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Enda's still all smiles, even close to crunch
by Nicola Anderson (Irish Independent)
A MOMENT of sheer panic registered on the faces of the Fine Gael press officers.
"Oh God. What's he doing here?" came their horrified whispers as they bridled away from this hideous scene and desperately tried to steer Enda away.
We craned our eager necks - really? Bertie's here too?
Looking through the crowds of Fine Gaelbadged supporters, we saw the congenial smile and familiar hulking figure... of Mister Tayto. After two weeks trailing in the steps of Bertie's tired campaign, yesterday with Enda Kenny was something of a revelation.
There's a fresh energy to the man and his troops that is markedly different.
The mood was much more upbeat.
As opposed to Bertie's practised 'Howya' oneliners, Enda stops to chat. He asks intelligent questions and makes a connection.
And funnily enough, the same kind of women that love Bertie also seem to love Enda too.
Enda lust.
"I was after you for years," a cleaner in a cafe in the Mill Shopping Centre in Clondalkin gushed over him. Enda only laughed.
Mr. Tayto also cut a dash outside Kenny's Bar on the Green in Lucan - waiting expectantly for his 'rival' as part of a clever electionstyle marketing campaign, with actor Frank Kelly as 'campaign manager'.
We looked to see how Enda would handle this. It could have all done crashing embarrassingly to the ground in a 'spot the potato head' kind of way. But it went swimmingly. Enda kept his dignity. But there was fresh outrage when one of the Fine Gael PR posse spotted a colleague pocketing a "backhander'.
"You're unbelievable," she snorted in high moral indignation.
Cheese and Onion - everybody's downfall. But not to worry, by the time it comes up before the Moriarty Tribunal it will all be stale. Someone ventured the opinion that the Fine Gael leader didn't seem to be pulling in the same crowd that Bertie does.
We weren't so sure. It looked pretty good to us.
People were impressed by him - and also by Fionnuala, his wife, who joined him on the trail yesterday and she was pronounced "a lovely woman".
There was nothing too hectic planned, what with Enda wanting to keep fresh for the big debate later on.
A visit to St Thomas's Junior National School school in Lucan was the first stop - where Principal Michael Mahir told him they have children representing 30 different nationalities.
Outside in the corridor, he met little OJ who'd been sent out for misbehaving.
"Now, sent outside for being bold and you end up on the IV cameras," scolded his teacher afterwards.
At Kenny's Vesey Arms pub, Enda pledged to appoint a minister for immigration affairs.
He told us he was looking forward to the TV debate. Then he told us he had never smoked marijuana.
"When I was 10 I smoked three Woodbines and got sick and I haven't smoked since," he informed us.
Then he was presented with a framed and signed 1973 election poster of liam Cosgrave - a gift from fellow Mayoman David Ruddy.
Enda was clearly moved. Cosgrave had welcomed him into the Dail in 1975 after the death of his father.
"I remember that well. Thank you," he said.
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