The utter arrogance of this government seems to know no ends.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan was left with egg on his face when an internal Fine Gael WhatsApp group message emerged showing the Laois politician joking about the health service.
TheJournal.ie reported on findings from The Irish Times that showed Flanagan joking in a Whatsapp group of Simon Harris and the fact that he wants “out of health”.
Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney are seen as the favourites to succeed Enda Kenny.
THE MINISTER FOR Foreign Affairs, Charlie Flanagan, has described messages showing him endorsing Health Minister Simon Harris as a candidate for the Fine Gael leadership as “tongue-in-cheek”.
The message shows Flanagan suggesting that the Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald was urging the 30-yr-old Minister for Health Simon Harris to throw his hat in the ring for the leadership race for Fine Gael and possible accidental Taoiseach.
Fine Gael TD Pat Breen makes the comment “Your man is doing well”
And Flanagan replies with: “Thanks. He hasn’t announced yet but Frances is encouraging him. He wants out of Health”.
Simon Harris tweeted that he had “no intention of engaging in idle speculation”.
Today Flanagan said it was “tongue in cheek comment” and his joke about Harris and the Irish health service was merely “Sunday afternoon banter”.
Well Charlie, tell the same joke to the countless of people sleeping rough tonight, on back-breaking hospital trolleys and the 163,000 on the hospital waiting lists.
This is just another example of the contempt Charlie Flanagan and his government colleagues have for the ordinary Irish person. They firmly believe their own nonsense and live in a political bubble.
At least the only good news from this conversation is that it looks like Flanagan himself won’t be running for the leadership of Fine Gael when Enda Kenny finally steps down.