‘Power is a drug,’ was Alan Kelly’s finest statement shortly before the General Election that saw his party wiped out.
Now, the former Minister for the Environment has said that he is bent on attaining the top spot at the Labour party, after Joan Burton’s unceremonious departure. He also said that he plans to double the party’s seats in the Dáil by the next election.
According to his own predictions, the current government will collapse within two years, adding that he has the “energy and drive” to lead Labour to victory once again.
Ackowledging Labour’s disastrous election results, he said “We lost because by and large we were lost in the flow of populism that has engulfed Irish politics”.
“The issue is that in modern day politics, there is a large element of populism that has taken hold. We need to take a step back from that.”
Mr. Kelly recently set up an ‘Irish Water lite’ quango called Local Authorities Water and Communities Office (LAWCO) in his own constituency.