Ignoring the old adage that you should never perform with animals or children, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny stepped on to the public stage yesterday surrounded by a posse of under-fives waving balloons.
The occasion was the launch of half a million leaflets promoting "A New Deal for Children", the party's healthcare policy for the young. The event was originally planned for Merrion Square but biting rain forced everyone back to the fastness of Fine Gael HQ in Mount Street.
Never ones to underestimate the machinations of their opponents, Fine Gael handlers dropped dark hints about "Government-inspired inclement weather".
The heavy rainfall was putting the kiddies in petulant mood, suggesting this might not be such a good stunt after all. But then the Fine Gael leader, himself a father of three, swept into the room and calmed the wailing throng. "Isn't this a very pretty little girl?" he said, as he held three-year-old Nina Murray aloft for the cameras.
As the Opposition leader bounced a pair of toddlers on his knee, he was asked if this was a rehearsal for a three-party coalition.
Heroically maintaining a straight face, Mr Kenny replied: "This is a really important day for the children of Ireland, because we are putting them at the forefront of our health programme."
Senator Brian Hayes, a candidate in Dublin South West, and his wife Genevieve had brought along little Michael, Ellen and Mark, aged from one to five. Three-year-old Ellen maintained a silence while the party leader was speaking but gave vent to her lungs during health spokesman Liam Twomey's contribution.
Mr Kenny assured journalists the leaflets would be distributed over the weekend. He pointed out that, although the policy had already been published jointly by Fine Gael and Labour, "people want to know about it".
It's going to be a child-centred election, he said. "It's a massive issue in respect of the pressure on modern families, not only in respect of childcare, childcare costs, access to pre-school, access to primary school, pressure on people financially, but this leaflet deals with the issue of the healthcare of young children from the moment of birth right through to 16."