FF lobbying begins for nomination of Martin for President
Cross-party support for Taoiseach will ‘get him off pitch with dignity’
TAOISEACH Micheál Martin would receive substantial support from Fianna Fáil TDs and senators if he decides to run for the Presidency, the Irish Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Significant numbers of Fianna Fáil parliamentary party members have indicated they would back Mr Martin, who is due to stand down as Taoiseach at the end of the year, if he fancies a run at the Arás.
The view of the Taoiseach among his parliamentary party and the public at large has shifted in recent months as he portrayed a calm statesman-like demeanour – in contrast to some European leaders – throughout the Ukraine crisis.
And his growing popularity was confirmed in an Irish Times/Ipsos poll this week which saw his satisfaction ratings jump by eight points to 51%, making him the country’s most popular party leader.
In recent weeks, speculation has intensified among Fianna Fáil Oireachtas members about the prospect of Mr Martin becoming the party’s first candidate for the Presidency since 2004.
Cork East TD James O’Connor reflected the views of many of his colleagues when he told the MoS, ‘I’d see the Taoiseach considering a run for the Arás’.
He added: ‘He’s definitely done a really difficult but a good job throughout the last two years and I would like to see him considering occupying that role.’
By the time 2025 rolls around it will be two full decades, since Mary McAleese in 2004, that Fianna Fáil has run a candidate for the office it once considered its own.
Mr O’Connor added: ‘You know, inevitably, that debate will come up in the next two years as President [Michael D] Higgins’s term comes to an end.’
The President of Ireland is only permitted to hold two successive terms in office. Despite saying that he would run in only one election, President Higgins successfully ran for office again in 2018.
And without an incumbent in 2025, many candidates will view the Presidency as an enticing prospect.
However, candidates planning a run for the Arás would need to take to the field in 2024. This means the Government parties would need to identify a candidate before the Coalition’s general election deadline in March 2025 if they plan to contest the Presidency.
Many Fianna Fáil TDs and senators who spoke to the MoS believe it has been a mistake for the party not to contest recent Presidential elections. Reflecting the mood among many of his colleagues, Mr O’Connor said, ‘Fianna Fáil needs to stand a candidate in the next Presidential election’.
He added: ‘It was one of a series of strategic errors the party made by not contesting the previous two Presidential elections, in my view.
‘It’s important that we will run the very best candidate that we have for the role. I think the Taoiseach would be somebody that would be suitable given his experience in Cabinet and government. I think he’s given the State some service as well during his duration of time in public life.’
Mr O’Connor said he agrees with many in his party, including some of Mr Martin’s previous critics, who believe the Taoiseach has projected a statesman-like image during a time of international crisis.
‘Definitely that has been the case. When faced with different crises, he’s kept a cool, calm and collected view on the situation,’ the Fianna Fáil TD added. ‘That’s always a very good sign of a leader. And certainly that’s a skill that is important when you’re trying to find somebody suitable to occupy the role in the Arás.
‘So I think it’s very, very important that we realise that he’s still a young man. He’s lots of time left in his political career if he wants to. If I was him, I’d be I’d be certainly looking at that option.’
There had been speculation Mr Martin would consider taking the
‘He’s done a really difficult but good job’
‘When faced with crises, he’s kept cool and calm’
European Commission job when it becomes available in 2024.
But one senior minister said this would be considered a demotion from a prime ministerial role. And even Mr Martin’s opponents in the parliamentary party who spoke to the MoS believe a Presidential run would be a good solution to, as one TD put it, ‘getting him off the pitch with dignity’.