SINN FÉIN CANDIDATE:MINISTER FOR Justice and Defence Alan Shatter said Martin McGuinness was an "inappropriate" person to become president and questioned whether it would be apt for him to become titular head of the Defence Forces.
In Brussels yesterday, Mr Shatter said the Sinn Féin candidate could not credibly present himself as a force for full reconciliation throughout Ireland.
“I think there are perhaps many people at home who would regard his exotic background as somewhat inappropriate for someone who would be the titular head of our Defence Forces. But that’s a decision to be made by the electorate,” Mr Shatter said.
Asked whether the claims Mr McGuinness made about his past in the IRA were credible, the Minister said that was a matter for people to judge.
Mr Shatter said Mr McGuinness had been doing an important job as deputy first minister in the North, adding it was crucial for the two communities to work together across community lines.
He said he understood the peace process was the priority for Mr McGuinness, but was not saying whether his presidential campaign for the presidency would damage the process.
“I think the manner in which Sinn Féin conducted themselves in the Republic of Ireland . . . over the last six months clearly illustrates the inappropriateness of his being elected president,” Mr Shatter said.
The Minister raised Sinn Féin’s boycott of the State dinner President McAleese hosted in Dublin Castle for Queen Elizabeth.
“They lacked the generosity to be there. Martin McGuinness was notable by his absence,” he said.
“I was personally particularly taken aback that Sinn Féin boycotted that dinner . . . it would have been a very valuable gesture along the further road of reconciliation that we would have the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland present at that dinner.”
He said this was a particularly serious issue in the light of the role taken in the peace process by President McAleese and her husband Senator Martin McAleese.
“Frankly, unfortunately, I don’t think Martin McGuinness could play that role, nor does he have credibility in playing that role because of the manner in which they dealt with the Queen’s visit,” he said.
The visit was a “huge additional building block” in the development of the peace process and in the relationships between Ireland and Britain, he added.