Readers like you keep news free for everyone.
More than 5,000 readers have already pitched in to keep free access to The Journal.
For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can help keep paywalls away.
Cabinet sacking
Pat Rabbitte’s face doesn’t always reflect his inner happiness
The former minister reflected on his departure from cabinet in a wide-ranging interview with TheJournal.ie today.
WHEN HE WAS dropped from cabinet a year ago, Pat Rabbitte was widely-reported to have been sporting a face “like thunder”.
The former communications minister was informed that he would not be retained as a minister by new Labour leader and Tánaiste Joan Burton in what he later said was a “20-second conversation”.
Speaking at the time, Rabbitte said he was told by Burton of the need to bring newer, younger TDs into the cabinet fold.
He’s kept a relatively high-profile since then with a regular Sunday newspaper column and plenty of broadcast media appearances.
In a wide-ranging interview with TheJournal.ie today, Rabbitte said:
The woman [Joan Burton] told me that she felt it was time to let [a] new younger generation through and that took about 20 seconds at the time. I didn’t discuss it before that with her and I haven’t discussed it with her since, nor have I commented on it…
But did he really have a face like thunder?
Despite the change of leadership and the cabinet reshuffle, Labour is still suffering in the opinion polls.
The latest Sunday Business Post/Red C puts the junior coalition partner at 7 per cent – the same level of support it was at when Burton took over a year ago.
But Rabbitte, a TD for Dublin South-West, insisted the Tánaiste is “doing the best she can”.
There will be more from our interview with Pat Rabbitte on TheJournal.ie later this week
Read: Pat Rabbitte can’t make his mind up
Read: Consigned to the knacker’s yard, Pat Rabbitte doesn’t know if he’ll run again
