Dunboyne's Richard Bruton in leadership bid

Dunboyne and the Bruton family has already provided one leader of the Fine Gael party, and by the end of this week, may have a second member leading the Opposition. In a fast-moving couple of days of political drama, the Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny sacked his deputy leader and finance spokesperson, Richard Bruton, after the brother of former Taoiseach, John, declined to give his backing to the party leader. Mr Bruton has declared that if Mr Kenny loses a vote of confidence at the party meeting tomorrow (Thursday), then he will be standing for leader, and will actively campaign against Mr Kenny in tomorrow's vote. Nine other backbenchers yesterday (Tuesday) rowed in behind Mr Bruton, and it is understood the party will be split almost even on the leadership issue. In Meath, the two Fine Gael deputies are split on the issue, with Shane McEntee in Meath East backing the party leader, while Damien English in Meath West has declared for Richard Bruton. Deputy English said that the issue of Enda Kenny's leadership kept coming up over the years on the doorsteps, with people lacking confidence in him to lead the country. "He was the right person for the party at the right time, and only for him we wouldn't be where we are today. He rebuilt the party. But we can't keep kidding ourselves - people don't want him as Taoiseach, and that is a pity. We have good policies, but people don't seem to want Enda Kenny selling them," he said. Deputy English says he has worked closely with Richard Bruton on the economic team, and that people want somebody with credibility in these changing and challenging times. Last week's Irish Times poll, which showed that Mr Kenny was not wanted as leader by a substantial amount of voters, was not the reason, but the catalyst for the move against him, Deputy English said. Richard Bruton would have preferred not to move at this particular time, but the poll and the subsequent coverage left him with no choice. Last year, in an interview, Richard Bruton said he was "absolutely committed" to the team that Enda Kenny has built, but he agreed he can be a bit wooden in the Dail.