Dáil should have been recalled to promptly appoint Taoiseach

Timing in politics can be everything. On March 20th, the day Leo Varadkar announced he was stepping down, Simon Harris was the right person in the right spot at the right moment to inherit. Notwithstanding his status as favourite, he sure made certain of it though. He acted fast, moving quickly and decisively. He sewed it up before it got going. Timing is everything when the leadership is up for grabs.

There was a bit of shadow-boxing, but everyone knew he had it. Declarations of loyalty grew as indications of a contest diminished. For all the carping about ambition, people actually like a bit of it when it is displayed, so long as it is deployed with competence. There was plenty on show in the immediate hours after the announcement on March 20th. By the following day, it was clear it was already over. Because of those prompt and timely actions, Simon Harris made sure he will get to be Taoiseach.

But the timing since then has not been so good. March 20th was a long time ago, and it will be almost a week more before he actually takes up the job he won back then. This is not good for someone who got the job in such a decisive way, because if you do cross the Rubicon, you should go straight to Rome. Simon Harris should have been elected as Taoiseach last week. The Dáil should have been recalled to do so.

It is understandable that there were all sorts of practical reasons why this was considered impractical. There was an Easter recess in the Oireachtas. Recalling the Dáil would have been a lot of hassle, and it would have created a lot of bad feeling among TDs. But the grumbling among TDs would have had no real impact. What would they have done if they had been called back?

Getting elected to Dáil Éireann comes with limited powers. Many think you have more influence than you do. But one thing you do have is a vote for who gets to be Taoiseach. So if you complain about being called to vote there for the most important office we have, you are not really suited to the job. And though plenty would have said it, it would not have been a good look, especially for those who intend to re-apply for the role or are leaving shortly with a pension.

In any event, shortening the time a new leader had to wait before taking the top job was worth annoying a few TDs. Not doing so was a bad idea. Why?

Well, because the modern era does not do process or ceremony well. It is all about ‘now’. Across Europe, political leaders are turned over like Premiership club managers. People don’t want to know that we have a constitutional procedure for electing a Taoiseach and that it is a big thing to recall the Dáil. They think, ‘the first guy is gone, so why isn’t this other guy in charge?’ And when one appeals to them about the process, the response is: ‘Because of Easter holidays! What? Do those politicians never do any work?’ 

It is also unsatisfactory to have someone in office who has essentially quit. There is no question that Leo Varadkar will do what is necessary to fulfil the duties of the office for his remaining time. But he is a human being and his mind is now elsewhere, and once you hand in your notice as Taoiseach, you have no authority worth talking about. And, this is not an ordinary job. Being Taoiseach is not a job that should come with a notice period. The only time that is suitable is when it is absolutely essential after a general election, when a defeated Taoiseach must hold the office until a successor is elected by the new Dáil. That is a necessity and duty. But during a Dáil term, once you go, you should be gone, the minute your successor is established and available.

Another reason is that a Taoiseach must make appointments. And there is nothing – nothing in politics anyway – that people dislike more than politicians (and journalists) talking endlessly about who will get what job. The speculation, the skullduggery, the deals behind closed doors. The whole business drives voters wild.

Some part of this may be unavoidable, but like lancing a boil, when you must do it, use a hot poker and do it quick. If you spend more than two weeks on it, it leaves scars. People want to know what you are doing to sort out the long list of issues with the country, not issues within your party. And because there is this constant speculation about who will get what job within the Fine Gael team, people will – not without cause – start to wonder are Ministers focused on doing their jobs or just on keeping them? And if a big issue flares up, who speaks for the country and the government? With days more of this to go before those details are confirmed, this will do damage to the new leader.

It also creates great damage within a party. You have TDs hanging around for two weeks, hoping they will get a nod. All their family and friends are onto them. They make calls. They try and influence. They go on the media and layer on the praise in the hope it will bring preferment. Now if that happens over 24 to 48 hours and it doesn’t work out, it is a little sore for the supplicant. Do it for two weeks and not get anything, and what was sore can become vengeful.

The long delay also creates time and space for the kind of things we already have much too much of. Independents trading their votes like they are at a horse fair. Interest groups taking the chance to talk up their particular issue as being uniquely in need of public money – with the linking of their cause with the fortunes of the government being a rhetorical speciality. If Simon Harris had been elected last week like he should have, all this hawking around would have been shut down early, as TDs would have been told to vote for the Taoiseach or cause an election. That would have softened coughs just as effectively as whatever medicine those independent TDs will claim they need to go through the Tá lobbies next week.

All this talk just builds up resentments and frustrations which inevitably cannot all satisfied, just when a new administration should be looking for a chance for a re-set. For you can be sure that everyone looking for something with honeyed words this week will not spare the spice next week when they do not get what they wanted. With less than a year to the general election, that is a price the government did not need to pay for the transition.

But what is done is done, and what is not done, will now have to wait. Until next week.