 Some historians have questioned whether Lemass came to the premiership too late, arguing that had he replaced de Valera as Fianna Fáil leader and Taoiseach in 1951 he could have begun the process of reform of Irish society and the industrialisation of Ireland a decade earlier than 1959, when he eventually achieved the top governmental job.Others speculate whether he had been able to achieve some of his policy reforms he did initiate in the 1950s precisely because de Valera was still the leader, his opponents being unwilling to challenge him given that he appeared to have de Valera's backing.What is not in doubt is that Éamon de Valera and Seán Lemass held diametrically different visions of Ireland; de Valera's was of a pastoral rural-based society "given to frugal living", while Lemass has a vision of a modern industrialised society, a member of the European Community.