I did say that seemingly Web General Election had begun… This in from ‘Election blogging Pioneer’ Thomas Byrne TD (Meath East)

East Meath TD Thomas Byrne has today welcomed Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny’s tentative return to the national political stage after his recent protracted leave of absence

Commenting on Fine Gael’s new online gimmick, fronted by a new ‘virtual’ Enda Kenny, Deputy Byrne said: “I am glad to see that Enda Kenny is back on the scene, albeit in virtual format only. I look forward to seeing whether this latest Enda is an interactive model and whether he will be available for political debate on the real issues facing Ireland today.”

“There is nothing like an election to focus the mind. After over 35 years in the Dáil, Enda Kenny or his handlers have decided to ask voters for their views promising that their input will form part of FG’s policies. How this will work, however, is not clear.”

“I also see that one of the first questions posed by Fine Gael is “do you consent to receiving campaign messages by mobile phone”, I begin to wonder about the real purpose of the website. Anyone who signs up better prepare for a deluge of text messages from Enda.”

“The prospects for this latest online initiative from Fine Gael, following proudly as it does in the footsteps of such gimmicks as ‘Whack-a-Dodo’ and ‘The Contract’, are not good; but I’ll welcome any initiative that gets the message through to Fine Gael that governing this country is not about gimmicks and easy headlines, but hard work and tough choices.”

Deputy Byrne said that a considerable number of TDs were now interacting on a daily basis with constituents through Facebook. “At the 2007 election, I helped pioneer election blogging. Over the last year and more I have found Facebook an excellent way of interacting with constituents but it must be done in a genuine way.”

I await all the other election blogging pioneers to issue their statements on the matter.