McDonald says Sinn Féin are on election footing

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has picked up where she left off before the Dáil summer recess, saying that her party are “on an election footing.”

All major parties, from Government parties to opposition, are holding think-ins this week ahead of the Dáil returning next week, and McDonald said “the appetite for political change is alive and well.”

Asked by reporters about the prospect of Sinn Féin being the biggest party after the next election McDonald said “we take nothing for granted. There are no slam dunks. There is nothing inevitable about Sinn Féin being in government.”

“However, we do believe that the appetite for political change is alive and well. It has not diminished since the last general election – in fact, if anything, it’s grown, and we think that’s a really positive thing for the country,” she said.

“We’re on an election footing, so we will be talking about preparation in that regard. Our ambition is to provide a government of change.”

The Dublin Central TD said her preference for the next Government would not involve either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael.

“When the people do make that democratic decision, we will talk to everyone and we will put Sinn Féin’s policies for a better future firmly on the table,” but said “the very best outcome of that election is a new government without Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael for the first time in 100 years”.

Discussing the recent constituency boundary reviews, McDonald said “our objective is to win as many votes as we can and to win as many seats as we can. I’m sure no different to any of the other political parties, we’re now analysing exactly what the new constituency configurations will mean.”

“After the last general election, I literally could not walk the length of myself without people telling me that we hadn’t run enough candidates. This time, we will not make that mistake,” she said, referring to the decision to run only 42 candidates in the last general election.

Outside of the political sphere, McDonald found herself in the headlines for discussing her recent procedure to have her womb removed, and said that An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tánaiste Micheál Martin sent her well wishes while she was recovering from her operation.

“For the very most part across politics, people are decent and people are kind when it comes to people’s personal health,” joking “sure the lads will be thrilled out of their minds to have me back.”