No red carpet though.
The set looked like the inside of a giant tanning salon – the five men in front of a line of fluorescent tubes. It could have been the set of a game show. Weakest Link,being the obvious one.
After the debate, politicians tweeted. Fine Gael seemed happiest. “We can sell Enda on the doors a lot easier now” texted one senior politician, like he was some class of cleaning product. Two more to go.