The Green Party has urged Labour Party TDs and Senators to back Dublin South TD Mr Eamon Ryan's attempt to run for the presidency by signing his nomination papers quickly. Mark Hennessy and Arthur Beesley report
The Parliamentary Labour Party yesterday recommended that Labour should not contest the election, despite a last-minute effort by former Cabinet minister Mr Michael D. Higgins TD to persuade them to back his candidacy.
The Green move has caused irritation coming ahead of today's Labour Party national executive committee meeting which will rule on whether Labour should run a candidate.
Clearly inching towards supporting Mr Ryan's campaign, Labour leader Mr Pat Rabbitte said Labour had no vested interest in stopping a candidate "who would be broadly of our view". Mr Rabbitte said Labour TDs and Senators had given him discretion to act as he deemed fit once the 40-member executive body had made its own decision. This would allow him to ensure that Mr Ryan secures the 20 Oireachtas signatures he needs to get an election nomination.
Green Party leader Mr Trevor Sargent, in a statement referring to Labour's "rejection of Michael D. Higgins as a candidate", urged Labour to take "swift action".
"Following the decision of Labour Oireachtas members to reject Michael D. Higgins, we are hopeful that Labour will now support Mr Ryan." Mr Sargent added that time was short and "an early decision by the Labour Party could be critical in making the necessary preparations for a successful election campaign".
Some Labour TDs and national executive members have deep reservations about supporting Mr Ryan, on the grounds that it could create longer-term difficulties for Labour. The tone of the Green Party statement caused immediate annoyance: "It would be hard to write it in a way that would annoy people more," one Labour NEC member said.
The NEC, however, is expected to agree not to run Mr Higgins, though by a smaller majority than the 2:1 result that emerged from yesterday's parliamentary party meeting in Wexford. A small but growing group on the executive opposes Mr Rabbitte's electoral strategy, though a revolt today would create a major internal crisis that few in the party want.
Mr Higgins said he would appeal to the executive today: "Effectively what they decide I'm perfectly happy with. If they accept the recommendation from the parliamentary party, that's fine. "But if they decide, for example, to change that and have a candidate, well then I'm available too," said Mr Higgins, who repeatedly rejected charges that he is not healthy enough to fight a gruelling campaign. But even his NEC supporters accept that his campaign has been "torpedoed" by yesterday's vote. "You couldn't run him with two-thirds of TDs against him," said one source.
The bullish tone of the Green statement contrasts starkly with Mr Ryan's earlier efforts not to do anything to annoy Labour before it had finally decided whether to run.
On Tuesday, he said he would not approach Labour TDs and Senators to sign his papers if Labour decided not to run itself. Later, he softened this line somewhat, saying he would not approach Labour until it had completely finished its internal debate.
Meanwhile, former Dublin MEP Ms Patricia McKenna strongly opposed a Green presidential campaign: "I just don't think that the party has the resources. If we did, I don't think that we should be spending them in this way. They would be better spent," she told The Irish Times yesterday.
The confidence of some Greens about the election, however, has grown now they realise the party could recoup €260,000 if it wins 12.5 per cent of the vote.
Given that he does not want to fight the presidential election, Mr Rabbitte is clearly keen to ensure Labour offers some support to Mr Ryan.
But the Green Party's chances of getting support from Independent TDs and senators have improved now that Mr Higgins's chances have faded.
Mr Rabbitte said: "The Labour Party has no vested interest in declining to facilitate anybody, who wants to facilitate a presidential election, who would be broadly of our view". Mr Rabbitte should need formal approval for this, since all decisions about presidential candidates are "a reserved function" for the NEC, under the party rules.