A Fianna Fail handler on Brussels city council with membership of a party attached to FG? Very possibly. Dubliner Fearghas O Beara, assistant to Gerry Collins MEP, is running for election for the Partie Socialist Chretien or Christian Democrats in a Brussels commune (i.e. ward).
His opportunity came when the party let it be known they wanted EU nationals and he was put on the list without any nonsense like a selection convention. O Beara, who speaks French and Dutch, is placed 26th on his party's list of 47, which is the number of council seats. Not a great position, he admits, but his Irish-style campaign of enthusiastic canvassing, which he learned from FF, has reached most of the many Irish in the constituency and his posters are prominent in Irish pubs. He is seeking the preferential vote, and hopes to move up and take a seat. His chances are reasonable when the polls open tomorrow.