Gerard Howlin: The idea this Government has another year is constitutionally correct but politically preposterous

The two larger parties in Government are in a twilight zone where they survive as groups of TDs with a dwindling party membership and little left of once famed constituency organisations except the husk. File photograph: PA Wiresucceeded him. On April 9th he will become Taoiseach. The froth subsided quickly; in hindsight these were not great events and may not matter much at all. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are dead traditions, their rituals are no longer national rites.

The two larger parties in Government are in a twilight zone where they survive as groups of TDs who are effectively franchisees of declining brands. There is a dwindling party membership and little left of once famed constituency organisations except the husk.

In a more prosperous country there is more opportunity so politics is less attractive as a career. The standing of politics has declined as we expect the leaders we elect to be whipping boys and girls for public outrage. It is an irony that in an era where there are ever more personal rights, the boundaries around politicians have collapsed.

Harris’s job is akin to kindling wet wood in a party where nearly one third of its TDs are retiring and not one other would contest the leadership to secure the office of Taoiseach. Whatever Fine Gael does stand for it was not sorting out how third level will be sustainably funded under Harris as Minister for Higher Education, even though education is a key driver of the economy and social aspiration. Harris offers fighting words but no record of radical action.

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