Politics or theatre? Some say both. This week on Indo Politics, Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher didn’t hold back when he spoke with Mary Regan, Political Editor of The Irish Independent. During a candid interview recorded at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Kelleher looked back at the party’s troubled 2025 presidential campaign — a sequence of missteps he dramatically called “a tragic drama.”
Kelleher was sharply critical of what he saw as inappropriate internal pressure placed on party members to rally behind Jim Gavin’s nomination. In his view, such tactics weren’t just politically clumsy — they were “distasteful.” He warned that Fianna Fáil faces a serious internal credibility problem, stressing that unless the party regains the confidence of its own grassroots and representatives, it risks marching toward what he calls a demographic “cliff edge.” And this is the part most people miss — the issue isn’t just about one failed campaign, but what it reveals about deeper fractures within Ireland’s historic political movement.
Looking beyond the Áras drama, Kelleher also weighed in on Europe’s shifting geopolitical landscape. He reflected on divisions within the EU over Gaza, pointed to growing alarm about Russian interference, and discussed how major social media platforms have become both influential and destabilizing players in international politics. But here’s where the debate heats up: Should Europe treat digital platforms as political actors, or simply as business entities caught in the crossfire of global tension?
What do you think — is Kelleher right to frame the failed presidential run as a warning sign for Fianna Fáil’s future, or is it being blown out of proportion? And when it comes to external threats like propaganda and algorithmic power, who actually holds responsibility — governments, platforms, or the public?
