People Before Profit’s Steering Committee has agreed to endorse independent TD Catherine Connolly for president.
A release from People Before Profit said that, subject to ratification by People Before Profit members, Dublin TDs Paul Murphy and Richard Boyd Barrett will formally nominate Connolly for the position.
The decision comes in the wake of the Social Democrats’ national executive announcing they will endorse Connolly on Friday.
Murphy said, “Catherine Connolly is a popular, principled figure on the left, and we are pleased that she has put herself forward as a candidate. We welcome that the Social Democrats have also given their support to Catherine, and we urge others on the left to join her campaign”.
Murphy spoke at a May event in Dublin, alongside Connolly, Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald and Social Democrats’ Sinéád Gibney, which called for Ireland’s neutrality to be protected.
“The term of the next President will extend into the early 2030s. It’s very important to have a voice to succeed Michael D Higgins in Áras an Uachtarán who continues to advocate for an equal and inclusive society, and also to highlight the fast approaching threats from failure to act to prevent climate catastrophe and the constant attempts by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to abandon Irish neutrality”.
Murphy said, “we believe that an imaginative campaign in support of Catherine, articulating a radical, progressive vision, and with the energetic backing of the parties of the left, can build a powerful momentum to achieve an important victory”.
“Ensuring that the next President is another voice for progressive values can also be an important step towards deepening left cooperation and strengthening the prospect of a left government as we move toward the next general election”.
“The left, boosted by winning the Presidential election and vowing to rule out coalition with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, would be a very powerful political force with the momentum and popular support necessary to finally end the rule of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. It’s what so many want. The parties of the left have the power to make it happen”.
It is understood that Connolly will meet with Labour’s executive this week to make the pitch for her candidacy, with Sinn Féin weighing up their options for the Áras.
Should People Before Profit/Solidarity’s three TDs back Connolly, that will leave the Galway TD just six TDs short of being eligible for the ballot paper.
The combined backing of Labour, Social Democrats and People Before Profit would be enough to get Connolly on the ballot, as all three parties combined have the necessary 20 TDs required to get Connolly on the ballot.
Sinn Féin’s participation in the broad left presidential bid is widely seen as make-or-break for the left’s hopes in the upcoming election, which must be held in either October or November.