Why did Enda do it? After all, he repeatedly assures those who worry about his less-than-sure-footed grasp of economic and fiscal matters that as a party leader he is akin to the manager of a team of talented players and is happy to delegate those responsibilities when Fine Gael policy explications are required.

So why did he go on Radio One's 'This Week' show yesterday to discuss 'Reinventing Government', Fine Gael's new policy document laying out the party's plans to radically reform the public services? Why didn't he dispatch Richard Bruton, the main architect of the policy, to sell this plan to the people?

And given that some parts of the plan are woollier than a field of sheep, it would have seemed utterly logical to deploy Richard to Montrose, given his in-depth knowledge of the plan, and its potential pitfalls. After all, at the press conference to launch the plan yesterday morning, it had been Richard who had ably fielded the bulk of the questions from the media.

But no. Instead Enda Kenny went on RTE's lunchtime currents affairs programme, and what followed was car-crash radio. Presenter Richard Crowley launched into a forensic dissection of one of the cornerstones of the overhaul -- the cutting of 30,000 public sector jobs through voluntary redundancies -- but it was the party leader who ended up eviscerated on national radio.

Crowley first harangued him on whether current public servants' pensions would be cut. But Enda wanted to talk about the overhaul of pensions contained in the plan that would be rolled out over the next four years.

"That's a budgetary matter, about cutting pensions. This document is about the bigger picture," he said, sounding like Father Jack Hackett of Craggy Island who answered every tough question from the bishop with a vague, "That would be an ecumenical matter".

The more Crowley persisted, the vaguer Enda became, until the presenter finally relented by concluding: "All right, you wouldn't touch public service pensions for the time being."

Nor did the Fine Gael leader fare any better on the question of reform of the HSE, and floundered when asked detailed questions on how staff would be redeployed or how many numbers of redundant staff would find new employment in what would be essentially a dismantling of the HSE.

"You can't ask me to put a figure out," stalled Enda. "Why not? It's your plan," countered Crowley. "What will happen the 28,000 people in the HSE?" he asked. Enda was all at sea.

"With respect, you're being very specific about specific numbers, this is a five-year plan," he complained.

"But of course," interjected Crowley with the slightly smug air of a presenter who knows he has his man on the run.

Why did Enda allow himself to be rattled by Crowley? Why did he sound so unprepared when asked an obvious question such as "You're going to privatise the health service?" (Fine Gael isn't, according to Enda, but he failed to expand on his assurance that no such thing was going to happen).

The interview didn't help to launch 'Reinventing Government' in a blaze of trumpets. Which is a pity, for the document -- although short of hard figures -- does show some joined-up thinking that would streamline the political system and go some way to mollifying an angry electorate.

For instance, under the reform plan, the Oireachtas itself would undergo radical change. The Seanad would be abolished, 20 TDs would be axed and ministerial mercs would be pooled. Also there would be more accountability demanded of both ministers and their senior civil servants, there would be a salary cap of €200,000 across politics and the public sector, and ministers would be fired if they're not up to the job.

But the positive elements of the plan were overshadowed by Enda's uncertain performance. Once more, when asked to negotiate a minefield of statistics and hard-fact analysis, he stepped on an explosive device.

With Irish politics and the electorate in a volatile state of flux, such a flustered performance would not have convinced any floating voters that the economy would be safe in the hands of Enda.

Why didn't Richard Bruton do the prime-time interview? Could it be that five months after the attempted heave, Enda still sits uneasily upon his throne and continues to feel threatened by the unassailable fact that his former deputy leader is still regarded as an authority on the economy?

Enda has his strengths as a party leader -- so why oh why does he still choose to highlight his weaknesses?

Irish Independent