FINE GAEL has indicated the person it nominates as its candidate for the presidential election will have to be a full member – and will have to stand under the official party banner.
A senior party source confirmed yesterday that anybody who wanted to be considered would have to be a member of Fine Gael.
The upshot is that former MEP and president of the European Parliament Pat Cox – who has had informal contact with the party but has not yet decided on his intentions – would be required to join Fine Gael if he sought the party’s endorsement for his candidacy.
The party’s position on this was “resolute”, said the source. “We have historic levels of support and this represents our best chance of winning the presidential election.”
Mr Cox, if selected, would not therefore be able to contest the election as former president Mary Robinson did in 1990, as an Independent but supported by Labour and other parties.
As of now, only one person, East constituency MEP Mairéad McGuinness, had publicly declared an intention to seek the party’s nomination following the announcement by South MEP Seán Kelly yesterday that he was no longer in the race.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny said yesterday that Mr Cox must “decide his own future” in relation to standing for the presidency.
Whether Mr Cox did or did not run for the presidency was a decision for him to make, Mr Kenny said.
“The party is going to have to make this decision based on the number of candidates who offer and come forward and who are decided upon. It’s a matter for the members of the party who will make the decision, if there is a multiplicity of candidates,” Mr Kenny added.
Mr Kelly said he had decided not to stand for a number of reasons, including his relative inexperience and family reasons.
“I felt deep down that it would be the wrong thing to do at this particular time. I went into full-time politics only two years ago. I thought to withdraw from politics again and spend six months canvassing would be wrong. My father died a month ago and my mother is living alone. My gut instinct said not to do it.”
Mr Kelly, a former president of the GAA, said his decision had nothing to do with the possible entry of Mr Cox into the race, although he did say he heard his name mentioned.
“Momentum was growing behind me,” he added. “People were saying to me ‘you will walk it’. Some people wanted to run fundraisers and the like.”
Fine Gael would not confirm yesterday whether it had conducted private polling to determine the strongest candidates, although Mr Kelly said he understood private polling was about to begin.
Fine Gael has not yet set a date for when it will choose a candidate.
The party will hold an executive council meeting on June 14th, at which it will decide on a schedule. The party’s general secretary Tom Curran said yesterday the selection meeting would most likely be held in the first half of July.
The party rules set out a high threshold for prospective candidates. To win the right to be nominated for the selection convention, the candidate must have the signatures of 20 members of the Oireachtas, 30 councillors and five members of the party’s executive council.
The electoral college weights its voting strength towards Oireachtas members. They control 70 per cent of the vote and councillors have 20 per cent, with 10 per cent reserved for the national executive.
If Mr Cox were to join Fine Gael, his application would be considered by the national executive. Party rules say those who stand for election as an Independent or for another party cannot automatically become a member.