IS FIANNA FÁIL the party that cried wolf?

It is fast becoming so.

This week saw the word ‘heave’ whispered around Leinster House for the second time in recent months.

But similar to the revolt that rebels in the party attempted to get off the ground in the midst of the Jim Gavin presidential election fallout, this one never heated up.

Instead, it was tepid at best.

At this rate, when a heave actually does get underway against Micheál Martin, no one will believe it until he pops up on RTÉ’s Six One News to say he’s heading off.

The party has made the cannibalisation of its own interests a favourite pastime, all the while as Fine Gael look on, popcorn in hand, as their traditional rivals air their dirty laundry for all to see.

At a time when both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are no doubt damaged by the handling of the fuel protests last week, the last thing the public wants to see is the navel-gazing of the largest party in government.

Yet out of the blue, the three youngest in the party, TDs James O’Connor, Albert Dolan and Ryan O’Meara, issued a statement questioning the direction of the party, and therefore the leadership.

Some veteran party members such as Seán Ó Fearghaíl and Willie O’Dea came out on the airwaves to give their two cents on the identity crisis the party is having right now.

Fianna Fáil revolt

But behind the scenes, the embers of this rebellion were being stomped out. 

The Taoiseach met with the three youngsters of the party before he headed off to Berlin to meet with the German Chancellor.

Martin jetted off (on his new government jet) leaving his camp back home to handle the rest. Sources say calls were going into ministers and TDs to shore up support.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

And as a result, at home on Thursday, Fianna Fáil rolled out its most faithful ministers, James Browne, James Lawless and Jack Chambers, to rewrite a rocky week.

Meanwhile, their leader was on the international stage in Germany talking about Ireland’s upcoming EU presidency.

But Irish reporters in Berlin, including The Journal, were eager to pivot to home affairs.

The Taoiseach kept his cool when asked about his party woes in front of Chancellor Merz.

Martin’s tone was a little different than of late. Clearly influenced by criticism of language he used last week when speaking about the protests. He said there were “genuine people” involved who are “under pressure”.

He said he didn’t feel his leadership was under threat in “any shape or form”, and defended the government’s handling of the fuel protests.

Seemingly mishearing a reporter’s questions about whether he’s surprised that his party members turned on him, Martin said no one anticipated the scale of the protests.

By the time Friday morning rolled in, those whose names are in the mix to be the successor to Micheál Martin were all pledging their support for the Taoiseach.

Another damp squib of heave, if you can call it that.

No one ready to wield the knife

For some reason, the lesson hasn’t sunk in that you need someone willing to wield the knife to take down the leader, and right now, no one is willing to do it.

Instead, as one Fianna Fáil source said this week, the party managed to turn a global and national crisis into a Fianna Fáil crisis. And they are none the better for it.

This week, in the aftermath of the fuel protests that caused chaotic scenes around the country last week, the government knew it was facing into a tough time.

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Showing a united front should have been the message, particularly when a minister (and his brother) go overboard.

Michael Healy Rae was here today, gone tomorrow, and no one batted an eyelid.

Instead, Fianna Fáil walked straight into another meltdown moment which made the party look like it’s simply not at the races.

The attempted heave against Martin that never had enough heat in it only adds fuel to the fire of what more and more people are calling a ‘movement’.

Last year, during the presidential election, Catherine Connolly spoke about being a symbol for the “new movement”.

She said the messages she got as she travelled the country was that people wanted change and hope, and basic values such as kindness. And her pitch paid off.

More and more we hear that the fuel protesters and those that supported them were ordinary, decent people, who just wanted to give a message to the government: ‘We’re struggling and we don’t feel you are doing enough.’

Instead of heeding that message, some in Fianna Fáil panicked and dusted of the ‘heave plan’ from the shelf.

Except this plan is old and dated, and it hasn’t worked before, despite plenty of attempts.

They don’t call Martin the ‘Teflon Taoiseach’ for nothing.

According to one website, Teflon is “unmatched in slipperiness” and though it “scratches easily”, it says it “degrades under high temperatures”.

If the rebels in Fianna Fáil really want to elbow Martin off his pedestal, they better turn up the heat next time.