FIANNA FÁIL has decided to stay out of the presidential campaign.
TDs and Senators yesterday voted not to nominate or endorse any candidate at a meeting of the parliamentary party.
Senator Labhrás Ó Murchú, who had asked leader Micheál Martin to allow the party’s parliamentarians a free vote so he could try to run as an Independent, withdrew his name at the beginning of the meeting in Leinster House.
Speculation about a rift between Mr Martin and his party’s deputy leader, Éamon Ó Cuív, over Fianna Fáil’s stance on the matter last week was dismissed by party whip Seán Ó Fearghaíl, who played down Mr Ó Cuív’s threat to resign at last Thursday’s meeting if a similar motion was put to the party.
“This isn’t a situation of ‘uno duce, una voce’, both our leader and our deputy leader are very strong, committed people who have their own individual visions of how Fianna Fáil needs to be developed,” Mr Ó Fearghaíl said.
“They have a lot in common in terms of the vision that they have for the party and I think it’s a very good thing that the deputy leader could stand up and express a high level of dissatisfaction with what was, at the end of the day, simply a procedure that was being considered for a meeting last week. We’ve moved on from that now.”
Mr Ó Fearghaíl said he believed the party was “stronger” as a result of the consultations that had taken place.
The parliamentary party met at 11am yesterday for about 45 minutes. Mr Ó Murchú made a speech announcing he would not continue to seek nominations from individual Fianna Fáil Oireachtas members.
Mr Martin responded and Mr Ó Cuív spoke briefly, before Mr Ó Fearghaíl put the motion to the parliamentary party.
The wording was: “[That the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party] endorses the decision of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party on 31st August 2011 not to contest the 2011 presidential election and further decides not to nominate or endorse a candidate for the 2011 presidential election.” Mr Ó Fearghaíl said the motion was adopted “by popular consensus”.
Party chairman John Browne said: “It was a unanimous decision. We are now going to build the party for the next local elections [in 2014]. That’s our main aim.”
Fianna Fáil MEP Brian Crowley had wanted to contest the presidential election for the party, but withdrew when it became clear the leadership would not endorse his candidacy.
Mr Martin asked the veteran broadcaster Gay Byrne to run as an Independent candidate facilitated by Fianna Fáil, but he declined.
Potential presidential candidates require the backing of 20 members of the Oireachtas or four county councils to secure a nomination.
Nominations close next Tuesday.
