The Wets Awake

Young Fine Gael is distressed about Garret's neglect of policies. Mark Brennock reports.
When the Young Fine ·Gael National Executive met on Sunday August 19 many of the 17 mem bers expressed their frustration at the fact that the party had not introduced the legislation it had promised to introduce. There was disagreement at the meeting over whether the leadership was criticising government policy strongly enough. Some members argued that Young Fine Gael should consistently critiicise the seniorsparty when it seemed to be reneging on pre-election proomises. Others maintained that they should concentrate on building up the organisation, and refrain from causing too much embarrassment to the party while it Was in government. At one stage during the meeting Tom Casaide, a mem ber of the executive, was proposed as an alternative chairrperson, but the original chairperson, Annette Connolly survived by two votes,

Mermbers of the National Executive of Young Fine Gael denied to this reporter that any such thing had happened. One member eventually taat it had happened, but would say nothing about it except to condemn whoever had told Magill about it. Other National Executive members received phone calls from various people - including the Fine Gael Y outh Officer, Rona Fitzgerald - asking had they been the ones to leak the information. One mem ber expressed the view that the National Executive had never been more united, and whoever had told this reporter otherwise ought to be expelled from the party.

The challenge to the chair was only a symptom of the discontent felt within the ranks of the youth organisaation. Most members of the National Executive feel that the chairperson isn't the real problem. The real probblem, they say, is that now they feel they are being ignored by the senior party, while in the past they felt that they were being listened to. They are dissatisfied with government perforrmance and feel frustrated that they can't do anything about it.

Next month, members of the Young Fine Gael National Executive will meet Garret FitzGerald to vent this frustration. They have done this before, but now they are beginning to feel that no one within the senior party pays much attention to them any more.

This time around their points will be very specific. Before the meeting with FitzGerald, the executive will meet and decide which members will make which points to the Taoiseach. Different members of the National Executive will explain their views on different areas of policy, and ask what is to be done about the promises made in the past to protect the poor from the effects of the cutbacks, to control the price of building land, and to abolish the status of illegitimacy. They will make the point that this governnment has done nothing that a Fianna Fail government wouldn't do.

Young Fine Gael was founded in 1977 and quickly became an integral part of the "new look" Fine Gael under Garret FitzGerald's leadership. They were allowed, and even enncouraged by the senior party to take an independent line on policy issues. They campaigned strongly for the removal of the legal status of illegiitimacy before this became official party policy, and were regularly reporrted as criticising the conservatism of the senior party. Their autonomy was always defended by Garret FitzGerald and others, and was cited as an example of Fine Gael's commitment to giving young people a real say in how the party and the country was run.

The senior party benefitted consiiderably from having such an organiisation. Apart from giving the party a youthful image, the mem bers of Young Fine Gael branches around the country also formed twenty-five to thirty per cent of the door-knocking and envelope-licking machine at elecction time.

But the initial radical image .has become somewhat' tarnished. For example, as Young Fine Gael was opposing the Reagan visit, the man they had expected to lead Fine Gael in a new direction, Garret FitzGerald, was welcoming' him and encouraging the NUl to give him an honorary degree.

Next month's meeting with FitzzGerald is important for Young Fine Gael. If they get no commitment from him to the introduction of reforming legislation, some of the more political people within the organisation say that they will lose interest in Young Fine Gael, and the youth section will become an organiisation dedicated to organising social events, rather similar to. the role that Ogra Fianna Fail played'when Fianna Fail was in government. Ogra Fianna Fail, however, has now, in its support for divorce, changed its role.