PBP announce Smith as European candidate

People Before Profit have announced that TD Bríd Smith will be their candidate for Europe.

The Dublin South Central TD announced her candidacy at a conference in Dublin today, alongside the parties’ other two European candidates.

Announcing her candidacy, Smith said “the reason that I have decided to contest this seat in the upcoming European Elections is that I want a Europe that puts people before profit.”

“I feel it is crucial for the left to have a strong voice in these elections to take on the lies of the far-right who are looking to scapegoat migrants and pit communities against them. The far-right is on the rise across Europe, and we need strong voices from the left opposing their hateful views.”

Ever since Geert Wilders’ PVV party won the Dutch election in November, the prospect of the far-right grouping becoming among the biggest in the next European Parliament has become a distinct possibility.

Dr Brian O’Boyle, the People Before Profit candidate for Ireland Midland North-West said “the far-right and many establishment politicians have used immigration to distract attention from the glaring inequality that has risen as the EU bails out banks and enriches the 1%.”

“Instead of scapegoating vulnerable people I will use the campaign to shine a light on the elites’ decisions responsible for making life harder for Irish people and those fleeing war.”

People Before Profit took 3% of the vote in 2019 in Dublin, but a high-profile TD like Smith – who has announced her decision to retire and not contend the next general election – could improve the partys chances.

Smith ran for Europe in 2014, failing to win the seat on that occasion but coming within half a percentage point of overtaking Labour’s Emer Costello.

Sinn Féin are running two candidates in Dublin, with Lynn Boylan looking to win back the seat she lost in 2019 to Clare Daly, while veteran Dublin City Council member Daithí Doolan will run alongside her.

Smith’s announcement comes on the heels of Fianna Fáil picking the incumbent Barry Andrews as their candidate for Europe and the Green Party selecting the incumbent Ciáran Cuffe as their candidate back in September.

The announcement that Fine Gael’s Frances Fitzgerald will not seek the nomination for Fine Gael has caused a number of sitting Fine Gael politicians such as Regina Doherty to declare their itnerest in the candicacy.

In a poll released today, the European Council on Foreign Relations broke down the state of the European Parliament race across Europe, which predicted a strong performance for far-right parties across Europe but closer to home it appears that the left will be the big winners.

The more traditional European People Party grouping (which is home to Fine Gael) and the Socialists and Democrats grouping (which is home to Labour and possibly the Social Democrats) are likely to see their vote share fall, while the Identity and Democracy grouping which is home to PVV and Alternative für Deutschland are likely to be the big winners in June.

The polls findings, partially written by RTÉ political journalist Paul Cunningham shows that Sinn Féin are on track to win 4 seats across Ireland, Fine Gael are on track to lose 3 of their 5 current seats, while Fianna Fáil are likely to gain one.