Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has insisted that she has got the party’s election strategy right, after being accused of running too few candidates in the 2020 general election and too many in this summer’s local elections.
Ms McDonald was speaking last night at the launch of the party’s Dublin Central campaign, where she will run alongside Councillor Janice Boylan.
The Sinn Féin president also said that she believes housing will be the number one issue of the general election, which begins on Friday with the dissolution of the Dáil, and that Irish people have “a choice between tweedledum and tweedledee”, referring to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.
“When the election day comes, all of the political debate will really crystallise into a very straightforward choice, which is either more of the same, another Fine Gael- and Fianna Fáil-led Government, or for the first time a Government led by Sinn Féin.”
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After criticism that she got the party’s election strategy wrong in the 2020 general election, with too few candidates, and wrong again in the 2024 local election, with too many candidates, she was also asked if she believes the party has the right strategy this time.
“I believe we do. And of course it’s important, because we are serious about change in Government. We are serious about winning. Of course, we have to run sufficient candidates for that to be a reality and we have, and we will. And by the way, we have a really, really strong slate of candidates.”
“We are running 70 candidates or more so we are in it to win it. When we say we want a change of Government, we mean that.”
Ms McDonald also said that housing will be “the biggest issue in this campaign”.
“If society and if Government continues to fail in this area, there are economic and social consequences that are profound and far-reaching. I don’t believe that housing will be sorted out by a Government led by either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael,” she said.
“We want to give people a renewed sense of hope that housing can be affordable, and that our young people in particular have a fair chance to make their lives and build their futures here in Ireland, and if they’re away, that they have a fair opportunity to come back home. Sorting out housing is crucial to that.”
She was also asked about Donald Trump’s victory in this week’s US Presidential election. Ms McDonald said he “won decisively” and that “you have to respect the democratic outcome of the electorate”.
[ General election 2024: Trump victory may fuel fear of change in Irish votersOpens in new window ]
“The American people have spoken very clearly. I’m conscious that we have longstanding relationships with the United States that are cultural, familial and economic, and we need to continue to work with whomever leads the administration there. Donald Trump has been president before, and people managed to form working relationships.”
In relation to Dublin Central, the Sinn Féin leader was also asked for her thoughts about the possible candidacy of Gerard Hutch.
“I think for any of us putting our name forward, you go forward, you canvass, you rally your vote, and then people either respond or they don’t. And I think you’d appreciate our concentration is on the Sinn Féin campaign,” she said.
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