Wanted: A running mate for Leo
THE hunt is on for a running mate for the Taoiseach in Dublin West – and being a wellknown woman would be a distinct advantage.
Leo Varadkar is keen to win two Fine Gael seats in the constituency in the next election, whenever that may be.
His fellow candidate in the four-seater last time, Senator Catherine Noone, is set to switch to Dublin South-West.
The Taoiseach believes the current high poll ratings for Fine Gael, if they hold through to an election campaign, would justify a major push for a second seat in a string of constituencies. Mr Varadkar would prefer if the ticket in Dublin West was again gender balanced, but this time more geographically balanced too.
That would imply a female candidate located in the west of the constituency. ‘We are definitely looking for a female candidate not based in Castleknock to balance the ticket,’ a senior Fine Gael source told the Irish Daily Mail.
Mr Varadkar has the Castleknock end sewn up and could bestow a huge Taoiseach’s surplus on his running mate. Cyprian Brady of Fianna Fáil received fewer than 1,000 firstpreference votes in Dublin Central in the 2007 election, yet won a seat through a massive transfer of No.2 preferences from then taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
Fine Gael would need a similar boost in Dublin West, as Ms Noone polled only 2.6% of first preferences in 2016.
Currently, Dublin West has a seat each for Fine Gael (Mr Varadkar), Fianna Fáil (Jack Chambers), Labour (Joan Burton) and Solidarity (Ruth Coppinger).
Ms Burton narrowly beat Sinn Féin’s Paul Donnelly to the fourth seat in 2016.